Are you looking for great books to support your primary KS1 or KS2 topic teaching?
Below are our recommended books for topics, genres, and cross-curricular projects. These book list suggestions aim to cover all curriculum subjects, themes and topics and include poetry, reading for pleasure fiction and narrative nonfiction. We’re adding new topics every week and we hope these lists of quality texts will help teachers and librarians to find useful books for classrooms and school libraries.
The lists are updated and revised regularly to make sure books are up-to-date and relevant to the National Curriculum. Each recommended book includes a description and suggestions for classroom use. For each topic, there’s also a hand-picked selection of useful resources, links and free downloadables.
For more nonfiction ideas, see our list of magazines for children and teens.
Books to help teach diversity to children in KS1 and KS2 in primary schools – with characters and settings to introduce age-appropriate discussions of the diversity of culture, race, ethnicity, gender, education, disability, identity, nationality, religion, sexuality, neurodiversity, social background, and beliefs.
Our YA summer reads for 2020 list includes a healthy mix of thrillers, prescient CLI-FI, atmospheric coming of age stories, empathy novels, adventures, teen romances, and fantasy for 12-16 years olds – and maybe parents as well.
Activity books for children – this list of books to keep children and teens aged 3-13 occupied includes titles by Fiona Watt, Dawn Isaac, Julia Donaldson, Thomas Pavitte and Miro Tartan.
Books for bored children! This list of unusually interesting books for children and teens aged 5-14 includes titles by Andy Seed, Robert Muchamore, Colin Furze, Liz Pinchon, Jo Simmons and Enid Blyton.
Children’s books about resilience, perseverance, and grit, including titles suitable for KS1 and KS2 by David Long, Cece Bell, Matthew Syed, Julie Murphy, Esther Pia Cordova, and Barney Salzberg.
Children’s books about adoption and families for children aged 2-11 in EYFS, KS1 & KS2 – including stories by Samuel Langley-Swain, Jamie Lee-Curtis, Todd Parr, Phoebe Koehler, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Justin Richardson.
Romans topic books for children aged 7-11 in KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Tony Bradman, Christina Balit, Andy Stanton, Theresa Breslin, Gary Northfield, and Marcia Williams.
Anglo-Saxon topic books for children aged 7-11 in KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Tony Bradman, Rosemary Sutcliff, Terry Deary, Karen Wallace, Robert Fowke and Anita Ganeri.
Vikings topic books for children aged 7-11 in KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Tony Bradman, Jane Chisholm, Michael Morpurgo, Cressida Cowell, Terry Deary, and Neil Gaiman.
Transport topic books for children aged 5-11 in KS1 and KS2. This list includes nonfiction books and stories by Uijung Kim, Emily Hawkins, Giles Chapman, Vivian French, Vashti Hardy, and Ian Fleming.
Our 20 great children’s books for Christmas – spectacular picture books to surprise, bewitch and survive longer than one holiday season.
Here’s our selection of great nonfiction books and topic books for children about castles. These reading suggestions contain a range of books suitable for primary aged children aged 5-11 in KS1 and KS2.