Little Bookworms is a family business offering Books, Software & Activity Packs for Ages 0 to 11. Each area is broken down into sections so you can choose by age and then by type of book, theme or author really fast and every book information includes their in depth editorial review. If you register with them you (or your child) can click through to their ‘Fun Zone’, where there’s Free access to a library of downloadable activity ideas and printable items suitable for children.

I’ll tell you straight away that this is a book club, and that by joining you accept that you’ll take a certain number of books within the first year. After that you can cancel. Having said that it looks to be an excellent service, with in house reviews of all their books for children up to 12, a monthly magazine telling you what’s going on and lots of special offers. Take a look round and decide.

Best-Book-Price.co.uk allows you to compare prices of books at many book shops at once to make sure you always find the cheapest price before buying. You can either search for a book (using the search box at the top of their home page) or browse the book categories to find the book you're after, then they'll check the prices at the top UK online book shops and tell you what they charge. They include the postage charge as well.

This site started off as a computer books website and has moved into general educational books and fiction. So you can buy the latest John Grisham alongside Selected Papers on Particle Image Velocimetry. The site is very clearly laid out and you can see exactly what's in stock or on limited availability. Some of the discounts are very good. Standard delivery is 1 - 2 days and is free on orders over £25.

If you prefer a less busy book website then pay a visit to Blackwell's of Oxford, established in 1879 and an online store for over ten years. What you'll find here is a really excellent and more personal service with a clear path through to the various departments; Fiction, Leisure and Lifestyle, Science, Humanities, Arts, Medical, Business Finance and Law. There are some good discounts to be found and shipping is free to the UK on orders over £20. They also have a Worldwide Express service.

Hatchards, booksellers since 1797, is the oldest surviving bookshop in London and is now based in it's luxurious quarters at 187 Piccadilly, right next door to Fortnum and Mason. Not only do they offer a very good choice of titles in hardback and paperback, from fiction, children's books, art and architecture, biography, food and wine, gardening, history and humour but they also specialise in signed and special editions and what they call VIP's (Very Important Publications) - their recommendations for the season.

Jonkers specialise in modern first editions, fine illustrated books, classic children's fiction and nineteenth century literature. So if you have a goddaughter who might appreciate a First Edition of Michael Bond's Paddington Goes to Town you'll find it here, plus AA Milne, Enid Blyton, Lewis Caroll and many more. Because some of these books are very expensive and precious (up into the £1000s) you can't order online but need to phone them using their freephone number.

This is undoubtedly one of the world’s most famous bookshops, where there’s not only an extremely wide range of books but you’ll also find sheet music and manuscript paper, tickets for in-store author signings and events and a selection of signed copies. As soon as you start to search for a book you can see exactly how many they have in stock at Charing Cross Road and you can select, if you’re looking online, to buy online or to collect in store.

Waterstone's website is extremely clear and easy to use and one of the great things about buying here is that this company is just (for the moment) about books, and not every other product you can think of. You can browse categories straight from the Home Page menu including areas such as Business, Finance and Law, Computing, Education and Comics and Graphic Novels alongside the more usual Fiction, Children's Books, Food and Drink and Sport.

This is the worldwide marketplace for rare, secondhand and out of print books. You just need to know the title or the author and if it's available it'll be found immediately. You can then narrow your search to see only first editions, or signed copies, among other options. For special gifts this would be an excellent website as you can choose from a selection of real collectors items, alternatively you can simply track down that book you lost some years ago and always wanted to read again.

Next time you’re looking for a new book take a quick look here. They don’t have anything like the range of Amazon but what they do have are fantastic special offers, with special edition (usually small hardback) copies of brand new titles at up to 60% off the normal price. Postage and Packing are free if you order three items or more, otherwise it’s very reasonable. You need to register to order (so they can send you regular updates and keep your details to make your next order even quicker). It’s a very good site so give it a try.

On W H Smith's easy on the eye website you can buy books, all the latest DVDs, music and computer games plus a selection from their stationery ranges. There are also lots of gift ideas including original historic newspapers and commemorative sporting books you can subscribe at a discount to all your favourite magazines and order personalised school labels and wedding stationery.

Established in 1995, Musicroom is a global retailer, shipping products out to over 100 countries, offering one of the largest selections of sheet music, song books, books about music and tutor methods in the World. At Christmas time they offer a gift selection, including Christmas music, learning guides for different instruments, CDs and instrument accessories. It really is an excellent website so if you know a young musician do stop off here

Amazon is truly a great site with a fantastic selection of books, DVD's, CD's etc. Not only can you almost certainly find the book, DVD or CD you're looking for but you'll also get excellent recommendations for similar items. Their One Click shopping option makes it dangerously easy to order more than you intended but that notwithstanding if you like reading or listening to music this site is definitely for you and it's perfect for presents as well.

Red House specialises in children’s books for all ages, from babies to young adults. They produce a catalogue each month, featuring an introduction from a leading author and their bright and colourful website carries a wide selection of handpicked books which is updated regularly. There's even a safe, fun online community for children including competitions, things to do and a moderated message board. Every book is discounted and P & P is free when you buy four or more books.

The Hut offers free delivery on everything within the UK and some extremely good prices on its attractive blue website. Named in the Sunday Times top 100 Tech Track sites and only launched a few years ago this is very much a site to buy from. You’ll find DVDs, cds, games, books and memory storage.

The Book Depository claims to be the fastest growing book distributor in Europe and there’s certainly a huge selection available through their easy to navigate website. This is also one of the best places to search out books you’ve been unable to find elsewhere. If you just want a browse here you can take a look at their editors’ Blogs and catch up on the latest book news and reviews. They offer free delivery to most countries worldwide.