The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled.
chev_right_small instagram twitter youtube tiktok threads plus alert_in_circle basket basket_full chev_down chev_right cir_eye cir_pencil cir_puzzle c_scissors cross pencil message linkedin linked youtube link look paypal p_discover p_maestro p_mastercard p_paypal p_visa search secure sq_book sq_earphones sq_eye sq_message sq_pencil sq_play play sq_search star tick user user_in_circle wishlist zoom_big zoom_in zoom_out nav play_video download mail balance edit peeko
Skip to Content

On this website you can browse and buy Usborne books in English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Dutch, Korean and Brazilian Portuguese.

In the UK and certain countries in Europe, you can buy directly from Usborne or from an Independent Usborne Partner. In the USA you can buy books via links to Usborne Books & More, the website of our US distributors.

Elsewhere in the world we provide links to local online retailers who will fulfil and deliver your order. Please check the retailer’s delivery destinations to make sure they deliver where you are.

In China, you can buy Usborne books in English and in Chinese (simplified characters) via online and offline retailers.

Welcome to

This event ends in
D:
H:
M:
S
Toggle Nav
Irresistible books for curious kids
  • Books
    • Browse by Age
      • 0 - 3 years
        • Viewing 0 - 3 years
        • 0+ months
        • 3+ months
        • 6+ months
        • 12+ months
        • 18+ months
        • 2+ years
        • 0 - 3 years
      • 3 - 5 years
      • 5 - 7 years
      • 7 - 11 years
      • 11 - 13 years
      • 13 years+
      • Browse by Age
    • Browse by Category
      • Summer Shop
      • Starting school
      • Activity books
        • Viewing Activity books
        • Colouring books
        • Drawing and doodling
        • Puzzles and quizzes
        • Sticker books
          • Viewing Sticker books
          • Sticker Dolly Dressing
          • Sticker books
        • Wipe-clean books
        • Rub-down transfer books
        • Write-in activity books
        • Activity books
      • History
        • Viewing History
        • Ancient Egypt
        • Ancient Greece
        • Ancient Rome
        • Art history
        • British history
        • Famous people and explorers
        • Knights and castles
        • Prehistoric times
        • Vikings
        • World wars
        • History
      • Science and technology
        • Viewing Science and technology
        • Space
        • Computers and coding
        • Human body
        • Science dictionaries
        • Technology and inventions
        • Transport and vehicles
        • Science and technology
      • Dinosaurs
      • Baby books
        • Viewing Baby books
        • Christmas books for babies
        • Board books
        • Cloth and fold-out books
        • Baby novelty books
        • THAT'S NOT MY®
          • Viewing THAT'S NOT MY®
          • Christmas
          • Fantasy
          • Farm animals
          • Wild animals
          • Pets
          • Vehicles
          • THAT'S NOT MY®
        • Baby books
      • Early years
        • Viewing Early years
        • Going to school
        • First skills
          • Viewing First skills
          • Learning to write
          • Numbers and first sums
          • Letters, shapes and colours
          • First skills
        • Phonics and learning to read
        • Nursery rhymes
        • Word books
        • Growing up and first experiences
        • Early years
      • English
        • Viewing English
        • Creative writing
        • Dictionaries
        • English
      • Fiction
        • Viewing Fiction
        • Animal stories
        • Classic stories
        • Fairy tales
        • Funny stories
        • Graphic novels
        • Story collections
        • Fiction
      • Foreign languages
      • Geography and environment
        • Viewing Geography and environment
        • Earth and the environment
        • Seas and oceans
        • Weather and climate
        • Activism
        • Geography and environment
      • Growing up and mental health
        • Viewing Growing up and mental health
        • Mental health and feelings
        • Relationships and Sex Education
        • Growing up and mental health
      • Hobbies and interests
        • Viewing Hobbies and interests
        • Art and crafts
        • Chess
        • Cooking and food
        • Fashion
        • General knowledge
        • Music
        • Nature and outdoors
        • Religions
        • Sports
        • Hobbies and interests
      • Libros en Español
      • Lift-the-flap books
      • Maths
        • Viewing Maths
        • Maths dictionaries
        • Puzzles and activities
        • Telling the time
        • Times tables
        • Maths
      • Picture books
        • Viewing Picture books
        • Picture book stories
        • Non-fiction picture books
        • Picture books
      • Read with Usborne
        • Viewing Read with Usborne
        • Read with Usborne Level 1
        • Read with Usborne Level 2
        • Read with Usborne Level 3
        • Read with Usborne Level 4
        • Read with Usborne
      • Class sets
      • Inclusive book recommendations for schools
      • Unicorns
      • Weddings
      • Jigsaws
      • Magic painting and fingerprinting
      • Sound and musical books
      • Browse by Category
    • Popular Themes
      • Summer Shop
        Summer Shop
      • Earth and the environment
        Earth and the environment
      • Mental health and feelings
        Mental health and feelings
      • Jigsaws
        Jigsaws
      • Sound and musical books
        Sound and musical books
    • Popular Series
      • Sticker Dolly Dressing
        Sticker Dolly Dressing
      • THAT'S NOT MY®
        THAT'S NOT MY®
      • Billy and the Mini Monsters
        Billy and the Mini Monsters
      • Farmyard Tales Poppy and Sam
        Farmyard Tales Poppy and Sam
      • Usborne Early Years Wipe-clean
        Usborne Early Years Wipe-clean
      • Key Skills
        Key Skills
      • 100 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT
        100 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT
    • New Books
    • Browse All Books
    • Books
  • Activities for Kids
    • Discover Activities for kids
    • Play and Learn at Home
    • Fact of the Week
    • Activity Sheets
    • Storytime Videos
    • Write a Story
  • Quicklinks
    • Discover Quicklinks
    • Quicklink of the Week
    • Browse Quicklinks Books
    • How to Say
    • Online Safety
    • Quicklinks Help
  • Schools
    • Resources
    • Fact Force
  • About Us
    • Meet the Family
    • Sustainability
    • What We Stand For
    • Safety
    • Careers
    • Global
    • Trade
    • Blog
    • Press
  • Fact of the Week
  • Sign In / Register Sign Out
  • Buying Options
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Meet the Family
  • Sustainability
  • What We Stand For
  • Safety
  • Careers
  • Global
  • Trade
  • Blog
  • Press
  • More options
    • Home
    • Usborne Blog
    • Tips and expert advice
    • Top tips to keep your child reading over...

    Usborne Blog

    • Tips and expert advice
    Lisa Watts
    Lisa Watts
    July 07, 2024
    Share
    • Share this page on Facebook
    • Share this page on Twitter
    • Share this page on Pinterest

    Top tips to keep your child reading over the summer

    Top tips to keep your child reading over the summer

    Teachers believe that a child's skills and learning can decline by up to a month over the long holidays. One way to avoid this "summer slide" is to encourage your child to keep reading over the summer. Here's some top tips to help keep reading fun –  and avoid losing those hard-won new skills.

    • Set aside 20 minutes each day for reading time. It can be a chapter book, a comic or even a much loved picture book. 
    • Use these few minutes to read your own book or magazine, too. Seeing you enjoy reading will help your child realise that reading is not just something she or he has to do for school.
    • Make a reading nook or den where your child can snuggle up with some cushions.
    • Visit the library and encourage your child to choose books that he or she likes.
    • Listen to audio books too, at home or on a car journey. Concentration and listening are also important skills to nurture.
    • Keep reading aloud to your child. If she or he is not yet a fluent reader, reading to themselves can be hard work and they’ll  enjoy sharing a book with you.
    • Talk to your child about the book they’re reading, what happens in the story and their favourite character. They might like to draw a picture based on the story, or even write a short review.

    Let your child choose their own books and don't worry if you think they choose something too easy for them, or a book they have read before. As their skills improve, they will choose more demanding stories. Some children prefer non-fiction to stories and of course, that's fine too.  

    Share
    • Share this page on Facebook
    • Share this page on Twitter
    • Share this page on Pinterest

    About the Author

    Lisa Watts
    Lisa Watts
    July 07, 2024

    Lisa Watts worked as an editor at Usborne in the 1970s and '80s. She wrote and edited many of the Usborne Computer Books, which were the very first full-colour books about computers, coding and computer games for children. After moving to live in the Middle East and the USA with her young family, she continued to work for Usborne, researching and writing the first Usborne science and nature encyclopedias. In the 1990s, Lisa worked on Usborne CD-ROMs - cutting-edge technology at the time - and, with the advent of the internet, set up the very first Usborne website in 1999.  Shortly afterwards, in 2001, she was instrumental in launching Usborne Quicklinks, a huge library of links to kid-centric websites, carefully curated to support and enhance Usborne books. As Director of Digital Development, Lisa continues to keep Usborne ahead of exciting digital opportunities.

    More from Lisa Watts

    More in this blog category

    • Behind the scenes at Usborne, Tips and expert advice
      How to talk to children about love

      Find out how to talk to young children about love, and why it’s so important. Usborne author, Katie Daynes, shares the main lessons she learned from writing Very First Questions and Answers: What is love?

       

       

      Katie Daynes
      Katie Daynes
    • Tips and expert advice
      Ten-year-old planet champion, Sofia Züger, on her love for What is mud? and campaigning with Save Soil

      Sofia Züger loves talking to children and families about the importance of soil and why we should save it from going extinct.

      Sofia Züger
    • Tips and expert advice
      Why Usborne's Very First Questions Books work well for my neurodivergent son

      To support Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we hear from an Usborne editor about her experiences sharing Usborne’s ‘Lift-the-Flap Very First Questions and Answers’ books with her son, who has recently been diagnosed with autism. 

    Useful Links

    • Buying Options
    • Newsletter Sign-Up
    • Privacy Policy
    • Cookie Settings
    • Terms & Conditions
    • Modern Slavery Statement

    Menu

    • Books
    • Activities For Kids
    • Quicklinks
    • About Us
    • Blog
    • Fact of the Week

    Contact

    FAQ and Help

    Trade Enquiries

    Press Information

     

    Connect

    • Follow Us on Instagram
    • Follow Us on Facebook
    • Follow Us on Youtube
    • Follow Us on Tiktok
    • Follow Us on Twitter
    • Follow Us on Threads

     

    About Us

    Usborne is one of the world’s leading independent book publishers. We are proud to be a family business that aims to create brilliant books for children of all ages.

    ©2025 Usborne Publishing Limited

    Site by Superb