Top 10 Kids' Book Blogs

March 21st, 2012
37 comments

By Claire McDonald

If you want to discover which books will inspire, engage or transport your child, why not log on to one of these book blogs? They are written by parents, teachers, authors, illustrators, librarians and are a great way to find out about the best books out there. Full of reviews, interviews and tips on getting your children to read, here are Tesco Kids' Book Club's top ten book blogs.

PLAYING BY THE BOOK

Zoe Toft has been writing her book blog since 2009, focusing on the things her and her two daughters do together. She flags up radio programmes that feature kids books, reviews children’s books, introduces books with musical themes to help inspire a love of music. And most recently she has held a Worldwide Edible Book Festival where readers bake cakes in the style of their favourite book. It was a roaring success with entries from all round the world ranging from Chocolate Miss Tiggywinkle's to an incredibly ugly Mr Gum by Andy Stanton.

BABBLEABOUT

This great book blog, written by Yvonne with a little help from her two daughters, is chockablock full of reviews, interviews, illustrations and great ideas to get your children in to books. You can search for books by author, illustrator, age of your child and there are pages of links to resources to help you and your kids learn about phonics, writing and numbers.

LIBRARY MICE

This blog is written by a school librarian and mother of two. Her blog is full of thoughtfully written reviews of the latest book releases aimed at young children. There is also a series called Fabulous Five, where an author or illustrator writes a guest post listing their five favourite books on a theme. The reason the blog is called Library Mice? “Bookworm is translated as rat de bibliothèque in French - ‘library rat’. I thought mice were a little bit nicer!”

CHILDREN’S BOOKS FOR GROWN UPS

Natasha is mum to Milo and spends her spare minutes writing this book blog. She’s been blogging for over three years (an eternity in blog years) and reviews books, bakes cakes and tracks her son’s reading habits. Each week she and Milo try their hand at making some food they’ve spotted in the pages of the books they’ve been reading.

AN AWFULLY BIG BLOG ADVENTURE

These are the ramblings of a few scattered authors. The one thing they have in common is that they are all children’s authors, but the topics they write about cover everything from the adventures of grumpy angels, to wars and werewolves. Some of it is written in verse. On the blog they write about how their new books are shaping up, their book tours and how to concoct a rip-roaring insult. “You tardy, reeky moldwarp!”

WAHM BAM!

Tasha Goddard, mum of two young girls, shares her book reviews along with political ramblings, recipes and parenting tales. In between writing her novel and running a business with her husband, she blogs about the intricacies of phonics and the great educational tools that are available to help parents teach their children to read.

THE BOOK SNIFFER

This pug maybe small, but he’s got a BIG personality. There’s nothing he likes more (I think it’s a he) than giving the bookshelves a quick sniff to discover the best books on offer. There are great reviews, and lots of beautiful page images which give you a real feeling for the books he is reviewing. He apologises in advance for typos and spelling mistakes; “It's rather difficult to type with these stubby paws.”

MARCH HOUSE BOOKS BLOG

This beautiful blog is brimming with stunning illustrations that make it easy to lose an hour scrolling through. Bobby, the blogger, is a book dealer who specialises in vintage illustrations. She treats us to the gorgeous images from 1920s tales of little girls going to finishing school or exerts from Cecil Aldin’s 1905 “A Gay Dog”.

FANTASTIC READS

This blog focuses on novels for children aged between 9 and14. There are guest reviews from children, giving their view on classics such as Judith Kerr’s When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit as well as more up to date classics like Oliver Jeffers The Incredible Book Eating Boy. There are also posts from authors giving us the lowdown on their books, why they wrote them and what inspired them.

TRAPPED BY MONSTERS

This is a blog written by a group of British writers and illustrators who write books for young people. They are interested in all of the following: “reading, writing, illustration, monsters, imagination, creativity, thrilling storytelling in all forms, monsters, whatever else we happen to feel like, and monsters.” If you want to see silly pictures, read funny stories and learn a bit more about your favourite a uthor, take a look.

Comments

Kaydi Mahoney-Picton April 29th, 2013 • Report this

Hi everyone my name is Kaydi aged 11 my first book is now out on Amazon Co uk t is calles Tip Tails Tales its about a magic cat his tipped tail is a wand, he comes from the islands of four paw, please take a look and follow me on twitter tiptail@twitter. kind regards kaydi ps The Violet Moon book two is out May 2013
Mary James April 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Hi My name is Mary James author of the smith family adventures,My intention with these books, are to allow children access to the countryside its animals and plants,through a family orientated way,using action adventure to entertain and help the reader or listener develop thie imaginatiin.I need to get my ten book series finished,I am using Indegogo crowd funding to help me,please take a look and share with freinds, Many thanks From A passionate writer Mary James, http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/mary-james-childrens-books-series/x/1297565
Brian April 17th, 2013 • Report this

Good evening! This is my first visit here and am already fascinated by all the contents here. I'm a writer/illustrator of children's books myself, but would like to get to know everyone else here before I put out my own stuff. So with that being said, I'm very happy to be here!
g guff March 29th, 2013 • Report this

Howdy Folks, We need your help and we’re not too proud to admit it. We apologise for hijacking this comments section but we've eaten a whole lot of Tescos freshly baked cookies (tasty) over the years and figure that they won't mind. Besides my clubcard was confiscated after a minor parking infraction. hmmmh! Did you ever wonder what grandparents really got up to when they were younger? Have you ever seen a Mexican Barking spider? Do you know who the first man to walk on Mars was? Find the answers to all of these questions along with why so many N.A.S.A scientists are bald and just why American bridges are so strong, inside this wonderful new book. Granpa Guff, the accidental astronaut. http://www.amazon.com/Granpa-Guff-accidental-astronaut-ebook/dp/B00BXKX6FC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1364294095&sr=1-1&keywords=granpa+guff Warning: may contain rockets and scenes of a spidery nature. If any of you folks at Tesco should like to read a copy for review pur
Luciana Reis March 24th, 2013 • Report this

Hi. My name is Luciana Reis. I’ve just released my first book "Thanks". “Thanks” is a non-fiction book with 28 full-color illustrations, created for children aged between 3 and 10 years. The aim of this book is to awaken gratitude in children, inviting them to find something to be thankful for every day among the things that surround them in their daily lives. Despite the simplicity of the texts, each phrase opens the door to a broader reflection, which may be performed in the company of a family member. The ultimate goal is to enrich children's vision, expanding their perception and attitude to everything around them, enabling them to understand how things work in our lives and discover that everything has a beautiful side that deserves to be recognized and valued. In order to have the book to read and review, the Kindle version will be available for free download from 24th to 28th of March. http://www.amazon.com/Thanks-ebook/dp/B00BMQ7WS4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364161632&sr=8-2
Luciana Reis March 24th, 2013 • Report this

Hi. My name is Luciana Reis. I’ve just released my first book "Thanks". “Thanks” is a non-fiction book with 28 full-color illustrations, created for children aged between 3 and 10 years. The aim of this book is to awaken gratitude in children, inviting them to find something to be thankful for every day among the things that surround them in their daily lives. Despite the simplicity of the texts, each phrase opens the door to a broader reflection, which may be performed in the company of a family member. The ultimate goal is to enrich children's vision, expanding their perception and attitude to everything around them, enabling them to understand how things work in our lives and discover that everything has a beautiful side that deserves to be recognized and valued. In order to have the book to read and review, the Kindle version will be available for free download from 24th to 28th of March. http://www.amazon.com/Thanks-ebook/dp/B00BMQ7WS4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1364161632&sr=8-2
Jonathan Jones February 11th, 2013 • Report this

Hello! My wife and I are trying to promote a book called "The Cloud Factory" that we wrote and illustrated together. We currently have 12 days left to fund the book on a website called (kickstarter.com). If possible, could you help us get the word out and help us promote our book? The direct web address is (http://kck.st/XAcQjm). Thanks so much! Best Regards Jonathan and Shinny Jones
tesco magazine January 25th, 2013 • Report this

Hello Claire - I think they should do, though it's always best to phone ahead to check - saves making a wasted journey!
Naomi Bradbury January 24th, 2013 • Report this

Hi, I'd like to join in and comment on the Moon Hare book. My two sons loved it! Would definitely encourage parents to buy for their kids as it's funny and the illustrations are great. I didn't know that there was a second book has it been advertised? Will definitely go to Tescos on Saturday and look for it!
Alejandro January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Great! For sure will review all of them. Oh god my wallet is already nervous!
Claire Daley January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

That's great! Thanks! I will take a look. Do the Tesco shops sell the Moon Hare too? I mentioned it to mums at school who buy children's books at Tesco so thought I'd ask!
Tesco magazine January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Hello, Tesco Direct sells two Moon Hare books - hope that helps!
Gemma Ainsley January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Hiya the second book in the Moon Hare series is called The Moon Hare and the foul treasure. I've just ordered it from Amazon! Looks fab! Does Tesco not stock these books too? Missing out if not!
julie laker January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Is there a second book in the Magnificent Moon Hare series?! Didn't know that! What's it called please?
julie laker January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Hi, i've just looked and it's published by Egmont and the author is Sue Monroe (who used to be a Cbeebies presenter!) You can buy it in Waterstones or WHSmith I expect, don't know about Tesco? :-) Hope that helps?
Claire Daley January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Hi, I have heard good things about the Moon Hare series of books too. Can you tell me who publishes it please and where I can buy it? Thanks!
Gemma Ainsley January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

I'd like to recommend 'The Magnificent Moon Hare' too! My daughter who is seven brought it back from school with her last week and absolutely loves it. Good to have a funny chapter book that she can read at bedtime. Can it be bough at Tescos then? I will make a trip on Saturday as apparently there's a second book in the series? Can Tesco's respond please?
julie laker January 23rd, 2013 • Report this

Can I suggest 'The Magnificent Moon Hare' by Sue Monroe for this list please? My eight year old daughter has just finished reading it and hasn't stopped talking about the moon hare and his stripy tights since. Definitely worth a mention and a recommendation. :-)
Asif January 14th, 2013 • Report this

The trailer for the new pre-school series, Aku & Kamu is now available! Enjoy at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV08vqEQfxU or http://www.akuandkamu.tv/
Jeff Rivera January 5th, 2013 • Report this

That's a very nice list, Claire. It's hard to find a good blog and your list is very helpful. Also your reviews on the blogs help pick which one is the best for every reader.
paco December 13th, 2012 • Report this

Hi, I know you've written about kids books on your blog, so I thought you might like this. I recently published a book – "The Story of Salt". I thought you might be interested in doing a review of it. You can see more about it here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ACO7066 If so, I can send you a free kindle edition copy (which can be viewed on your PC, iPhone, or Kindle) immediately. Thanks for your time! All the best, Paco Pacoban
Debbie Edwards April 12th, 2012 • Report this

Fantastic list. Good to have such a wide variety too.
Bev March 29th, 2012 • Report this

Brilliant list and great to see Trapped By Monsters here! Just one tiny thing - Library Mice is spelled incorrectly above! (Sorry! Copywriter by trade) :-)
Tommy Donbavand March 27th, 2012 • Report this

Delighted to see Trapped By Monsters in such esteemed company!
Kids Book Club March 26th, 2012 • Report this

Thank you for all of your great comments!
Jo Cotterill March 24th, 2012 • Report this

Great list! Can I also add http://girlsheartbooks.com/ which is a group author blog of over 30 published authors who write for girls aged 8-14. The blog is aimed at the readers themselves, though of course parents, teachers, librarians and other writers are very welcome too!
caryl hart March 23rd, 2012 • Report this

Fantastic! We love Library Mice, Play by the Book and The Book Sniffer!! Don't forget about Bookbabblers too!!
Templar publicity team March 23rd, 2012 • Report this

Lovely to see our favourite bloggers listed here. Good choices!
Sarah McIntyre March 23rd, 2012 • Report this

Great choices!
Emma Bok Sniffer O Donovan March 23rd, 2012 • Report this

Gob-Bloomin-Smacked to see My lovely Book Sniffer appearing on your list - THANK YOU - We're starting a picture book app review blog The App Puppy very soon!
Tasha Goddard March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thank you so much for including me on this list. Truly honoured to be counted among such fabulous blogs - and some new ones to add to my bookmarks.
Yvonne, Babbleabout March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thank you so much for including me in this list. I am in great company. I feel honoured.
Fantastic Reads March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thank you! I'm honoured to be in such great company
Clara March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thanks so much - some here I know well, some are new to me; wonderful stuff!
griselda heppel March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Really useful list, thanks hugely.
Barbara March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thank you so much!
Zoe March 22nd, 2012 • Report this

Thank you for including me in such an amazing selection of blogs. Lots of richness here.