Need inspiration on writing your short story for the BBC Radio 2 – 500 words competition?
Then here is a booklist, for children to have a look at and read. With a range of books for readers aged 5-13 years old.
Follow the links available to reserve your copy of any of these books on Hampshire libraries website.
Room on the broom, Julia Donaldson

The witch and her cat fly happily over forests, rivers and mountains on their broomstick until a stormy wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow and wand. They are retrieved by a dog, a bird and a frog, and each animal asks for a ride on the broom. They climb on, one after the next, until the broom is so heavy that it snaps in two! What will happen next as they tumble into a bog and meet a greedy dragon?
Diary of a wimpy kid, Jeff Kinney

Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into a new year and a new school where undersize weaklings share the corridors with kids who are taller, meaner and already shaving. Greg is happy to have his sidekick, Rowley, along for the ride. When Rowley’s star starts to rise, Greg tries to use his best friend’s popularity to his own advantage.
Matilda, Roald Dahl

Matilda’s parents have called her some terrible things. The truth is, she’s a genius and they’re the stupid ones. Find out how she gets the better of them and her spiteful headmistress, as well as discovering that she has a very special power.
The Tiger who came to tea, Judith Kerr

The doorbell rings just as Sophie and her mummy are sitting down to tea. Who could it possibly be? What they certainly don’t expect to see at the door is a big furry, stripy tiger! This modern classic picture book is perfect for reading aloud, or for small children to read to themselves time and again.
Gangsta granny, David Walliams

Our hero Ben is bored beyond belief after he is made to stay at his grandma’s house. She’s the boringest grandma ever: all she wants to do is to play Scrabble, and eat cabbage soup. But there are two things Ben doesn’t know about his grandma.1) She was once an international jewel thief.2) All her life, she has been plotting to steal the Crown Jewels, and now she needs Ben’s help.
The sheep-pig, Dick King-Smith

The Sheep-pig is one of Dick King-Smith’s most famous tales. It shot to further fame when the film adaptation, Babe, was released in 1995. ‘Why can’t I learn to be a Sheep-Pig?’ When Babe, the little orphaned piglet, is won at a fair by Farmer Hogget, he is adopted by Fly, the kind-hearted sheep-dog. Babe is determined to learn everything he can from Fly. He knows he can’t be a sheep-dog. But maybe, just maybe, he might be a sheep-pig.
Bedknobs and broomsticks, Mary Norton

When the witch next door falls off her broomstick, it’s the start of an amazing adventure for Carey, Charles and Paul. Her spell turns out better than she’d hoped, and gives the children an enchanted bedknob which whisks them off anywhere they want, even back in time.
The worst witch, Jill Murphy

The Worst Witch is the first in the bestselling children’s series by Jill Murphy. Hold on to your broomstick for magical mayhem! Jill Murphy’s much-loved classic The Worst Witch is the original story of life at a magical boarding school, perfect for readers aged 5 – 9 years. Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but she’s making an awful mess of it. She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. And when she turns Ethel, the teacher’s pet into her worst enemy, chaos ensues…
The wolves of Willoughby Chase, Joan Aiken

a period of English History that never happened, when Good King James III is on the throne, and the whole country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When orphans Bonnie and Sylvia fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they need all their wits – and the help of Simon the goose-boy – to escape unscathed, for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.
Clarice Bean – That’s me, Lauren Child

Clarice Bean is a funky new character with real girl power. All she wants is a bit of peace and quiet, away from her family and their annoying little habits that many of us will recognise only too well.