Top Holiday Reads for Kids, Teens and Young Adults at Exclusive Books

With schools officially closed, and the kids at home for the holidays, have them entertained whilst still keeping their brains active with a fresh, new set of reads from Exclusive Books.

From toddler friendly picture books that teach great lessons, to teen and young adult novels, there is a great read for everyone. See our selection of some of the top picks to consider purchasing this festive season.

Exclusive Books How Many Ways Can You Say Thank you and It's a Wandaful World kids 0 to 6 | What's on in Joburg — ‘How Many Ways Can You Say Thank you?’ (left) | ‘It’s a Wandaful World’ (right)

Books for kids aged 0 to 6 at Exclusive Books

For a local touch, Exclusive Books is home to a selection of kids’ books by Johannesburg-based author Refiloe Moahloli. Her repertoire features titles including How Many Ways Can You Say Hello? and We Are One. Her stories often cover topics of self-love, equality, South African languages, songs, and poems, and plenty more great lessons for young kids.

Author Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni’s best-selling Wanda is also available for purchase. The book follows Wanda, a young girl with a beautiful big afro whose grandmother helps her navigate her relationship with her hair following lots of teasing from kids at school. The book covers topics of identity, beauty and cultural pride.

For an international taste, take your pick from popular favourite series, including the Dr. Seuss books, the Peter Rabbit, Bluey, and the Very Hungry Caterpillar series, and much more.

Exclusive Books Thokozani the Eland Once I Was a Tree kids 6 to 9 | What's on in Joburg — ‘Thokozani the Eland’ (left) | ‘Once I Was a Tree’ (right)

Books for kids aged 6 to 9 at Exclusive Books

This section of books covers topics from animals to fantasy and adventure, perfect for enriching your child’s imagination.

Animal-loving kids can enjoy this book from authors Ruben Lambrechts and Pieter Van Zyl, titled Ruben Namibia and Cindy (also available in Afrikaans), which follows Ruben on his escapades with the animals he cares for, including Cindy the baboon, the meerkats Minki and Jerry, Betsie and Bennie the warthogs, Zoey and Neelsie the mongooses and many more.

KwaZulu-Natal born author, Gcina Mhlophe, weaves African spirituality, folklore and history into stories of adventure and unity with books like Thokozani the Eland, the Our Story Magic collection, and more.

Some fantasy reads from international authors include Oliver Jeffers’ Where to Hide a Star, an endearing story about the magic of friendship that follows a boy who realises his friend, ‘the star’, has gone missing and goes on a space adventure to find ‘his friend’the star’.

Another great option is Eoin McLaughlin’s Once I Was a Tree, a book told from the perspective of the book itself, detailing its journey from being a seed to becoming a tree, and finally ending up as this very book.

Exclusive Books Duistermaan and Diary of a Wimpy Kid kids 9 to 12 | What's on in Joburg — ‘Duistermaan’ (left) | ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’ (right)

Books for kids aged 9 to 12 at Exclusive Books

At the top of this category is Jaco Jacobs’ Duistermaan, an Afrikaans fantasy/mystery book that follows Dennis, who has recently moved to a remote roadside stall in the Drakensberg, where he begins to hear rumours of a Wolfman who might be linked to a greater murder-mystery that he needs to solve before there is another victim.

Plus, get your hands on some coming-of-age classics including Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries, or
Katherine Rundell’s fantasy adventure book, Impossible Creatures.

Exclusive Books The Court of the Dead and When We Were Monsters teens and adults | What's on in Joburg — The Court of the Dead (left) | When We Were Monsters (right)

Books for Teens and Young Adults at Exclusive Books

The fantasy and thriller genres have become incredibly popular amongst teenagers and young adults over recent years, and Exclusive Books features a wide variety of books in these categories.

Take a new adventure in a world that builds on the Percy Jackson series with Rick Riordan and Mark Oshiro’s The Court of the Dead. Or see what happens when eight students walk into an exclusive writers’ retreat, but only one can walk out with a life-changing opportunity to realise their creative dreams in Jennifer Niven’s When We Were Monsters.

Exclusive Books also holds classic book-to-movie series such as John Green’s collection of novels, The Hunger Games books, The Divergent Series, The Twilight Saga, as well as Manga sets such as Death Note, One Punch Man, Dragon Ball, Tokyo Ghoul, Attack on Titan, and more.