This summer has been a summer of books for us. A couple of beach weeks, then weeks and weeks of lazy reading, swimming and more reading. The kids especially have been enjoying their christmas books.

Finding books that I think my kids would enjoy is not easy though. My daughter – an average reader for her nearly 10 years is not interested in those girly pre-teen books about giggling school girls – instead she enjoys fantasy and make believe, and lots of silly naughty books.

Meanwhile my 7 year old son is quite the precocious speed reader and has a vast range of books he loves. Lots of adventure, some fantasy and of course silly fun.

Here is my list of books for 7-10 year olds – you won’t find any angst ridden pre-teen books on this list though – its all about fantasy and silliness.

1. Diary of a wimpy kid by Jeff Kinney – has been a favourite of both kids – so side splittingly funny and un-putdownable – with lots of late night reading and then reading aloud at the table so everyone can share the jokes. Its very visual – a so good for slow readers – and even though the main character is a boy – it has universal appeal. This is the most angst ridden of all the books the kids are into – but without that ‘seriousness’ and that saves it.

2. The trilogy of bum books by Andy Griffiths – I know how dreadful – but serously these books are apparently hilarious – everyone loves a good fart and bum joke (in America the title of these has been changed from bum to butt). My 7 year old boy loves LOVES these books – bad taste or not – they are perfect for this age group.

3. Continuing on the Andy Griffiths theme – we love this author – he really hits the nail on the head when it comes to early readers. His Just series – Just shocking, Just tricking, Just annoying etc contain short stories all about this one practical joking kid – the books are written using a variety of styles – cartoons, lists, choose your own adventure etc – so really mix it up – especially good for reluctant readers – but also for kids who like a bit of joking around.

4. Really we can’t get enough of Andy Griffiths – and his latest book was on our kids christmas list – The bad book - this is a such an easy read and the kids swallowed it whole in a day, then spent the next 3 weeks reading aloud various funny and silly bits to anyone and everyone who would listen.

5. Lovely old Enid Blyton is a firm favourite – not the mystery series though – our kids find them just a bit too serious and can’t quite get transported to another world – not like the Faraway tree series or the wishing chair series, where they are so entranced by the magical characters and mysterious lands. A must have for both boys and girls.

6. Pippi Longstocking – is amazing character – strong independent, funny and smart. With superhuman strength, a chest of gold, her own house with her horse living with her, and not going to school – instead she has adventures with two plain children who live next door and who are entranced with this incredible girl. My kids were also entranced – both of them – the main character is a strong female role model – but boys will also love the adventures she gets up to.

7. The Spiderwick Chronicles – We fell in love with the movie before we read the books – (we haven’t yet read the second series – beyond spiderwick). My 7 year old boy is the main one who loved this series – although he didn’t want to read it at night because it was a bit scary.

8. We still go back to Roald Dahl time after time. James and the Giant Peach,the BFG, The fantastic Mr Fox and Georges marvelous medicine are just a couple of our favourites – certainly the ones that the kids enjoy to read by themselves.

9. Paul Jennings in another author that has just the right amount of grossness, silliness and adventure to keep our kids interested. We have some of his collected stories – including Weirdest, Trickiest and Funniest stories ever. These are short stories and are also a joy for adults to read aloud – we took them camping one year and while I read aloud to the kids in the heat of the day I always had a gaggle of interested kids sitting around listening.

10. The captain underpants series is also a long time favourite – again lots of poo and bum jokes, naughty boys doing silly things, and a very unlikely hero – whats not to love.