8 brilliant books for Christmas

Helen Skelton – broadcaster

The book I want for Christmas

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (£6.99, plus £1.50 p&p)

I’ll always be happy to receive any book by Roald Dahl. His stories are so classic and really funny. Yes, lots of them are aimed at kids, but I love that adults can read him too. All Dahl’s work has a bit of darkness in it – that’s what makes him so intriguing.

The books I’ll be giving

Wonder by RJ Palacio (£7.50, plus £1.50 p&p)

I’ve just finished reading this. It’s the story of a ten-year-old boy with a facial deformity who starts at a new school, and is told through the perspectives of different

characters. It’s brilliant – one minute I was roaring with laughter and the next I was crying. I read it on a plane, and felt compelled to turn to the man next to me and tell him to buy it.

Billy and Me by Giovanna Fletcher (£7.50, plus £1.50 p&p)

I recently enjoyed this romantic novel about a celebrity who sweeps a young woman off her feet. I didn’t think those kind of books were for me, but once I started, I couldn’t stop.