Award-winning children’s author Sarah Webb reveals her top 10 list of books every child should read before they are 12.
Age 0 to 4
1/ A Bit Lost by Chris Haughton - amazing picturebook with glowing artwork by a master of simplicity and colour. An exhibition of his work in Moli until the end of the year, which I curated in fact
2/ I’m a Girl by Yasmeen Ismail Yasmeen is a huge Irish talent and this book – about identity - is great fun and a huge hit with children
3/ Ná Gabh ar Scoil!/ Don’t Go to School By Máire Zepf and Tarsila Kruse - A funny, clever story about a bear and his mother – the mother is terrified of going to school but the little bear manages to reassure her. (Available in both Irish and English)
Age 5 to 8
4/ Rabbit and Bear: Rabbit's Bad Habits by Julian Gough and Jim Field (Julian is Irish) - modern day Winnie the Pooh - full of wisdom
5/ The Heart and the Bottle by Oliver Jeffers (Irish - Belfast - lives in NYC at present) - deals with death and loss in an honest way
6/ What I Like Most by Mary Murphy, illustrated by Zhu Cheng-Liang is exquisite. The gentle yet profound story of a girl and what she likes most of all – with watercolour illustrations by an award-winning Chinese illustrator
Age 9 to 11
7/ Illegal by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano. An epic journey of hope and survival about a boy who travels across the Sahara and across the sea, looking for a new life. Multiple award-winning graphic novel.
8/ Under the Hawthorne Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna (an Irish classic) - Irish children's writing at its best and loved by Irish children - Famine story
Age 11+
9/ The Deepest Breath by Meg Grehan - An extraordinary novel in verse which has won many awards both here and in the UK – about a girl called Stevie who has ‘fizzy feelings’ for her friend, Chloe. A ground-breaking Irish book
10/ Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy - A book which has given great entertainment and pleasure to millions of readers worldwide since it was first published in 2007. Clever, funny fantasy-adventure, with cracking characters and fast-paced plots. Reading for pleasure is so important in building readers and this book is pure pleasure!
Other books that could be on the list
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
The Stormkeepers Ireland by Catherine Doyle
The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
The Lonely Beast by Chris Judge
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