Recs if you like A Bear Called Paddington ...

Bears in all their shapes and forms and across genres (this includes sentient teddybears and memoirs). If not friend why friend-shaped?! As long as the bear is plot or character relevant the book can land in here. Feel free to recommend books to be added (maybe also tell me why you think the bear functions as relevant for the story). We bear bears!

Here you’ll find a multitude of children’s books featured in the 1998 film You’ve Got Mail, which, if you’re unfamiliar, heavily features a children’s bookstore called The Shop Around the Corner. Nothing brings me joy quite like children’s literature and 90s nostalgia, so I have painstakingly studied the shelves featured in the film to bring this list to life. I hope that at least one book here unlocks a nostalgic memory for you, or at least conjures a smile of recognition.

From bedtime stories to GCSE flashbacks, this is the source of all that is wrong with me and my countrymen.

Side note: is there no teapot emoji?????

Side note addendum: I found the teapot emoji. Observe. it’s there.

Side side note: open to suggestions especially from those older than Gen Z (unlike me) and my non-English UK inhabitants

Classic novels for your (inner) child, with some modern staples in the mix. For reading yourself, reading aloud to little ones, and for those learning to read. Suggestions welcome, as always!

These are all books that have been turned into films, what they all have in common is that Hugh Grant has starred in them. Disclaimer: some films have been loosely based on the books.

titles named after the main character of the novel.

Books with characters that run away / leave their old lives behind as a part of the plot (either temporarily or not)

(not genre specific and happy to take requests!) TW! (please check tws before reading some!)

The ultimate bookish read!

The BBC’s 100 Greatest Children’s Books of All Time as published in May 2023.

with a slight UK slant

Books that are mentioned in this specific book

All of the books in this list were either read when I was a kid, or gave that comforting nostalgic feeling when reading it as an adult.

Aren’t you glad that we’re never too old for a whimsical read?

I don't have kids. Its a high possibility I will never have them, but will end up being the random aunt-uncle who lives overseas and sees my future nieces and nephews once every five years. But if I end up deciding to adopt a child or two with my partner, these are the books I'd want in their room to read to them.