Zoe Greaves's Reading List

"I am a huge fan of Kiran Millwood Hargrave. Even more so since I was lucky enough to interview her earlier this year . She is an exceptional talent, an original thinker, a quick-witted, warm-hearted, poetic intellectual who writes with searing and yet honest clarity. Every child should read her work. So should the grown-ups. Her latest book, The Way Past Winter , reads like a combination of Ursula Le Guin and Neil Gaiman . This is a writer who just keeps getting better. And she started off pretty damned good. Buy this wintery folk tale for your 10-14 year olds – but make sure you read it too!"

"This is a human and wholly accessible account of World War I . Both hilarious and heartbreaking. Reading it, I felt very much that this is a classic. The pictures it conjured in my head are so vivid, the characters so familiar – I’m convinced this is a book that will be with us for decades. It makes the 100 years between 1918 and 2018 not seem so very far apart."

"The story of Maria Sibylla Merian’s (1647-1717) life blew me away the first time I stumbled upon it. When she was just 13, Merian began her study of butterfly metamorphosis – years before any other scientist had published a description of the process! This is just the beginning of a story that travels from the Netherlands to the wilds of the South American rainforests. It’s a story that will appeal to budding scientists as well as artists. This biography is one to treasure and a book that does justice to a remarkable woman."

"I admire the creative energy of youth. I see the current generation of young people as exceptionally passionate and impressive. I love this book for show-casing over 100 young people – musical talents, environmental activists, engineers, artists and authors, as well as political voices. Your kids will feel that anything is possible and that the world is full of possibility after sitting down with this energetic volume for an afternoon."

"I’ve always loved stargazing but never really felt all that confident. (I’m pretty sure of Orion’s Belt. But not entirely!) This is the books to set things straight – and so much more. It’s a gorgeously illustrated guide, not only to the constellations, planets, comets and northern lights – but also to the science, myths and history of the stars in our universe."

"A fact-filled journey through the oceans with clever paper engineering and beautiful illustrations. This book has such panache – it is a standout, sumptuous feast of book design. Every page makes you sigh and reminds us just how extraordinary the watery depths and its inhabitants are."

"A journey through art history, from early art drawn on cave walls to the images we make today on our computers and phone cameras. It’s told through conversations between artist David Hockney and Martin Gayford, who talk with inspiring simplicity and clarity. I love the lively and thought-provoking chapter titles like: ‘What is a Shadow Exactly?’ and ‘Can Pictures Really Move?’ Sign up here for our newsletter featuring the best children’s and young adult books, as recommended by authors, teachers, librarians and, of course, kids. —Zoe Greaves"

"Oliver Jeffers is an exceptionally brilliant artist and children’s author and illustrator. He has a lovely, playful streak. He is funny and very witty in a soft, gentle kind of way. He can explore quite profound themes, like loneliness, and he’ll play with them and make them less frightening. He uses laughter as a kind of foil to worrying thoughts so he is very comforting to read. I love his artwork and his use of colour—it’s distinctive. I always look out for a new book of his. I get the feeling this is quite a personal book for him. I think he’s just had a baby, and this is his book for his child. If I just describe it, it’s going to sound a bit heavy, but it’s not, because he has this light touch. It’s not a story in the sense of a beginning, middle and end. It’s more a list of of facts about the planet(s). It begins in space, and then we travel towards our planet. The facts he gives are broad and simple – Planet Earth is made up of two parts, the watery bit (the sea), and the rock and dirt bit (the land). My son really enjoyed that level of clarity. Yes, he lists important basic things for people (and children) to remember—to eat, drink and stay warm. It’s absolutely charming. Reading the book together inspired a rush of questions from my son, the most difficult being, ‘Why are animals all different shapes and sizes?’ Which is actually a very difficult question to answer because then you’re into evolution.It is a book that generates curiosity in its readers. It’s a springboard for ideas and creativity. It is also taking a bit of a risk–it doesn’t quite conform to the standard illustrated picture book. It is refreshing to see these rules challenged so skilfully. It is quite a poignant book. It says that sometimes you have to “move slowly here on Earth. More often, though, things move quickly, so use your time well. It’ll be gone before you know it.” It’s enough to bring a lump to your throat, but there’s a beauty to that, and a nice, simple honesty. I found it very impressive. Yes, but it’s not heavy-handed. It’s just led to so many delightful conversations between me and my 4½-year-old. For that, I’m very grateful."

"I have a real weakness for bedtime stories that include an opportunity to yawn. Nothing gets my children to sleep faster and more efficiently than yawning. This is the ultimate yawn book. I had relied on a book called Good Night, Gorilla which is a near-perfect picture book, an utter classic. It’s got some lovely yawn opportunities in it, as well as being a delight. But my son was getting a little bit wise to the ruse and now this one is out. I’m a sucker for colour and this book is just glorious in terms of colour. Look at those glowing colours! My chidren woke up in the morning and immediately got out the brightest pens they possibly could. It’s playful. There are cut-out pages, which we love. It’s just a joy. The mouse is sleepy, yawn, everyone yawns. Then you’ve got the little bear who isn’t sleepy. There’s nothing new here. We know this story structure, we know as parents what’s going to happen, but the pacing is gorgeous. My son was asleep within two minutes of it finishing, which is a very pleasant bonus for a parent. Yes, sometimes the illustrations in children’s books are very detailed, very exquisite. They’re very beautiful, but my daughter says, ‘Oh, I could never do that.’ Whereas these give her a feeling of, ‘Yes, I can have a go at that. I just need loads of bright colours!’ There’s an argument for both. It totally charmed me. I just have a weakness for a yawny book. They’re very funny."

"Yes, there is. I chose this one because it’s just so incredibly funny. The language in it just gets me every time. I don’t know how many times we’ve read this for bedtime since it came out, but it’s a joy, and just beautifully silly. Some words just make me laugh, like a ‘bristly’ beard. It’s about a lumberjack who lives in a forest in a little log cabin. Every morning, he limbers up. My kids now also limber up every morning. Yes, and have a massive breakfast of pancakes. I always like food in a children’s book. Food is very important to children. It’s just a joy to read out loud. “‘Choppity chop,’ went Jim’s axe, echoing through the valley as he fells tree after tree after tree, and we all shout, ‘Timber.’” It gently increases in silliness. You see lovely words: whacking, cleaving, hacking. It’s fun, it’s playful. Now he’s chopped down so much of the forest that various creatures in the forest have nowhere to live. Here we go with the environmental theme. But it has a lovely, playful, joyous ending, and a lovely message to take away from it. The animals come and live in his beard. It’s that perfect silliness. My kids ask for it night after night after night, and I enjoy reading it night after night after night. You can’t lose with that kind of combo."

"I just adore her as a writer. There are a few names that come up in the world of children’s books. It almost feels like a golden age. Katherine Rundell is right up there. I can read her and read her and read her. She has this mastery of language, this light touch—and she’s so funny when she puts her mind to it. It’s just beautiful. She’s got an acrobatic mind, and it’s intoxicating to share use of language like that with your children… I’m trying to find an example. I’ve got a couple of quotes from One Christmas Wish which I hope demonstrate what I mean. One is, “I don’t know how to explain singing. It’s just something that happens, like dancing, or farting.” You know exactly what she means, and it’s slightly unexpected. And funny. Here’s another quote: “She smiled a smile so large, it ruffled the hair around her ears.” I just love that. I don’t know how she does, but she does it with every page. You’re drawn in and in and in. It’s a thoroughly modern Christmas story. It reminded me of The Nutcracker . Christmas decorations come to life and help this little boy who’s a bit lonely, and whose parents are very distracted. They’re always busy, and they’re not sure if they’re going to be back from the office in time to help him. It reminded me a little bit of Oscar Wilde’s fairy tales – but much funnier. The illustrations are charming; I think they’re designed to be reminiscent of a 1950s children’s book. My aunt’s got tons of books that look like this lying around her house, from her childhood. It has this nostalgic feel, which is perfect for modern-day references that are very nicely filled in. It’s really moving. I had a massive lump in my throat towards the end. It’s longer than the average illustrated picture book. I love books that we can all share. So often with an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old someone gets frustrated or feels left out at bedtime. In this book there is plenty to amuse us all—so it’s ideal for reading together as a family."

"Yes, Rosa Parks, Maria Callas, Amelia Earhart. The range is amazing. It’s spectacular. I wish I had had this book when I was a child. In terms of female role models, it’s wonderful. I took this on holiday over the summer and my 14-year old niece was reading it to my 8-year old daughter and they just couldn’t stop. They were sharing the stories, they’d read one to each other and we’d be regaled with facts. ‘Did you know?’ Or ‘This chemist did this and this astrophysicist did that.’ They’re beautifully potted mini biographies, perfectly phrased. The Maria Callas one brings a lump to my throat every time I read it and it’s only two or three paragraphs long. Yes, from around the world, from the last couple of hundred years or even more, right up until the present day. The facts they’ve chosen about these women’s lives and their achievements are just charming. And it’s a different illustrator for each individual. It isn’t preachy or overly political. It’s just a celebration of lives well lived, and a huge variety within it, so there really is something for everyone. My daughter now has at least 10 female role models that she can read more about, find out more about, and be inspired by. But it’s not just a book for girls by a long way. I’ve got my husband flicking through it. It’s a lovely reference book. There’s been a lot about gender neutrality in the press, but I think children genuinely are less sensitive about gender. I used to go into a lot of schools and do reading. 10, 12 years ago, you’d never have got a little boy to pick up a book with a pink cover, because society had so many references to say, ‘Don’t do that.’ Whereas I’ve found that today, they don’t differentiate in that way anymore. It’s more fashionable to not make that judgment."

"A lot of the comparisons in the reviews mention Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , and there is a comparison in that there’s a competition—but there the similarity ends. It’s warmer than Roald Dahl. I love Roald Dahl , but he’s got a delicious cruel streak. This is kind and witty. It’s very cleverly put together. She drops little clues that are then skillfully and effortlessly picked up later in the story. It has a very recognisable structure for a children’s story—which is comforting for a young reader. They know where they are. There are baddies, there are goodies. There’s a simplicity to it. Then the author creates the most complicated bookshop imaginable which she describes brilliantly. It’s very, very funny. I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed throughout it, as did my 8-year old daughter. It’s also rather wise. It imparts good life advice along the way, which comes over as advice from a loving and really rather fun aunt. This standardised structure for a children’s book is so beautifully and imaginatively played with, so beautifully expressed. Yes, she’s found in the lost property when she is five years old and is called Property Jones. That’s the setup. The lady who owns the bookshop and her son keep her. Because they work in a bookshop and live with books, they assume she can read because she’s five, but actually she can’t. Part of the story is about her hiding the fact that she can’t read, but that becomes a mover and shaker in the plot, because she sees things differently. That helps her solve the mystery. It’s subtly brilliant. Because it’s set in a bookshop and, to a certain extent, is about books and words, she plays with language and the meaning of words as well. The meaning of ‘goodbye’ is ‘God be with you,’ which means that you can come back again. This definition is used to satisfying effect in the plot."

"I was talking about a golden age of children’s literature and the author of this book, Kiran Millwood Hargrave, is up there. She started off as a poet. She writes books that feel like they’ve been around forever, and she’s only in her mid-20s. So she’s precociously brilliant. Her books are objects of excellence. This book is for the upper end of the 8 to 12 range, so this is for a really pretty sophisticated 11, 12-year old reader. Yes, the girl is called Ami and her mother has leprosy. They’ve only ever lived on this island. It’s based on Culion Island in the Philippines. In the beginning, Ami is content living on her island. The descriptions of tropical island life, the heat, are exquisitely done. You’re there—the colour, the intensity, a beautifully described relationship between mother and daughter, and the mother with this dreadful illness. Very early on in the book, the island is formalised as a leper colony. The little girl can’t stay with her mother anymore, because she doesn’t have leprosy, so she’s taken away. The story is about her trying to get back to her mother, and it’s full of adventure. There is a poignancy to it. But there’s a joy, as well. It’s never overwhelmingly sad. I do think that children have powerful emotions, especially at this age. They are grappling with sadness, and I think ideas like that are very, very good to confront when they’re confronted with the sophistication that Kiran Millwood Hargrave can bring to it. There are big themes here. It’s adventurous, it’s bold. This background allows Ami, the young heroine, to show her bravery, her independence, her morality. These are things that young readers are allowed to do too, by reading the book. They’re allowed to experience their own bravery. Utterly. I find the writing magical. Every sentence is just full of life. She has this zesty way of writing. It’s about bravery and action and strength. Just to give you a taster, here is one of the sentences that stood out for me: “This is when your heart hardens in your chest, like petals turning into pebbles.” I think you can learn a lot about writing and creative writing through reading her. You’re not really aware of that when you’re reading, you’re lost in the story, but she demonstrates great writing beautifully, which is really important. Yes, she’s got loads in there. Metaphors, similes, everything."

"Yes. Again, this is at the upper end of the age range. It’s really, really hard to choose five books. I felt guilty for leaving certain writers out, so I cheated a little bit and went for a selection of short stories by a range of writers that I admire—Geraldine McCaughrean, Abi Elphinstone, Michelle Magorian, Jamila Gavin, Katherine Woodfine, Piers Torday. It’s a very fine collection. It’s very varied. The Geraldine McCaughrean story is strange and almost pagan and then there’s more playful, elven fantasy. There’s a good range. I also chose it because I think it’s been slightly underrated. Short stories are an underrated genre anyway, but this is a really exceptional collection. Very bold choices, for girls or boys, it doesn’t matter. Also, for children who get overwhelmed by trying to sustain a longer book, a sophisticated short story can be a really good way of building up confidence. By the time they’ve finished it, they’ve read a really long book, even if they feel that they only dipped in and out. That’s quite an important step in reading, if you’re a parent worried about that. I love short stories, because they’re also a great way about learning about the art of creative writing. A short story is a great starting point for a child to take in a whole book. A lot of children do like that, so having some good examples of short stories available round your house is great. H.G. Wells’s short stories are wonderful classics, as are Roald Dahl’s short stories and the ghost stories of M.R. James, which are utterly terrifying. There are similarities in this collection to all of those writers."

"It is. Where to begin? Full marks to the publisher for really taking a risk. David Fickling Books. It’s an independent publisher and really worth looking at. He also produces something called The Phoenix Comic —which is great for all readers but especially if you have a reluctant reader in the family. It gave my nephew the inspiration he needed and he is an avid reader now. All the books they publish are really exciting, and of a very high quality. Because it is—even by the standards of children’s books where there’s no real limit on where you set a story or characters that you create. You can do anything you want. But even by those standards, this book is completely out there. It’s uniquely unusual. It may not be to everyone’s taste…. It’s a little bit like the film of The Wizard of Oz , where real life is black and white, and Oz is technicolour. It also reminded me of another book called The Hounds of the Morrigan , which is two children going on a quest in a sort of fairy tale land. This isn’t a fairytale land, but there are similarities. There are two children who are damaged. The little girl is called Fidge and her father died two years ago in the story—and she hasn’t been able to hug anyone since. Everything’s held inside her. Her cousin has various personality disorders and fears. He has transitional objects and a range of therapists, it seems. These two kids end up on this magical adventure. Fidge’s younger sister has a picture book called The Land of Wimbley Woos , which is a ridiculous book. All bright colours with these silly Wimbley Woo characters, who only speak in rhyme. Everyone knows it by heart because this is the book she asks to be read every night. By going down the stairs of a cellar and because of a huge lightning strike, Fidge and her very unstable cousin end up in the picture book, and this is where you end up in full technicolour. Everything is bright primary colours here. It’s completely bonkers. Their quest and adventure takes place in this children’s book and it is a particularly grating children’s book. Because Lissa Evans is so funny and very, very skillful, she can pull it off. Their reactions to the situations, to the large purple creatures, is absolutely real. It makes it even funnier. I just laughed and laughed and laughed. I think I was actually snorting at one point. It’s a good lesson in facing fears and difficulties in life with laughter. I don’t want to get too heavy on this point, because it’s just a very, very, very funny book. Also, as a parent reading bedtime stories to younger children all the time, I identified with so many of her jokes. She’s gently teasing the genre of over-the-top picture books, with characters that speak only in rhyme. It’s so deftly done, though. It’s unbelievably weird, but, again, I had a lump in my throat at the end. The characters were vividly drawn and I empathised with them completely."