Best summer books of 2023: Children’s books
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Fritz and Kurt by Jeremy Dronfield (Puffin)
Dronfield refashions his 2019 bestseller The Boy Who Followed His Father into Auschwitz into a version for younger readers. Based on a true story, the narrative intercuts between the contrasting experiences of two Viennese brothers, one a refugee from Nazism, the other a concentration camp internee. Powerful, vital and gut-wrenching.
The Way of Dog by Zana Fraillon (Chicken House)
In this spirited and fiercely original tale, orphaned puppy Scruffity finds a loving adoptive home, loses it and searches for a new one. His journey, told in blank verse, takes him through cruel setbacks to a happy ending and is insightfully done, feeling authentically “doggish” all the way.
Where the River Takes Us by Lesley Parr (Bloomsbury)
It’s a time of industrial unrest and cost-of-living strain. No, not today, but 1974. Parr’s entrancing novel, set in the Welsh valleys during a miners’ strike, sees four friends on a quest to find a mysterious wild cat in the woods. Along the way, they overcome physical and emotional obstacles.
Tell us what you think
What are your favourites from this list — and what books have we missed? Tell us in the comments below
My Strange Shrinking Parents by Zeno Sworder (Thames & Hudson)
Sworder, son of parents who migrated to Australia, conveys the immigrant experience as one of dislocation, hope and self-sacrifice. The central metaphor of his picture book — size is currency, with a mother and father literally diminishing as they give up more of themselves to raise their child — is conveyed brilliantly.
The Swing by Britta Teckentrup (Prestel)
Through a long sequence of beautiful collage images, German-born Teckentrup depicts a seaside clifftop swing and the people who come to play on it. Her book meditates hauntingly on the passing of time, the changing of the seasons, and the alterations and decay wrought by age.
Summer Books 2023
All this week, FT writers and critics share their favourites. Some highlights are:
Monday: Environment by Pilita Clark
Tuesday: Economics by Martin Wolf
Wednesday: Fiction by Laura Battle
Thursday: Politics by Gideon Rachman
Friday: Critics’ picks
Saturday: History by Tony Barber
Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Café
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