Wales


<p>Fresh from being crowned UK Children&#8217;s Bookseller of the Year at the 2026 British Book Awards (&#8216;The Nibbies&#8217;), Penarth&#8217;s independent <a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Griffin Books</a> is the perfect place to stock up on summer reads for young bookworms. From picture books for little ones to page-turning adventures for older children and teens, its carefully curated shelves are packed with holiday reads to suit every age. To help inspire your little ones&#8217; summer reading list and keep them off their iPads on the sun lounger, we asked owner Mel Griffin to share her top book picks for children and young people.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-under-2s-baby-and-toddler">Under 2s: baby and toddler</h2>



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<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Windows-by-Thomas-Hedger.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Windows by Thomas Hedger</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>This beautiful, robust board book is the perfect bedtime read for babies and toddlers. Children will love peering through the 10 unique die-cut windows and guessing where the little girl’s imagination will take us next.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781917933025?_pos=1&amp;_sid=5b5062b09&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Now-I-See-Summer-by-Mac-Barnett-Jon-Klassen.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Now I See Summer by Mac Barnett &amp; Jon Klassen</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p><em>Now I See Summer</em> is one in a unique quartet of board books that playfully show the changing seasons through a child’s eyes. The house. The tree. The garden. Me.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781529535747?_pos=1&amp;_sid=07e98de71&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-age-3-5-picture-nbsp-books">Age 3-5: picture&nbsp;books</h2>



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<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Monkeypig-by-Huw-Aaron.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Monkeypig by Huw Aaron</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>From a Cardiff-based author, Molly lives in the jungle with all the other monkeys, dancing and playing and being silly among the treetops. But Molly has a secret. Molly is a pig.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9780241684412?_pos=1&amp;_sid=7793dd5bc&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Underpants-for-Ants-by-Russell-Punter.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Underpants for Ants by Russell Punter</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>The ants are feeling a bit chilly – can Mouse help with her knitting skills? With simple rhyming text and phonics repetition specially designed to develop essential language and early reading skills.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781409557449?_pos=1&amp;_sid=8ab6d5a1d&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Where-is-Pierre-by-Emma-Clarke.png" alt="Where is Pierre? by Emma Clarke" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Where is Pierre? by Emma Clarke</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>With one missing penguin and a whole lot of chaos, this hilarious search-and-find adventure will have kids giggling, guessing, and shouting “THERE HE IS!” on every page.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781526687203?_pos=1&amp;_sid=e6381f379&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-age-5-8-younger-readers">Age 5-8: younger readers</h2>



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<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Enchanted-Beach-by-Esther-Freud.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Enchanted Beach by Esther Freud</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>From treasure hunts in spring, summer days spent playing on the beach, flying kites in autumn and walking through buffeting winter storms, the magic of the beach is that it changes with the seasons, and we change with it.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781529533965?_pos=1&amp;_sid=8b6a690f7&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Riley-Wright-is-Always-Wrong-by-Mel-Taylor-Bessent.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Riley Wright is Always Wrong by Mel Taylor-Bessent</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Riley Wright is starting at Heverton Junior School with one awkward disadvantage: her MAJORLY embarrassing dad is the new head teacher.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9780008801670?_pos=1&amp;_sid=e347d260b&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p><p></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Donut-Squad-Make-a-Mess-by-Neill-Cameron.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Donut Squad: Make a Mess! by Neill Cameron</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>The bagels are lying low, and now the Donut Squad are enjoying making their own malarkey. They&#8217;re off camping! And hiding from bears!</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781788453585?_pos=1&amp;_sid=d35fdf074&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-age-9-12-middle-grade">Age 9-12: middle grade</h2>



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<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/You-Vs.-the-Poison-Plot-by-Josh-Hicks-1.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">You Vs. the Poison Plot by Josh Hicks</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Can YOU solve the case? Choose your suspect, choose your next move – choose the story! <em>You Vs the Poison Plot</em> is an interactive adventure story where the reader gets to choose what happens next!</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781529527193?_pos=1&amp;_sid=8dd2f73c5&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/The-Ministry-of-Manners-by-David-Solomons.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Be quiet. Be polite. Or be silenced. Alfie and Margot Hawthorne have grown up under the Ministry of Manners, where politeness isn&#8217;t a choice &#8211; it&#8217;s the law. And one wrong word can change your life.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781835873175?_pos=1&amp;_sid=de1856d4d&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/The-House-with-Chicken-Legs-Runs-Away-by-Sophie-Anderson.png" alt="" aria-hidden="true" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away by Sophie Anderson</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>The equel to the bestselling <em>The House with Chicken Legs</em>. All Marinka&#8217;s life, she has lived in her house with chicken legs. Running across the world on magical adventures, Marinka knows how her house is feeling, and it listens to her, too. But something is wrong. And before anyone can stop it, the house has pulled itself apart and run away.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/the-house-with-chicken-legs-runs-away-pre-order-now-for-09-04-26?_pos=1&amp;_sid=18ba7fade&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-12-teen-and-ya">12+: teen and YA</h2>



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<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Runaway-Road-by-Sue-Divin.png" alt="Runaway Road by Sue Divin" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Runaway Road by Sue Divin</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>A moving story of family and belonging set in contemporary Northern Ireland. Ezra is 16 and no stranger to crossing the line, but this time it&#8217;s really bad &#8211; and there&#8217;s no going back, and he&#8217;ll have to leave behind his sister, Evie.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781035087174?_pos=1&amp;_sid=4985a5027&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/The-Danger-of-Small-Things-by-Caryl-Lewis.png" alt="The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">The Danger of Small Things by Caryl Lewis</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p><em>The Handmaid’s Tale</em> meets <em>How I Live Now</em> in this page-turning dystopian YA, which the author has described as a ‘love letter to her daughter’. In a world where bees are at risk of extinction, one girl fights for her own survival. Imagine a world where honeybees have died out. It’s a patriarchal world where famines are rife.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781398549272?_pos=1&amp;_sid=d3c987269&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



<div class="wp-block-muddy-blocks-giftguide gift"><div class="gift-img"><img decoding="async" class="card__image" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/wales/wp-content/uploads/sites/30/2026/07/Not-for-the-Faint-of-Heart-by-Lex-Croucher.png" alt="Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher" /></div><div class="gift-text"><div class="gift-price"><h2 class="giftguide-title">Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher</h2><div class="giftguide-body"><p>Mariel, a newly blooded captain of the Merry Men, is desperate to live up to the legacy of her grandfather, the legendary Robin Hood. But when things don&#8217;t go to plan, they must prepare to fight for their lives – and for the lives of everybody in the greenwood.</p><p><a href="https://www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk/products/9781526651846?_pos=1&amp;_sid=eadf9b1b5&amp;_ss=r" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BUY NOW</a></p></div></div></div></div>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-time-for-another">TIME FOR ANOTHER?</h2>



<ul>
<li><a href="https://wales.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/drink-dine-wales-al-fresco-hotspots/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hello, sunshine! Instagrammable al fresco hotspots near you</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wales.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/whats-on/best-things-to-do-kids-family-wales-summer/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">School’s out! The best things to do with kids in Wales this summer</a></li>



<li><a href="https://wales.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/manor-houses-historic-homes-wales/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Swap the beach for grandeur: Welsh stately homes to visit this summer</a></li>
</ul>


Screen-free summer! Brilliant reads for the kids of all ages

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