Did you know that more than 50% of kids from the age range of (6-17) read for fun? But, the percentage declines as they grow older. Therefore, fostering such a connection with books at a young age has the power to cement this relationship. It enhances their cognitive ability, which makes it easier for them to navigate the world that surrounds them.

Books help children develop empathy, compassion and open-minded attributes. For me, reading assignments from school always felt tedious, I thought reading books for leisure was something I could not do. But, I remember the day when I picked “Percy Jackson” by Rick Riordan for the first time, and it unlocked a whole new world for me. Reading felt no longer a chore, but rather an enjoyable habit. And so, it is important to make sure that kids read the right selection of books as they play a pivotal role in shaping a child’s mind. Hence, these top book recommendations are carefully curated according to age, genre and style and will ensure that they will surely cherish their reading journey to its fullest.

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

Dr. Seuss

{Would you like to encourage your child to choose their reading materials? Check out this post: That Eureka! Moment When Kids Discover the Joy of Choosing Books}

Age-Appropriate Books for Ages 1 to 3

These books are catered towards infants and toddlers and are made out of durable paperboard that allows young children to handle them without readily ruining the pages. They consist of eye-catching colours, with simplistic designs and illustrations that are recognizable to the toddler, with big bold basic text.

Few Recommendations: 

• “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle. The book, through the tale of a caterpillar, tells kids the importance of healthy foods and the need to avoid junk food from their eating habits. 
• “Goodnight Moon” by Margaret Wise Brown. Importance of sleeping on time/ creating a night-time routine. 
• “Giraffes can’t dance” by Giles Andreae. Accepting everyone is different and everyone has unique qualities.
• “Peek-A–Who?” by Nina Laden. Pop-up and interactive book that reveals fun surprises after each page. 

{Help your child to build a habit of reading books}

Age-Appropriate Books for Ages 3 to 5

These books are heavily reliant on the use of pictures, drawings and illustrations to convey the message/ theme.

Few Recommendations:

• “The Jungle Radio: Bird Songs of India” by Devangana Dash. Introducing kids to the diversity of birds of India. 
• “The Gruffalo”, “Room on a Broom” & “Monkey Puzzle”  by Julia Donaldson.
• “We’re All Wonders” by R.J. Palacio. An unforgettable story about an autistic kid, Auggie, in a bestseller novel and movie reimagined in the form of a picture book. 

{Check out this post for more recommendations – Top 10 Indian books for Indian kids}

Age-Appropriate Books for Ages 5 to 8

These books have simple sentence structures and vocabulary and can be a great opportunity to boost a kid’s reading confidence. They consist of large fonts and illustrations and can help the child read independently for the first time.

Few Recommendations: Penguin Young Readers 

• “Clara and Clem in Outer Space” by Ethan Long. Story about Clara and Chems adventure in space, as they built a robot out of playing blocks. 
• “Monster Next Door “ by  LadyBird. George and Monster swap families for a day, what could go wrong? 
• “The Bookstore Burglar” by Barbara Maitland. The keys to Black Cat Bookstore are missing, the clever cat Cobweb is on the case to solve this mystery. 
• “The Wizard of Oz” by Richard Johnson and LadyBird. The classic tale of a young girl named Dorthy and she finds herself in the magical world of Oz.

{Here’s another list of Top 10 Indian books for kids around the world}

Age-Appropriate Books for ages 7 to 10

These books have a more complex plot structure but still have small chapters. These stories are easy and quick to read and understand, and usually follow a young protagonist who faces relatable and age-appropriate issues. In chapter books, children can now read “Stand-alone’ and “Series” as well. Stand-alone books as from the name “stand” and “alone” share the complete story under one book.

• “The Secret Seven“ series by Enid Blyton. This book follows a group of child detectives and they work together to solve the town mysteries. 
• “The Blue Umbrella” book by Ruskin Bond. Heartwarming tale, set in the author’s hometown in India about a young girl’s prized possession; a silk blue umbrella. 
• “Charlotte’s Web” by E.B. White. The story is about the friendship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider.

{Do you want to encourage your child to become a writer? Here’s a list of 14 Writing Courses for Kids in India}

Age-Appropriate Books for ages 10 to 13

These books usually follow a protagonist of the ages 10 -13 and have longer narratives with more nuanced characters. Their word count can range anywhere from (30,000 to 50,000) words and the stories are often narrated in the third-person perspective. Most of these books revolve around the central themes of family, friends and growing up but also the fantasy genre is extremely popular around this age group as well.

Few Recommendations: 

• “Percy Jackson Series” by Rick Riordan. The book follows the protagonist, Percy- a demigod, who is challenged to stay alive as a half-mortal and half-greek god. 
• “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio: This book tells the story of Auggie Pullman, a fifth-grader with facial deformities, as he navigates the challenges of fitting in at a new school.
• “The Series of Unfortunate Events” by Daniel Handler. The book is about the hard and unfortunate lives of the orphan Baudelaire siblings, as the evil Count Olof tries to take away their inheritance.

Age-Appropriate Books for ages 13 to 18

These books are targeted towards teenagers and follow a teen protagonist. Many of them also address real-world issues with central themes such as identity and relationships, and one of the most popular genres is “coming of age” stories. Popular YA books also turn into movie and show adaptations and have huge fan bases amongst teens. These books encourage and empower teens to read for pleasure and enjoyment.

Few Recommendations: 

• YA coming of age:
  “Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky. is an epistolary novel, where the narrator is a young introverted boy called Charlie. The story revolves around a series of letters written by Charlie to an anonymous person mentioning his experiences.
• YA fiction:
  “The Book Thief”  by Markus Zusak is a book about a girl during World War II in Nazi Germany whose story is told from the perspective of death.
• “The Hate U Give”  by Angie Thomas. It is the story of 16-year-old Starr, and how her life comes crashing down when her closest friend is shot at the hands of the police. 
• YA romance:
  “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” by Benjamin Sáenz follows two teenagers and shows their blossoming friendship, and their struggles with racial and ethnic identity, sexuality, and family relationships.
• YA thriller/ mystery:
  “The Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” by Holly Jackson. This book follows a high school student Pip, who wants to relook at a suspicious murder case from a decade ago. 
• YA sci-fi:
  “Scythe” by Neal Shusterman. In this book, two teens must learn the “art of killing” as they are part of a world where disease has been eliminated, the only way to die is to be randomly killed by professional reapers (“scythes”).
• YA non-fiction:
  “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank.  This book is the personal diary of a teen author, Anne Frank, maintained by her during her hiding in the ‘secret annexe’ at the time of Hitler’s anti-semitic regime.

See any of your own favourites? Or do you have suggestions? Share them with us and the audience in the comments.