Zoe Greaves's Top Book Recommendations

Zoe GreavesAs 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesThe 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesA 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesRosa 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... (Source)

Zoe GreavesThere is just a whiff, just the merest whiff, of The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in this book. And that is never a bad thing in a book. It’s a wild, funny and impossible adventure – just the sort of crazy ride that is perfect to sink into. (Source)

Zoe GreavesThis story is about a friendship that extends even into the afterworld. It’s powerful stuff, it’s moving and it’s very funny – and, of course, it defies every expectation quite brilliantly. (Source)

Zoe GreavesKevin Crossley-Holland is one of our finest writers and an absolute master storyteller. There is a subtle difference! In these fifty retellings Crossley-Holland gathers all his remarkable historical knowledge and his refined skills as a wordsmith together. Expect eerie and uplifting, dark and witty, poetic and earthy – the contradictions necessary to give ancient tales new life. My advice: order... (Source)

Zoe GreavesI 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... (Source)

Zoe GreavesA 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesA 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesIt’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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesI 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesThe 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... (Source)

Zoe GreavesRundell has this mastery of language, this light touch—and she’s so funny when she puts her mind to it. It’s just beautiful. (Source)

Zoe GreavesI 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. (Source)

Zoe GreavesMy son was asleep within two minutes of it finishing, which is a very pleasant bonus for a parent. (Source)

Zoe GreavesOliver Jeffers is an exceptionally brilliant artist and children’s author and illustrator. He has a lovely, playful streak. (Source)

Zoe GreavesThe illustrations are utterly breathtaking. Jackie Morris is an illustrator that I just find astonishing—she’s got to be one of the most brilliant artists working in children’s books at the moment. (Source)

Rachel HickmanA captivating novel set on a tropical island that is used as a leper colony. (Source)

Zoe GreavesAuthor Kiran Millwood Hargrave, 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. (Source)

Simon Smith@fod3 @Braunteaches It made me cry. Fantastic book. (Source)

Zoe GreavesThis 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. (Source)