Devon

<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="867" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_Adventuremice_authorphotop.jpg" alt="Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve" class="wp-image-77764" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_Adventuremice_authorphotop.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_Adventuremice_authorphotop-800x694.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_Adventuremice_authorphotop-768x666.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



Worried about kids falling behind with their reading over the long summer hols? We just heard that Devon&#8217;s <a href="https://www.librariesunlimited.org.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Libraries Unlimited</a> have just launched something called the <a href="https://www.librariesunlimited.org.uk/summer-book-quest-launches-12th-july/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Summer Book Quest</a>, intended as a fun way of encouraging children to borrow and read as many books as possible over the holidays. As their new patrons are the award-wining Devon authors Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) and Sarah McIntyre, we thought who better to ask for tips? Especially as the pair are both passionate about encouraging kids to read for pleasure. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="940" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/Adventuremice_6covers.jpg" alt="Adventuremice " class="wp-image-77772" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/Adventuremice_6covers.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/Adventuremice_6covers-800x752.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/Adventuremice_6covers-768x722.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



The talented duo have been working together for the past twelve years to create books such as Oliver and the Seawigs, Pugs of the Frozen North, and The Legend of Kevin (about a winged Dartmoor pony!). They dream up the stories together, then Philip writes (most of) the words and Sarah draws the pictures. They&#8217;re currently at work on the eighth title in the best-selling Adventuremice series. Do check out <a href="http://adventuremice.com">adventuremice.com</a> too &#8211; it&#8217;s full of fun free activities. 



Over to the experts!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-you-get-kids-to-read-through-the-summer-hols-without-it-seeming-like-a-chore">How do you get kids to read through the summer hols without it seeming like a chore?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1129" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/max-goncharov-E77RZ6HJ0i8-unsplash.jpg" alt="children reading outdoors " class="wp-image-77775" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/max-goncharov-E77RZ6HJ0i8-unsplash.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/max-goncharov-E77RZ6HJ0i8-unsplash-800x602.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/max-goncharov-E77RZ6HJ0i8-unsplash-1000x753.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/max-goncharov-E77RZ6HJ0i8-unsplash-768x578.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



PR: Comics are reading &#8211; in my day we used to get a fun-packed bumper summer special of the Beano or similar, kids nowadays might prefer a subscription to The Phoenix, or one of Jamie Smart’s brilliant Bunny vs Monkey books. 



SM: It&#8217;s good for children to see grownups loving to read books, and see that it&#8217;s not a babyish activity that they&#8217;ll put away when they grow up. Maybe try drawing one of the characters from their books with them. It doesn&#8217;t matter if it&#8217;s a good drawing, just that it&#8217;s cosy time spent together, thinking about some part of what you&#8217;ve read.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-about-the-dreaded-screens-ban-or-live-with-them">What about the dreaded screens &#8211; ban or live with them?</h2>



SM: I&#8217;m torn on this one, I think perhaps children could benefit from some careful activity on screens with an adult present and taking part. But I don&#8217;t think children ought to be left online unattended, it leaves them open to all sorts of bullying and abuse.



PR: I’d be tempted to say ban them! I guess reading a book on a Kindle or tablet is fine, but the kind of short-form content that fills social media is pretty much the opposite of reading. Of course, in the real world, you’re pretty much forced to live with them, so I’m not sure what the solution is.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-about-audio-books">How about audio books?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="980" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_reading_mouse.jpg" alt="Adventuremice audio book " class="wp-image-77766" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_reading_mouse.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_reading_mouse-800x784.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/ReeveMcIntyre_reading_mouse-768x753.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



PR: Audio books are great for long car journeys. We should take the chance here to give a shout-out to Devon’s own Barnaby Edwards, who reads our Adventuremice audiobooks as well as most of my solo novels &#8211; he does such a good job. The only drawback with audiobooks is that you don’t get to see the pictures, unless you have a physical copy of the book too…



SM: Yes, yay, Barnaby! When I was a kid, I used to read books along with a record, and I&#8217;m sure it helped me start working out the words at an early age. I love to think of children listening to the audiobook while they read along with the illustrated book. You can get lots of audiobooks for free with a library card via the <a href="https://www.borrowbox.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BorrowBox app</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-any-types-of-books-especially-good-for-reluctant-readers">Any types of books especially good for reluctant readers?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1088" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/annie-spratt-O1TNdLNvJLM-unsplash.jpg" alt="pile of children's picture books " class="wp-image-77777" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/annie-spratt-O1TNdLNvJLM-unsplash.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/annie-spratt-O1TNdLNvJLM-unsplash-800x580.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/annie-spratt-O1TNdLNvJLM-unsplash-1000x725.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/annie-spratt-O1TNdLNvJLM-unsplash-768x557.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



SM: Books with pictures! We have brilliant illustrators in the UK, such as Kate Hindley, Nadia Shireen and Martin Brown. And those books with the cross-sections of buildings and machinery, I need to do a deep dive back into those books, they&#8217;re brilliant.



PR: Again I’d say comics, or find a book relating to a subject that interests them &#8211; it doesn’t have to be a story, lots of kids would be happier reading a non-fiction book about tractors or dinosaurs or whatever they happen to be into.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-to-say-to-a-child-who-says-they-don-t-like-reading">What to say to a child who says they don&#8217;t like reading?</h2>



PR: I think you just have to accept it. You can’t force them to enjoy reading. Just make sure they have access to plenty of books, and read to them. Hopefully they’ll find one they like eventually, and that will lead them to read more. (And if they don’t, it’s not the end of the world.)



SM: Just keep reading yourself. If your child sees you always reading your phone, and never a book, they&#8217;ll assume that&#8217;s what adults do. Leave books that you&#8217;ve read around for them to find; a lot of the books I enjoyed when I was younger were slightly too old for me, but I gleaned what I could out of them and enjoyed feeling grownup.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-good-to-set-reading-goals-or-can-that-backfire">Is it good to set reading goals or can that backfire?</h2>



PR: I think that depends very much on the child &#8211; some will respond well to that sort of thing, but for others it might turn reading into a chore. That’s why the Summer Book Quest is great because it is relaxed about goals, you don’t have to read six books, just log whenever you read for ten minutes or more, and it has lots of other fun challenges like telling a librarian a fun fact you found in a book.



SM: I agree, it depends on the child. I loved reading but my sister hated it and my parents tried to bribe her by paying her a little money for every page she read. It didn&#8217;t really work, but when she got into her late twenties, she discovered reading and now gives me book recommendations!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-can-libraries-unlimited-help-encourage-young-readers">How can Libraries Unlimited help encourage young readers?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest.png" alt="Libraries Unlimited Summer Bookquest" class="wp-image-77768" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest.png 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest-800x800.png 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest-400x400.png 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest-768x768.png 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/libraries-summerbookquest-500x500.png 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



PR: There are all sorts of events and activities, but mainly it’s just about providing a good range of books for all ages, for free. If you read to your child every bedtime (which I’d highly recommend, because it’s the best way to end the day) then you’re going to get through an enormous number of books! Start taking kids to the library when they’re toddlers and let them help choose a pile of picture books to bring home.



SM: Sometimes it can be a little scary for kids, trying to pick something to read from a big rack of books. Pick out a bunch of books you think they like to take home, but also look for story sessions, when they might hear a book read aloud, and then take that book home as an already familiar story. That&#8217;s one of the reasons we created the Adventuremice books with their reassuring matching spines: once a child discovers one of the books, they feel more comfortable picking up more in the series.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-name-some-favourite-books-that-are-good-for-different-age-groups">Name some favourite books that are good for different age groups?</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1435" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/gordon.jpeg" alt="Gordon the Meanest Goose on Earth by Alex Latimer " class="wp-image-77769" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/gordon.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/gordon-557x800.jpeg 557w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/gordon-697x1000.jpeg 697w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/gordon-768x1102.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



PR: There are so many new books coming out all the time that it’s hard to keep track &#8211; that’s one reason why libraries and librarians are important. Some of my recent favourites for (roughly) 7-10 year olds would be Gordon, the Meanest Goose on Earth by Alex Latimer, Badgers Are Go by Susannah Lloyd, and Nell and the Cave Bear by Martin Brown.



If you’re reading aloud to children, Julia Donaldson’s rhyming picture books are very good (The Snail and the Whale was a favourite in my house) and for tiny children I always recommend Owl Babies by Marin Waddell (illustrated by Patrick Benson). When they get older, you don’t have to stick to children’s books &#8211; when my son was 9 or 10 we read The Lord of the Rings, David Copperfield, Watership Down, and PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves stories went down surprisingly well!



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1017" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/hilda-books.jpeg" alt="Hildas books by Luke Pearson " class="wp-image-77771" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/hilda-books.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/hilda-books-787x800.jpeg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/hilda-books-983x1000.jpeg 983w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/hilda-books-768x781.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



SM: I love Nick Butterworth&#8217;s Percy the Park Keeper picture books and Stories Jesus Told for young children. For comics, I love Luke Pearson&#8217;s Hilda books, and Jamie Smart&#8217;s Bunny vs Monkey books are a huge hit. (We started out making comics together for the same publisher, and it&#8217;s great at last to see his work so popular.) I grew up reading collections of Calvin &amp; Hobbes comic strip by Bill Watterson and those books are still some of my favourites. Be aware that not all comics are age appropriate, some are very adult and graphic in nature, but librarians will know where to shelve them so you know what&#8217;s for children.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tips-for-reading-aloud-for-parents-who-hate-doing-silly-voices">Tips for reading aloud for parents who hate doing silly voices!</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/vitaly-gariev-fQ-Hp3waO1A-unsplash.jpg" alt="parent reading to child in a play tent " class="wp-image-77784" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/vitaly-gariev-fQ-Hp3waO1A-unsplash.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/vitaly-gariev-fQ-Hp3waO1A-unsplash-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/vitaly-gariev-fQ-Hp3waO1A-unsplash-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/devon/wp-content/uploads/sites/14/2025/07/vitaly-gariev-fQ-Hp3waO1A-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



PR: You don’t need to do voices if you don’t want to. A well-written book will distinguish the different characters without that (although doing voices can be fun, too!). And don’t skip the pictures! Sarah and I have found that if we include a double-page spread without any words on, adult readers often just turn over looking for the next bit to read, but pictures need reading too &#8211; encourage your child to look at them with you and work out what’s going on, and explore all the little background details and extra jokes that the illustrator may have included.



SM: Yes, books are a great way to have a conversation with a child when you don&#8217;t really know what to talk about! You can read the book, but like Philip said, you can also ask your child questions about what&#8217;s going on, or challenge them to find details. Children love telling you what&#8217;s happening, and explaining things to you that they enjoy, or have figured out. And sometimes they simply love the warmth of being held and listening while you share a story. It&#8217;s a way to spend time with them that they&#8217;ll always remember. Hopefully they&#8217;ll be able to keep a few of their favourite books and share them with other children when they grow up.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-want-more-ideas-for-kids-read-these">WANT MORE IDEAS FOR KIDS? READ THESE</h2>



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