Best Book Lists for Kids & Free Book Printables
We literally have books everywhere in our home. My son even before he could read, would have his head in a book of some kind. I am going to share with you our favorite book lists for kids.
The easiest way to encourage children to read is to make it fun. If they are 10 years old and want to read a picture book then that’s great. If they are 5 years old and want to “read” Harry Potter that is ok too.
Don’t get too hung up on what books they should be reading. Just take their lead. My son went through a stage when he would only read comics, and another when he would only read Marvel, DC, or Star Wars encyclopedias.
On his Christmas list (and still now he is older) there will always be at least 10 books he wants!
Carry on reading for our best book lists for kids and book printables that will help you. If you have older children why not show them the reading lists (my son has read literally ALL of these books, so feel free to ask me any questions that you or your child may have.)
A lot of these books are definitely focused on boys. At Homeschool of One, I only have Freddie! So I am not going to pretend I know what girls read, I know all of my son’s “girl” friends would read everything on these lists, and I really don’t mean they are not appropriate for girls, they are just what I know Freddie likes. Maybe I should have called them 100 books for 9 year olds that my son loves!
These kid’s book posts are in the following order:
- Book lists for kids
- Seasonal book lists
- Best educational books
- Book printables
- Reading tips
- Kids authors
- Bookmarks to color in
Make sure you save (and pin) this post for later, and definitely keep checking back as I am always adding new content.
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Reading Books for Kids
These are the best reading books my son has read over the years, so they are definitely more aimed at boys, however, of course girls will love them too!
These are the best 100 books for 9 year old boys and are broken down into the following sections:
- Book Series for 9 Year Old Boys
- Nature Books for Kids
- Joke Books for 9 Year Olds
- Educational Books for 9 Year Olds
- History Books for Kids
- Geography Books for Kids
- Activity Books for 9 Year Olds
- Reference Books for Kids
Over 40 books for 13 year old boys that they won't want to put down. They are broken down into the following sections:
- Boys Book Series
- Star Wars Books
- Marvel & DC Books
- Self Help Books for Teenage Boys
Have fun with these Roald Dahl books that every child should read.
Pirate books are perfect all year round, but even more so for Talk Like a Pirate Day! These pirate books for kids are aimed at younger children and make great read alouds.
If you have a budding stand up comic you are going to love these joke books for kids.
Here you will find 15 of the funniest joke books for kids that they're going to love.
Homeschool Books
These are the best educational books for kids of all ages.
Encourage your kids to start reading the Bard as early as possible, these are the best Shakespeare books for kids that they will absolutely love.
These are all really easy to understand, and some of them are so cool my son begs for them each Christmas!
20 of the very best homeschool science books for kids in grades 4-12.
Whether you homeschool or not, these are the very best homeschool history books that you are going to want your child to read. Perfect for upper elementary to middle aged students.
I have also shared 3 of our favorite homeschool curriculum for middle school too.
If you want to travel the world from the comfort of your living room, or are studying geography.
These are the top 20 geography books for kids you need today.
We have recently started studying human biology in our homeschool and have come across these anatomy books for kids. They are aimed at slightly younger children, elementary-aged, but he (and I) are learning loads about the body. I literally had no idea about any of it, it’s a wonder I have survived 40-something years! Check Know Yourself out here, but use exclusive coupon code CLARE10 for 10% off.
Philosophy is a difficult subject to teach younger children but these philosophy books for kids are a great way to introduce the subject and learn about mindfulness.
Usborne has been a family favorite for years since our son was a baby, but these are our favorite Usborne books for homeschooling, perfect for elementary-aged students.
Learn all about the life cycle of a butterfly with these 12 butterfly books for kids.
There is a mix of reading books and nonfiction books that you and the kids will love.
We absolutely love puzzle books in our home, as they always manage to bring peace to our home. Check out our favorite puzzle books for kids.
Getting new books delivered to you every month is a great idea, and these are our favorite children's book subscription boxes.
Holiday Book Lists
From Presidents Day through to Christmas we have you covered on our favorite seasonal books the kids will love.
Presidents Day will be celebrated on Monday 20th February 2023, grab these best President books for kids from the library and learn more about the past and current Presidents of America.
St Patrick's Day is celebrated around the world on March 17th, check out our favorite St Patrick's Day books for kids. These will make great read alouds, or independent readers
Have fun on World Book Day or any book holiday with these fun book related activities
Easter will be on April 9th, 2023 and these are the best books for Easter for children. These are great for independent reading and read alouds both at home or in the classroom.
Learn more about our planet with these Earth Day inspired books for kids of all ages.
Cinco de Mayo is of course on May 5th and the children are going to love these Cinco de Mayo books.
Finding good spooky stories that are suitable for middle schoolers can be hard. But I have shared with you our 19 favorite Halloween books that are suitable for kids over the age of 10.
I absolutely love a good read aloud, and these are the best Thanksgiving read alouds we have come across. Both fictional and non-fictional books the kids will love.
We absolutely love the Elf on the Shelf and these are our all time favorite books about elves that we enjoy reading in November and December.
There is nothing better than cuddling up to a good Christmas read aloud in December, in fact, it is our favorite December activity.
Book Printables
Download all of our free book printables perfect for both school and homeschool.
Download six of our favorite free reading log printables for kids and adults of all ages.
Encourage the kids to write and get creative with our free book report for 3rd grade students.
Download our free simple book report template which is aimed at upper elementary and middle school grades.
This is our favorite book printable as it is a win for both my son and me. When he has finished reading a book and completed his book report, if there is a movie about the book, then he gets to watch it during the homeschool day. As long as he also completes this comparison report.
Play at the library or at home if you have lots of books, this book scavenger hunt is a great game for reluctant readers.
Download our free literary timeline of the 8 periods in English literature. This is perfect for middle school – high school aged children.
Have fun in the long summer months and get them to play book bingo. It is such a great way to encourage the kids to read, especially when the reward is something they want. What about a new book? (That’s what we do!)
Reading Tips
Encouraging children to read from an early age is one of the most important things we should do for our children,
Learn how to encourage reading habits in kids with our fun 19 ideas. From reading in a tree to reading subtitles on their favorite TV shows!
Kids Authors
Our favorite kid's authors are:
Roald Dahl
William Shakespeare - is not typically thought of as a kid's author, but if you start to introduce the Bard early enough the kids will absolutely love his works.
Barry Loser Author - Jim Smith
Roald Dahl was one of my favorite authors, and is now one of my sons too. Learn all about the many Roald Dahl books on Roald Dahl Day on September 13th.
Let’s have some maths fun inspired by Roald Dahl. We have created 4 free Roald Dahl maths worksheets that the kids are going to love.
There are 48 different Roald Dahl themed images to print out in our free Roald Dahl memory game, but if you are playing with toddlers or preschoolers I recommend only using 12 different images to start with. The images are taken from four of Roald Dahl’s most popular books:
- BFG
- Matilda
- Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
- The Twits
Download our free Roald Dahl word search and find 15 words from Roald Dahl's famous books.
Download our 16 free Roald Dahl coloring pages inspired by the following Roald Dahl books:
- Matilda
- Twits
- BFG
- Charlie & The Chocolate Factory
Teaching your children about Shakespeare can be so much fun, and we have been studying the Bard for the last year and will continue to do so. Carry on reading to see how to teach your child Shakespeare the fun way,
We are delighted to share our exclusive interview with Jim Smith, the author of the Barry Loser books.
Bookmarks
Download our free printable bookmarks to color that the kids can enjoy coloring in and adding to their favorite books, or giving as personalized gifts.
Celebrate Valentine's Day with these super cute bookmarks the kids can color in.
Have fun with your little leprechauns and get creative with these St Patrick's Day bookmarks to color.
Have fun this spring with our free Easter bookmarks that the kids can color in and add to their favorite books.
Celebrate Earth Day on April 22nd with these free Earth Day bookmarks that you can color in. There are 6 different bookmarks to print out, and this is a great way to talk to children about the planet.
Download these Cinco de Mayo printable bookmarks and add them to your books in May.
Download 6 free Roald Dahl bookmarks to color and add them to your Roald Dahl books.
Download our free spooky Halloween bookmarks to color in. These are great to add to your trick or treat bags this year.
Celebrate the Day of the Dead with these free color in bookmarks.
Download our free Thanksgiving bookmarks to color and use them to add to your new Thanksgiving books.
These Christmas bookmarks to color make a great gift the kids will love coloring them in, and the family will love receiving such a personalized gift.
Books for Mom
Check out the best books for homeschool moms.
I have been homeschooling for a number of years, however, I still want to find books about homeschooling, for my own sanity! Am I still doing things right, or just as a sanity checker. Carry on reading for 12 of my absolute favorites you should read today.
Mr. D Math has only gone and written a book! I don’t hide the fact that we love Mr. D in our homeschool, we have even loved his ASL and economics classes. So when I saw Teach by Dennis Dinoia on Amazon I had to grab a copy.
Kids Books Pinterest Board
Last Updated on 31 May 2023 by homeschoolof1