The best books for children and young people

Who doesn't remember their own childhood, the stories that were read to them at bedtime? Sometimes these memories are missing, either because no one read them to us or the early years have simply been forgotten. A little melancholy resonates with this missing memory and perhaps also the desire not to let it get that far with your own children or those who grow up in your own circle of life.

Children grow up, preferences and interests change, and so do books. Soon they want to try reading for themselves, to read stories on their own. Books contain new worlds, provide insights into other lives and lifestyles. Perhaps you would like to help open a door to this world and give a book as a gift, but which book is suitable for which age?

Books by age category

Books can be roughly divided into four age categories, which could be subdivided several times and also sorted by topic. The basic criteria for age-appropriate books are listed here:

• 2 to 5 years

In these early years, picture books and read-aloud books are particularly suitable. The picture books tend to have little text, the read-aloud books are also manageable in size and range between 50 and 80 pages, as longer stories tend to strain the receptiveness and stamina of young children.

• 6 to 10 years

This is where first readers and children's novels come into play. The number of pages increases with reading ability, ranging from 3 to 4 pages in the first grade to 10 to 15 in the second and third grades and up to 100 to 200 pages.

You can learn a lot from children's books for your own life, even if it's just a warm heart.

• 10 to 14 years

The novels are becoming more extensive, the themes more complex.

• 14 + years

From the age of 14, we move into the area of young adult novels and later also «Young Adults». These books often contain themes that are adapted to the current phase of the reader's life, dealing with their problems and challenges.

These are all guidelines and the boundaries are always fluid. After all, picture books are always wonderful to look at, even for adults, and children's books can also teach us a lot about our own lives, even if it's just a warm heart.

Classics

The book market is more active than ever before, with floods of new releases arriving in bookshops every month, waiting for their reading public. Nevertheless, there are a few classics that have managed to reach the hearts of their readers over the years and decades and whose message is still relevant even after a long time. Here are some book tips for the individual categories:

Picture and reading books (2 to 5 years)

• Sven Nordqvist: Pettersson and Findus. How Findus came to Pettersson. Pettersson and Findus, the cat with the green-striped dungarees, make a good team and have many an adventure together. But how did it all begin? How did Findus get to Pettersson? Findus was literally a gift.

• Axel Scheffler: The Gruffalo. Because life in the forest is dangerous for a little mouse, he quickly invents a big friend, Grüffelo, who keeps all the dangers at bay, preferring to eat the animals that want to get at the little mouse. The little mouse is astonished when Grüffelo suddenly appears in front of her - hadn't she just made him up?

• Marcus Pfister: The rainbow fish. The rainbow fish is beautiful with its iridescent scales, the other fish admire it and would also like to have one of its scales. But the rainbow fish doesn't want to share and so everyone gradually turns away from him. He becomes sad. Only on the good advice of the octopus does he start to give away his scales and realises that life is much nicer together than alone.
• Eric Carle: The little hungry caterpillar. The hungry little caterpillar eats its way through the most delicious things day after day until it is finally full and ready to build itself a cocoon to become a butterfly.

First readers and children's novels (6 to 10 years)

• Astrid Lindgren: Michel from Lönneberga. Lönneberga would be a quiet and tranquil little town if it weren't for Michel with his mischief and nonsense in his head. At least he never gets bored.
• Erich Kästner: Emil and the detectives. When all of Erich's money is stolen on a train journey, he has to take action. He quickly makes friends who help him put the villain behind bars.
• Michael Ende: Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver. Jim Knopf finds friends in Luke and the locomotive Emma. He wants to become a train driver like Luke. When the island of Lummerland, where they live, becomes too small for them all, they leave Lummerland and go on an adventurous journey together.

• Johanna Spyri: Heidi. After the death of her mother, Heidi lives with her grandfather in the Alps until her aunt takes her to the big city, where she is supposed to live on as a friend for the paralysed Klara. What is initially a great adventure becomes increasingly depressing as Heidi is plagued by homesickness and longing for her grandfather and her friend, Geissenpeter.
• Roald Dahl: Matilda. Matilda is a special, clever, book-loving and adventurous girl with a big heart who feels unfairly treated by many adults. When her worst enemy targets the only teacher who sees and supports Matilda with all her abilities, Matilda has to intervene, because she always stands up for her friends relentlessly, not only with the usual methods, but also with magic powers.

Children's and youth books (10 to 14 years)

• Astrid Lindgren: Ronja the robber's daughter. Ronja grows up as the daughter of the robber chief and knows nothing better than roaming through the woods and training her own courage. When she meets Birk, the situation becomes difficult because he is the son of the leader of the enemy band of robbers. At first they meet in secret, but when faced with a choice, the two young friends decide to live their lives together away from their own robber families.
• Michael Ende: Momo. Momo lives in an old ruin with nothing but what others have given her. She doesn't care much about things, her most important possessions are time and compassion. With these she can also make the world a more pleasant place for other people.

• J. K. Rowling: Harry Potter. Of course, Harry Potter, the boy with the magic powers who goes to Hogwarts to learn how to live his life courageously and confidently as a wizard, should not be missing from this list.
• Erich Kästner: The double Lottchen. Luise Palfy and Lotte Körner meet at a holiday camp and are amazed: they look the same. That can't be a coincidence. The two set out to find out the secret.
• Enid Blyton: Hanni and Nanni. Hanni and Nanni have to go to boarding school against their will, but they have no intention of fitting in. But even though they think up lots of pranks to show their unwillingness, you can always count on them as friends.

Books for young people and young adults (14+ years)

• Jostein Gaardner: Sofie's world. Sofie receives a letter from an unknown sender shortly before her 15th birthday. It contains the big philosophical questions of this world. She also finds envelopes with philosophy courses in the letterbox. As if that wasn't enough, one day there are also letters to another girl, Hilde, in the box. The strangest thing about it: after some research, Sofie discovers that Hilde looks just like her. An exciting journey through the history of philosophy and a mysterious story about what is behind it all.

• Anne Frank: Diary. The diary entries of Anne Frank from her hiding place during the Second World War. Thoughts on the time, the events, her own life and her own dreams.
• J. R. R. Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings. The fantastic story of a long journey by nine companions who want to find an ancient ring that makes its wearer invisible and gives him power over others.

Recent phenomena

Picture and reading books (2 to 5 years)

• Julia Volmert: You are one of us. The little bear is always laughed at by a magpie because of his red knobbly nose. Afraid that other animals might do the same to him, he tries to hide and meets a squirrel who has had the same experience. Together they think about how to disguise his nose, but then the little bear realises that his playmates don't mind at all because: Everyone is allowed to be different and still belongs.
• Kathryn Cave, Christ Riddell: Somehow different. Somehow Different is different from the others. That's why he lives all alone far away on a mountain. One day, something strange appears on his doorstep that looks completely different from him and yet claims to be like him.

• Ole & Paul: Unfair. Milo has to tidy his room while everyone else enjoys their lives. He thinks this is unfair and complains loudly. Only the sleeping sheep can make him realise that the others are also struggling with unfair things, but that in the end it all comes down to something that Milo has a lot of.

First readers and children's novels (6 to 10 years)

• Torben Kuhlmann: Mole Town. On a once peaceful meadow with a molehill, more and more mounds appear, turning the idyll into a noisy and densely populated world. When everything is finally grey and barren, the moles remember that it is important to protect green meadows if they want to continue living peacefully.
• Hubert Flattinger, Petra Hartlieb: Excitement in the henhouse. The twins Martha and Mischa stumble into a new case: when their dog growls at an egg seller, they take a closer look and suspect discrepancies behind his promises of happy chickens. They quickly round up their friends, the «Magnificent Seven», and start investigating.

• Anne Freytag: Seen from the moon, none of this matters. Sally's world was just fine a moment ago, but then suddenly everyone who was important to her is gone. On top of that, a stupid pandemic makes life twice as difficult. Not only is she now locked up in the flat with her mum and three siblings, but now Leni, who is very different to Sally, is also moving in with them. This can only go wrong. Or can it?

Children's and youth books (10 to 14 years)

• Cornelia Funke: Inkheart. Meggie and her father live a tranquil life until they suddenly receive a visit from a mysterious guest who warns them about a man called Capricorn. They travel to Meggie's aunt's house the very next day and hide the book «Inkheart», which Capricorn is after. What secret is hidden in the book? And what danger does Capricorn pose?

• Markus Zusak: The book thief. Liesel stays with Hans and Rosa Hubermann during the first years of the war. Little Liesel's rather monotonous life suddenly becomes more colourful when she starts stealing. First just a book, then food and then the heart of her foster family, and later the heart of Death. What will he want from her?

Books for young people and young adults (14+ years)

• David Levithan: Ultimately, the universe doesn't care about us. A is not like other people. He wakes up every morning as a different person in a different life. A has learnt to deal with this, has learnt not to get too attached to anything or anyone. But then A falls in love.

• Wolfgang Herrendorf: Tschick. Maik, the son of a better-off family, and Tschick, from a socially disadvantaged family, set off on a journey across Germany in a stolen car with no destination or direction. The story of a growing friendship and a not entirely unproblematic journey.
• Karen McManus: You will be the Death of Me. Three former friends have lost sight of each other until they meet again by chance and decide to rekindle their friendship. On an outing together, they stumble across a crime scene and the dead man is no stranger. Was it really a coincidence? And which of them is connected to the crime and how?