Best Books to Give Little Ones This Christmas

Encouraging children to read can be tricky at the best of times. By giving them a book as a gift, it may ignite their enthusiasm to read. Here at Books2Door, we have put together a list of our favourites. We intend to cover books for a wide range of ages, starting from 0-5 and going up to 9-14. We have selected several of our favourite books for each age group that we think your little ones will love! Each book has been lovingly read and tested by Books2Door to provide more personalised recommendations. 

Three books for 0-5-year-olds 

For 0-5-year-olds, it may be their first Christmas, or maybe they're getting excited about Santa for the first time! Whether you're shopping for your own cheeky little elf or a close family member or friend, these three books are bound to match at least one of your requirements. 

Anyone who spends time with a toddler knows nothing is safe from their firm grip, sticky fingers and inquisitive mouths. Therefore finding books that will withstand the rigorous handling of a toddler needs to be sturdy, that's where board books come in! Designed to withstand being dropped in a puddle or yanked out of a parent's hand, these books are a great way to introduce little ones to reading. 

One of our personal favourites is this Chris Haughton Collection which contains A Bit Lost, Goodnight Everyone, Shh We Have a Plan, Oh No George and Don't Worry Little Crab. This beautiful set is full of character and heart-warming tales. Goodnight Everyone follows a little cub as the woodland creatures are all getting ready to go to sleep, but this little cub isn't tired at all, sound familiar? Another fantastic book in this set is Oh No George, this hilarious story follows a dog called George who's told to behave while his owner goes to the shops, but George sees so many things to eat and so many things to play with, will he behave? 

By now, you've probably seen the board books by Fiona Watt and Rachel Wells that have taken the children's literature market by storm, those books being That's Not My…Books. These books are great for introducing your children to a wide range of animals from across the globe. You can see why these books are one of the bestselling brands. Their combination of simple illustrations and interactive narratives helps children to develop sensory and language awareness whilst having fun. A great gift set of That's Not My Books is our That's not my Zoo Box Set which contains five touch-and-feel board books, That's Not My Monkey, Elephant, Lion, Panda and Meerkat. 

We all know that little ones can be curious and ask many questions. With this in mind, we want to show you this beautiful book set Little Tigar Publishing has released called Kindness Makes Us Strong, Change Starts With Us, and Love Makes a Family. The books are by Sophie Beer, and they all explore emotions, family and climate change. Our collection, First Behaviour and Manner Library, contains all three of those books and is the perfect gift for any parent battling with those curious quiz masters. 

Fantastic Picture Books for 5-7-year-olds 

Over the past few years, we have experienced many once-in-a-lifetime historical events, one of the most memorable being the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. When the British public heard about the death of our Queen, everyone flocked with messages of kind words, but one of the most notable was the influx of Paddington Bears appearing around Buckingham Palace. With this in mind, a very thoughtful gift for a parent of a little one or for your own would be The Classic Adventures Of Paddington Bear by Michael Bond. This little set contains fifteen short stories about one of the nation's favourite bears and a fantastic reminder of the nation's longest-serving Queen. 

Finding books that your child will engage in can often take time. Usually, little ones can be found bouncing off furniture or trying to show you every single toy they can hold. Therefore, trying to get a 5-7-year-olds to wind down and get ready for a story can be like wrestling with water. With this in mind, you should check out one of Books2Door's favourite picture book series, Don't Let the Pigeon…Series. This interactive and genuinely hilarious series follows a cheeky pigeon that does not do as he's told. The fantastic illustrations and snappy story by Mo Willems are a great way to get children and parents belly-laughing at a book. 

For a sweeter and more comforting read, possibly something you could read as a bedtime story, you should check out our Hedgehog and Friends Set. This set contains three lovely and heartwarming picture books about two unlikely friends, Hedgehog and Tortoise. The first book, The Hug, is double-sided, so on one side, you follow Hedgehog on his quest to find someone to hug, and on the other side is Tortoise, and when they meet, they can both enjoy a loving hug. Written in lockdown, this set also contains While We Can't Hug and The Longer the Wait the Bigger the Hug. 

Brilliant Chapter Books for 7-9-year-olds 

By this age, children will be starting to grow their own library and choosing what they want to read themselves. Finding books for 7-9-year-olds that are relevant to their experiences, entertaining and linked to their interests often feels like a minefield as a shopper. It is often easier to go with classic favourites like the Roald Dahl Collection, but it is also good to find something they have yet to read or watch the film. 

A great book series about friendship and adventure is Ivy and Bean. Ivy is a quiet girl who is full of ideas and is trying to learn how to be a witch, whereas Bean is loud and outgoing and likes to get involved in games. These unlikely friends often get into trouble, causing mischief and having lots of fun. Sometimes best friends can be opposites and still have the best time! The book series has recently been adapted into a live-action film by Netflix and is a great family-friendly movie. These books are an excellent gift for a 7-9-year-old who enjoys stories like Matilda, The Worst Witch and Planet Omar. 

Another fantastic book that is different from the usual books for this age group is The Beast and the Bethany. This brilliant book starts off with 511-year-old Ebenezer Tweezer searching for a juicy child to add to his youth potion, little does he know that he picked on the wrong child. Ebenezer chooses the feisty orphan Bethany, who is a troublesome prankster. In this wickedly funny series crammed full of illustrations, both children and adults will devour this series. 

Perfect Books for 9-14-year-olds 

Finding the perfect book for a 9-14-year-old is no easy task. Knowing what they are reading and what they are interested in is very difficult to gauge. That's why we have broken down some of our favourites and explained why, so you can get a better understanding of what they are about without having to read them yourself. 

Over the last few years, the news coverage and awareness of refugees have increased significantly. Onjali Q. Rauf's debut novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class won numerous awards. The novel features nine-year-old Ahmet, a Syrian refugee starting a new life in London. The book is a brilliant exploration of friendship and kindness, as well as a heart-wrenching depiction of war through the eyes of children. Check out our Onjali Q. Rauf Collection 4 Books Set for this title and her other works. 

Sophie Anderson's The House with Chicken Legs is a fantastic novel perfect for this age group. This novel follows twelve-year-old Marinka, whose house has chicken legs and moves without warning. All Marinka wants is to settle down and make friends, but Marinka's grandmother is Baba Yaga, who guides spirits between this world and the next, so she cannot stay in one place. The book is filled with beautiful descriptions and based on Russian folklore, it makes a perfect gift. Anderson's other novels, The Girl Who Speaks Bear and The Castle of Tangled Magic, are available in a set in our The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson 3 Books Collection. 

For tweens, diary-style books have been increasingly popular, especially since Diary of a Whimpy Kid books were released. A great dairy-style book that isn't gendered specific is The Diary Of Pig Collection which follows the diary of a little pig on a farm, the farm is run by vegetarian farmers and features Pig's friends' Cow, Duck and all the Sheeps. 

Christmas-Themed Books 

If you are looking for a Christmas-themed book for a child, you should check out our range of Christmas Boxes and Bundles. We also have a selection of Christmas Books and Christmas TV books ready for the latest adaptations to our screens this festive season. 

If you are looking for a gift set for a 0-5-year-old, you should check out That's not my Christmas. These iconic board books are a great first Christmas gift as they are interactive and durable. For 5-7-year-olds, you should check out Happy Narwhalidays by Ben Clacton, part of the wonderful children's comic book series Narwhal and Jelly. For 7-9-year-olds, you can't go wrong with Tom Fletchers Christmassaurs Series; perfect to enjoy together, this heartwarming story about a boy and his dinosaur appeals to the majority of children. And finally, for 9-14-year-olds, you should check out Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas and other stories. A Boy Called Christmas follows father Christmas as a boy and his adventures around the North Pole. The heart-warming story was adapted into a film in 2021 starring Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig and Henry Lawfull.

We hope you have found a great gift idea for children on this page. Here at Books2Door, we pride ourselves on encouraging children to read by selling books at bargain prices, making funding their reading habits much cheaper. For more information on our promotions, be sure to check out the deals and offers page.