The Summer Reading Challenge is LIVE and there is still plenty of time for children to sign up. There are events happening at all libraries, including storytelling, nature crafts, treasure hunts, theatre shows and wildlife workshops.
This month we asked our East Sussex Children’s Book Award 2025 authors to recommend their favourite children’s books and here’s what they chose…
Tom Vaughan’s recommendations
Tom Vaughan, author of the Hercules series and winner of the 2025 Book Award, has picked:
The Boy in the Suit by James Fox
It’s not easy to fit in when you’re the boy in the suit. Ten-year-old Solo – embarrassingly, that isn’t short for anything – just wants to be normal. He wants a name that doesn’t stand out. He wishes he had a proper school uniform that fitted him. He dreams about a mum who doesn’t get the Big Bad Reds, like his mum Morag. But most of all he longs to stop crashing funerals for the free food. But when Solo and Morag crash the funeral of a celebrity and get caught, the press are there to witness their humiliation. The next day it’s splashed across the papers. Before Solo knows it, he becomes a viral sensation, and life may never be normal again. Solo’s uphill pursuit of security, community and connection will break your heart and then mend it.
Reserve the paperback of The Boy in the Suit
Usborne Greek myths picture book by Rosie Dickins; illustrated by Galia Bernstein
The Greek myths – their Gods and heroes, the monsters they battled and the magical world they lived in – have inspired countless paintings, sculptures and ceramics both by the Ancient Greeks themselves and many artists since. This book uses such artworks to illustrate a concise overview of Ancient Greek mythology.
Reserve the paperback of Usborne Greek myths picture book
Emily-Jane Clarke’s recommendations
Book Award nominee and author of the new Cringe Club series Emily-Jane Clarke has chosen:
Bad influence by Tamsin Winter
Amelia Bright wants to be the best at everything. But when it comes to popularity, she is dead last. No matter what she tries, she can’t shake her reputation as a maggoty nobody. When she meets cute new boy Evan, Amelia wonders if he can help her lose her loser status. And in a moment of hope, she agrees to something she quickly regrets – something that goes viral at school. Now she’s not just called ‘maggot’, she’s a ‘bad influence’ – and worse. But Amelia’s determined not to let one mistake define her – she’s so much more than the image everyone sees online.
Reserve the paperback of Bad Influence
Looking for Emily by Fiona Longmuir
When twelve-year-old Lily moves to the sleepy seaside town of Edge, she’s sure that nothing exciting is ever going to happen to her again. But when she stumbles upon a secret museum hidden in the middle of town, she realises that there might be more to her new home than meets the eye.
Reserve the paperback of Looking for Emily
Finding Phoebe by Gavin Extence
Phoebe is autistic. She prefers to stay in her comfort zone: walking her dog, writing fantasy fiction, surviving school with as few incidents as possible. When her best (and only) friend rebels and gets a secret boyfriend, Phoebe reluctantly agrees to cover for her. Before long, Phoebe’s dealing with all sorts of things she’d rather not, like deception, fashionable jackets, and the bewildering politics of the school chess club. Breaking the rules has never been Phoebe’s thing, but as events take a seriously unexpected turn, she realises there’s more to her than she ever imagined.
Reserve the paperback of Finding Phoebe
Ele Fountain’s recommendations
Ele Fountain, nominated for her surfing action-adventure book ‘Storm Child’, has selected:
October October by Katya Balen
October and her dad live in the woods. They sleep in the house Dad built for them and eat the food they grow in the vegetable patches. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They read the books they buy in town again and again until the pages are soft and yellow – until next year’s town visit. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that’s the way it is. Until the year October turns eleven. That’s the year October rescues a baby owl. It’s the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October’s mother comes back. The year everything changes.
Reserve the paperback of October October
Reserve the eBook (on Libby) of October October
An Anthology of Intriguing Animals by Ben Hoare; illustrated by Daniel Long, Angela Rizza, and Daniela Terrazzini
Alongside interesting facts are the stories and myths behind children’s favourite animals as well as incredible pictures and stunning illustrations. Containing more than 100 species, this beautiful modern bestiary will take children through the animal kingdom from the huge whale to the tiny spider.
Reserve the paperback of An Anthology of Intriguing Animals
