TV & Film
The story doesn’t end when the credits roll
The stories we watch often begin long before they reach the screen. From the books that inspired them to the characters and worlds that go deeper than the runtime, reading lets you explore the story behind the story.
Here you’ll find a selection of TV and Film reads to dive right into. From books, to magazines and podcasts, explore what stands out and see where it takes you.
But this is just the beginning – there's a world of stories out there to help you Go All In on TV, Film, or whatever you’re into.
Reads for 0–5 year olds
Stories that capture
young imaginations
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Picture Book
Bluey: Toys: A Touch-and-Feel Playbook
Ages 0-5Bluey and Bingo are playing with their favourite toys. Join them and play along!
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Book
Disney Bedtime Stories Treasury: 365 Bedtime Stories
Ages 0-5This treasury of sleepy stories is packed full of fun, making it the perfect storybook for Disney and Pixar fans everywhere.
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Picture Book
The Gruffalo
Ages 0-5In this much-loved picture book, a little mouse walks through the woods and encounters a fox, an owl and a snake.
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Picture Book
Hey Duggee: Duggee’s Party!
Ages 0-5Delivery Chipmunk arrives at the clubhouse with a parcel for Duggee. It must be Duggee's birthday, so the Squirrels decide to throw Duggee a surprise party!
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Picture Book
Numberblocks: Countdown to Bed
Ages 0-5Help send One to sleep and practise key number skills by counting down from 10 to 1 with the Numberblocks. Perfect for fans of the BAFTA-winning Cbeebies show.
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Picture Book
My Bollywood Dream
Ages 3-7"Bollywood movies are made of dreams and adventures, and I long to discover them all…". On the streets of Mumbai, a little girl and her family head to the cinema.
Ambassador
Author AM Dassu on why TV is an inspiration for reading
"I binge watch TV with my kids! I read articles, blogs, magazines and we even do quizzes about our favourite shows!"
Reads for 5–11 year olds
Big stories for small
screen fans
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Book
How to Train Your Dragon
Ages 9-11A mix of adventure and delightfully quirky comedy, Cowell’s remarkable fantasy book series, also films, features hapless Vikings and their flying reptilian steeds.
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Book Audiobook
The Wild Robot
Ages 7-11The book behind the film: when a cargo ship sinks, a robot named Roz awakens alone on a wild island. She must adapt to nature, befriend animals, and learn survival.
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Book Audiobook
The Worst Witch
Ages 7-9Disaster-prone Mildred 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!
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Book
Nadiya’s Bake Me a Story
Ages 7-9The first children’s book from Bake Off sensation and nation’s sweetheart, Nadiya Hussain. A unique hybrid of storybook and cookbook!
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Book
The Moomins
Ages 7-9The series follows the many adventures of Moomin and family, together with their friends, around Moominvalley and sometimes outside of it.
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Book Graphic Novel
Bad Guys
Ages 7-9The story behind the film is about a gang of anthropomorphic animals known as The Bad Guys, trying to perform good deeds to change society's perception of them.
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Graphic Novel
Stitch Head: The Graphic Novel
Ages 9-11A quirky, darkly funny adventure about a rebellious patchwork boy created by a mad scientist. Stitch Head is also an animated movie.
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Graphic Novel
Hilda and the Troll
Ages 6-9Meet Hilda in page format (also on Netlix!). She can never sit still for long without setting off on another adventure. Join her in discovering a magical new universe!
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Graphic Novel
Pokémon Journeys, Vol. 1
Ages 7-9Ash and Goh journey across regions, catching Pokémon and tackling new challenges, mixing strategy, friendship and epic battles in a vivid world adventure.
Comic
Bridging the gap between screen entertainment and reading
Beano and other comics are great for reluctant readers, bringing funny cartoons on to the page in short, engaging stories.
Reads for 11–16
Teen reads
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Book Audiobook
Heartstopper
Ages 11-14Now a Netflix series, this is a gentle coming of age story, with characters exploring themes of friendship, love, sexuality, gender and mental illness.
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Book Audiobook
The Lord of the Rings
Ages 14-16Epic films based on an epic fantasy novel where hobbit Frodo Baggins journeys to destroy a powerful ring, forging friendships, and deciding the fate of Middle-earth.
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Book
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Ages 11-14Now a series of feature films, in this first book Percy discovers he is a Greek God and battles monsters trying to stay alive.
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Book Audiobook
The Hunger Games
Ages 11-14Katniss Everdeen is thrust into the brutal Hunger Games, where survival becomes rebellion in a gripping dystopian story of power, control and resistance.
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Book
An Illustrated History of Filmmaking (Flying Eye Books)
Ages 14-16A vivid, illustrated history of filmmaking, tracing cinema’s evolution from early light experiments to modern technology and imagining what the future may hold.
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Book
The Summer I Turned Pretty
Ages 14-16The TV adaptation of this book was created by the author herself, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer.
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Manga
One Piece
Ages 14-16In a world of pirates and sea legend, young Monkey D. Luffy sets out to find the mythical One Piece treasure and become Pirate King.
Book & screenplay
The book behind one of the films of 2026
Maggie O'Farrell wrote the book and screenplay for Hamnet, one of this year's hit movies. Hear her talk about turning the book into a film.
Reads for Adults
Screen inspired reads
for grown-ups
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Book
Erotic Vagrancy
AdultsWith the Sixties super couple as a starting point, this is a provocative cultural biography exploring eccentric personalities.
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Book
Life Moves Pretty Fast
AdultsA fast‑paced cultural exploration of 1980s pop culture and film.
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Book
Mark Kermode’s Surround Sound: The Stories of Movie Music
AdultsA deep dive into the world of movie soundtracks, a renowned film critic explores the profound emotional connection that we make with cinematic scores.
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Book
What a Carve Up!
AdultsA satirical novel about politics, class and media power.
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Book
Greenlights
AdultsThe Oscar-winning actor gathers together the insights and life lessons of a half-century in this memoir suffused with laid-back charm and emotional generosity.
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Book
Hamnet
AdultsThe untold love story that inspired Shakespeare’s greatest masterpiece. Hamnet tells the powerful story of Agnes and Will, and of the son whose life has been all but forgotten, but who inspired one of the greatest plays ever written.
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Book
The Last Tycoon
AdultsFitzgerald's last novel, tracing the life of a Hollywood studio manager based on head of MGM, during the "golden age of Hollywood".
Website
Digital Spy – the UK's biggest TV and movies website
For fans of TV, movies, pop culture and showbiz, keep up to date on all the gossip!
Library finder
You don’t have to
buy it to read it
Libraries make it easy to dive into books around your interests, without needing to buy them. Borrow titles, discover new authors and Go All In on your passions.
