As the end of the school year approaches, we look at the books that aren't on the school syllabus, but are read for sheer pleasure by children and teenagers over the long summer holidays.
Young critics from Ellen Wilkinson School in west London give us their expert opinion on the novels on this year's Guardian children's fiction prize longlist, while Guardian children's books editor Julia Eccleshare joins us to point out the season's other top titles. Plus, we interview the writer Joshua Doder about the adventures of a small canine globetrotter called Grk.
Reading list
Grk Down Under, by Joshua Doder (Andersen Press, £4.99)
Freak The Mighty by Rodman Philbrick (Usborne, £4.99)
The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope (Penguin, £7.99)
The Wind on the Moon by Eric Linklater (Jane Nissen, £6.99)
The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier (Red Fox, £5.99)
Holes by Louis Sachar (Bloomsbury, £6.99)
The Guardian children's fiction prize longlist
Prisoner of the Inquisition by Theresa Breslin (Doubleday, £12.99) Age: 12+
Now, by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin, £6.99) Age: 9+
Unhooking the Moon, by Gregory Hughes (Quercus, £6.99) Age: 11+
The Ogre of Oglefort, by Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan, £9.99) Age: 8+
Sparks, by Ally Kennen (Marion Lloyd Books, £6.99) Age: 9+
Lob, by Linda Newbery, illustrated by Pam Smy (David Fickling, £10.99) Age: 8+
Ghost Hunter, by Michelle Paver (Orion, £10.99) Age: 10+
White Crow, by Marcus Sedgwick (Orion, £9.99) Age: 13+
