People often ask me what my favourite children's books are, which books on writing I would recommend, and so forth. Here are a select few from the hundreds on my bookshelf. You can buy the following books directly via Amazon.co.uk. Just double click on the bookcover.

My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell
Probably my favourite book of all time. And it's not even fiction. Gerald Durrell was ten when his family moved to Corfu. Thanks to a photographic memory, he remembers every detail of each day he spent on the sun-soaked island. His older brother Lawrence is the one with claims of literary greatness, but for my money Gerald beats him hands down! Full of the sights, smells, tastes and animals (!) of a Greek island, this book veers between being uproariously funny and gently lyrical. I steal from it constantly and unashamedly. He is one of my heroes.

Anastasia Krupnik by Lois Lowry
I discovered Lois Lowry in a charity shop and was immediately hooked. This is one of those wonderful children's books which paints such attractive, quirky, well-rounded characters that you want to be part of her family. Anastasia is extremely bright and not a little precocious. If Flavia Gemina were alive and living in 21st century America she might be a little like Anastasia. Lowry never talks down to her readers which is why it is so pleasurable for adults to read these books, too. This is the first in the series.

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
I first heard Louise speak at a convention for kids' authors. She was hilarious. I was jealous. Then I met her with Garth Nix at the Brighton Festival. She was v. nice. So I forgave her for being talented and funny and I bought her book. Now I am jealous again. Also, she is HUGE in America. *grrr* But seriously, she deserves all her HUGE-ness. This is a brilliantly funny book. It is a delicious cross between the Princess Diaries and Bridget Jones. But with lots more snogging and funny rude bits. Vair, vair fabby!

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
What can I say? These books are great! Brilliantly written and with lots of fun pop culture references. It's a great idea: the reluctant princess. And Meg Cabot makes you feel you really know what being a high school student in New York is like. Funny, well-written, un-put-downable. Just because you've seen the movie, don't deny yourself this treat. I recommended it to my husband Richard, and had to laugh when he took it out on the London Underground and immediately and unselfconsciously got immersed. Boys, don't be ashamed to read this series.

Skeleton Key by Anthony Horowitz
This is the third book in another series with a great idea behind it: a young, reluctant 007. Again, Horowitz never talks down to his readers.There are plenty of puns and references that mainly grown-ups will get, but that's one of the things I like about Horowitz, who has punned some of the best book titles ever: The Falcon's Malteser, South by Southeast and The French Confection will give you an idea. Girls, don't be afraid to read this series.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
This is the story of Karana, a twelve year old Native American whom tragedy abandons on an island off the coast of California. Alone except for a pack of wild dogs, Karana shows astonishing bravery and resourcefulness. Scott O'Dell shows us a world of great beauty: otters eating abalone in their kelp beds, a skirt made of shimmering cormorant feathers, a white dog howling in a grotto, a tidal wave: blood red in the setting sun. And dolphins, of course.

I am David by Anne Holm
A boy escapes from a nameless camp in a nameless country. With nothing but a map and a compass he crosses Europe to find the mother he has never known. He is wary, distrustful, older than his years. And yet in many ways he is an infant. His journey across Europe is a kind of rebirth; he discovers new colours, like the colour of the sea under a summer sun; new tastes, like the taste of an orange; he learns to trust: people, a dog, God. This is a timeless story of the triumph of persistence and courage over evil.

Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo is one of the most generous authors I've ever met. Although he had never heard of me at the time of our first meeting - a book festival in London - he was extremely generous, inviting me to sit beside him while he signed dozens of books and chatted with fans. I learned a lot that afternoon. Does it help your books to be a nice person? I think so. Morpurgo's graciousness and consideration come out in this moving story of a boy's survival on a desert island. It's got all the best ingredients: a faithful dog, a strange but magical world, growth through hardship...

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
This book is unlike any book I've ever read before. Set during WWII in England, it tells the story of an abused boy who is evacuated to the country and ends up staying with a sour widower. Watching them learn to trust and understand one another is a real joy. This book is quite harrowing. Magorian is not afraid to show death at its most poignant. But Goodnight Mr Tom is all the better for its honesty. This is one of those books that makes you grateful for all the little blessings in your life: clean sheets, hot water, people who love you...

How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
When my son was nine he stopped reading 'proper' books. He only seemed interested in computer magazines and graphic novels like Asterix. I instinctively knew not to force him to read 'proper' books. After all, there is nothing easy about computer magazines, or for that matter Asterix. One day I came across this book. What nine year old boy could resist such a title? I left it in a prominent position. He read it. I don't know if it was this particular book that got him reading 'proper' books again, but a year later he had finished the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. What's it about? The title says it all!

There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar
'There are some kids - you can tell just by looking at them - who are good spitters.' Bradley Chalkers, for example. Bradley is a bully who finds life less painful if everybody hates him. But the arrival of a new boy, Jeff, and a young counsellor, Carla, start to change all that. My favourite scenes are the ones Bradley plays out on his bedspread with his collection of little toy animals. Louis Sachar's wife's name is Carla. When he first met her, she was a counsellor at an elementary school. That may be why so much of this story rings true.

Gorilla by Anthony Browne
One of the best things about growing up and having children is that you get to read all the good children's books you never read when you were a child. When my son was five we discovered Anthony Browne's amazing surrealistic picture books. Gorilla-obsessed Hannah lives alone with her pre-occupied father. Things are scary when you're the only child of an only parent. She ends up spending the night before her birthday on the town with a gorilla: they go to the zoo, see a film, eat sundaes and dance in the moonlight. Hannah had never been so happy. Then she wakes up. It was only a dream. Or was it? Ten years after I first bought this book I caught my 15-year-old son re-reading it. Gorilla is that kind of book.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
A lot of children's books get a lot of hype. I pick most of them up and put them down after a few chapters. I did not put this book down. It was utterly gripping. My first novel (still in a drawer) is about an autistic boy, and I've done quite a bit of reading and research about autism. The main character of this book is an autistic boy, and his 'voice' rang utterly true to me. I absolutely loved this story. In fact, I wish I had written it. Be careful though, there is some 'language' in it. Still, nothing you haven't heard in the school playground I guess.

The Silver Child by Cliff McNish
Secret Seven meet X-men? Lord of the Flies meets Blade Runner? This new book by Cliff McNish is much more than that! Six mutant children and one adult are drawn to a rat-infested, rubbish-strewn, windswept, rain-lashed, wasteland. Something is coming. Something terrible. Something which roars in the silence of outer space. And these freaks might be the only ones who can save the earth. The Silver Child is the first in a new series by the author of the Doomspell trilogy. It's dark, eerie, unsettling and creepy... you'll love it!

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
In the 1930's, 17-year-old Cassandra starts keeping a journal because she wants to be a writer. She describes her life in a castle with a beautiful older sister, a hermit father and an eccentric step-mother. Then, one stormy night, two young men arrive. Cassandra falls in love with one of them and the classic love triangle occurs. Or as Jonathan would say, the classic 'love V'. The wonderful thing about this book is the way Dodie Smith describes people, places and emotions. My favourite descriptions are of Cassandra's white bull-terrier Heloise. Read this book if you like romance and writing.

The Recruit by Robert Muchamore
I loved this book. It's a cross between the Alex Ryder books (Skorpia, etc) and the violent Luc Besson film 'Nikita'. A twelve-year old yob on the verge of becoming a delinquent is 'recruited' by a special branch of British Secret Service. The training scenes are fantastic, there are no clear-cut goodies or baddies and it's sometimes violent and crude. But all this just adds to the 'real feel'. If you like the Anthony Horowitz books and Chris Ryan's SAS books, then you will be gripped by this new C.H.E.R.U.B. series, too.

Rendezvous in Rome by Carolyn Keene

In the summer of 1999 my sister Jennifer said 'Why don't you write a book for kids set in Pompeii?' My first thought was 'Of course! Nancy Drew in ancient Rome!' So imagine my delight when I recently discovered that Nancy actually did go to Rome for one of her later mysteries. In Rendezvous in Rome, our teen sleuth investigates the theft of a valuable piece of Etruscan jewellry!

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