When my kids like a book, they really like a book, often reading it again and again, so I am always really happy to discover a series my kids can get into as it is guaranteed to keep them reading.
| — If your kids tackling a box set is just a dream you may like our post on How to Encourage Kids to Read — |
As a cost-conscious parent, box-sets are a great way to bulk buy and save a few pennies. I always buy a couple of book box-sets before we go on holiday so that the children have plenty of fresh reading material.
And by sourcing them from places like The Works (as well as shopping around on Amazon) I’ve ended up saving lots of money too.
The best book box-sets & Series for kids
Ages 4+
Winnie the Witch collection
These 10 books in the collection about Winnie the witch and her hapless cat Wilbur are wonderful for younger children.
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The stories are funny and the illustrations (by brilliantly witty artist, Korky Paul) contain so much detail they will keep your children coming back for more.
Buying these books separately can set you back nearly £70, but by shopping around for ‘used – like new’ copies on Amazon you can save a lot of money.
Mog the Cat collection
If you have only read the classic Mog the Forgetful Cat then you are missing out as there as many others in this beautifully illustrated collection by Judith Kerr.
Follow Mog as she visits the vet, meets a baby, goes out at night and more in this pack of 8 books.
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And for the classicists among you yes, Mog the Forgetful Cat is included in this bumper collection! Individually you’d be looking at around £60 for this lot. For this ‘used – as new’ set? Around £30:
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Ages 7+
How to Train you Dragon series by Cressida Cowell
This exciting series is perfect to get young readers doing a bit of independent reading as they are full of fun, cartoon-style pictures to break up the text and are written in a very accessible style.
Our top tip: Read the first one in the series to your child (to get them into the story) and then let them tackle the next one by themselves.
They’ll be so keen to find out what happens in the story before they know it they will have devoured the whole book.
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This ‘used – as new’ set from Amazon includes all 11 books in the series for around £50 – not bad at all when you consider that each one is around £6 when sold separately.
The 13-Storey Treehouse Series by Andy Griffiths
These mad-cap adventure stories combine cartoon drawings with an exciting storyline plus a good dose of silliness to keep your kid interested.
The story follows best friends Andy and Terry who live in the world’s most amazing treehouse — with a secret lab, marshmallow machine and shark-infested fish tanks — as they battle to write the next chapter of their story against the odds.
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This series also starred (at number 9) in our list of 10 things to take on a self-catering holiday – in a bumper box-set of multiple series: 36 books for £50!
The Worst Witch collection
Having read these books myself as a child I was really happy to be able to share them with my own kids.
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This series of 7 books follows Mildred Hubble as she tries to become a good witch (but almost invariably — often hilariously — fails).
It is amazing to see how much J. K. Rowling must have been influenced by these stories about a school for witches. The stories are exciting but gentle, making them a great before bed read for young children.
The Roald Dahl collection
Collections of Roald Dahl’s classic books make a wonderful gift.
The books are perfect to share with younger children or be read independently by older kids.
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There’s a story to appeal to everyone (my 10 year old likes Dahl’s autobiographical story Boy best, my 8 year old favours Fantastic Mr Fox and my 6 year old really liked George’s Marvellous Medicine) and will certainly have your children reading them again and again.
The Works collection has just 5 books but is only around £15 (£3 per book). Either way – much cheaper than buying them separately.
Ages 9+
The complete Harry Potter collection by J. K. Rowling
These books are so well known and yet contain such delightful detail they can (and will) be read repeatedly.
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The first book is certainly suitable to read to children from about the age of 7 and some advanced independent readers may be able to tackle them by themselves.
I really enjoyed reading the whole series to my eldest (it took us a couple of years to complete as we punctuated them with other books and stopped for a while when things got a bit scary with the Dementors!). It was good to be able to discuss what had happened and speculate about what might happen next together!
Be sure to check out The Works too, as prices do vary.
Michael Morpurgo collection
Former children’s laureate Michael Morpurgo is a masterful storyteller. His books often follow an animal and sometimes feature some difficult subjects (such as war) in a sensitive way.
Although the books might deal with tragedy, peril and cruelty they are always ultimately exciting and heart-warming.
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This collection contains 8 books (including Morpurgo’s most famous title War Horse). This chunky collection of books would cost somewhere around £80 bought individually. This ‘used – like new’ box set is only around £20.
The Chronicles of Narnia by C S Lewis
These classic books are all set in the magical world of Narnia. Each story follows different key characters within the Narnia universe so don’t need to be read chronologically.
With magical beasts, evil snow queens and brave children the stories work on many levels, appealing to children of all ages.
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There are seven books in all, including the famous The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, lots for eager readers to sink their teeth into, with bags of twists and turns to draw in more reluctant readers too.
Non-fiction
Horrible Histories
My kids absolutely love Horrible Histories and this box-set is the gift that keeps giving.
Not only are they jam-packed with amusing and amazing history facts but they also cover so many eras that there is invariably one that suits the kids’ school topic at any one time.
Table could not be displayed.My 10 year old astounded me the other day by explaining (in great detail) the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and how it precipitated the outbreak of World War I – all gleaned from Horrible Histories!
There are lots of different collections and combination sets you can buy – you can even get pretty much the whole bloomin’ lot for around £55 which, for 50 books, is a bit of a steal.
So you think you know about dinosaurs by Ben Garrod
This bundle contains three books in the series debunking myths about dinosaurs.
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The format is fun and punchy with plenty of illustrations and fact-boxes but detailed enough to appeal to older children too.
There are three books in the bundle which cover: T-Rex, Diplodocus and Triceratops (arguably the ‘big three’ for many young dino-fans!).
The fact-packed pages can make it a bit heavy going for younger readers (the books suggest they’re for aged eight and up) but if your kids love anything scaly, prehistoric and large they’ll love it.
The set is around £20 though if you’re watching every penny (and who isn’t?) you can buy the same three books separately for £2 less!
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Last update on 2026-05-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API