Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Children’s book reviews: below are our latest reviews of recent children’s and young adult fiction, poetry and non-fiction releases. We listen to recommendations from our readers, teachers, librarians, parents, grandparents, children and authors to decide which new books to review and recommend.
Our team of experienced educators, parents and librarians looks at new picture books for toddlers, early chapter books, first independent readers, middle-grade stories, poetry, teen & young adult, non-fiction and much, much more.
With over two million visitors each year since 2011, the School Reading List is one of the most read and established sources of UK reading recommendations for children’s and YA literature.
We’re committed to being a subscription-free resource for parents, schools, teachers and librarians and we hope that our reviews help to engender and embed a reading-for-pleasure ethos in classrooms and homes all over the country.
We also feature regular round-ups of new books – both fiction and non-fiction – to help support the start of autumn, spring and summer terms in schools; and a monthly ‘book of the month‘ covering new fiction, nonfiction and picture books.
Each review contains a five-word summary, the genre, the ISBN, further information about the author, illustrator and publisher; the publication date; the recommended reading age for the text, and some pointers to indicate which children we think will really enjoy the book.
For each book reviewed there’s also a useful ‘if you liked this book you might also like‘ section, to help teachers and librarians develop each child’s reading interests. Readers can also have a look at each author’s profile page, which includes information about each author, reviews of books by that author, links to teaching resources and contact details for author visits.
Many thanks to the children’s and YA book publishers, publicists and authors for sending review copies.
We Can! Make a Difference is both for and by children. The actions depicted in the book are practical and achievable – focusing on equal rights, the environment, and respect for others. The literacy message is also highly relevant.
Nature Tales: An Anthology of Seasonal Stories from Around the World is a beautifully presented collection of fables that will appeal to young nature lovers. This is a truly global collection, including tales from Mexico, Finland & Ukraine.
Phantom Hearts is a gripping graphic novel of love and loss. The story explores themes of found family, being true to yourself, and fighting for the truth amidst rumours and social media hype.
All Aboard The Bedtime Bus is an ideal read for preschoolers before nap time or bedtime, helping their eyes grow droopy and guiding them into a tranquil slumber.
A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Perfect Pet includes snippets of clever, playful scenarios, such as a child playing hide and seek with a tiger—after all, most of us would hide from a tiger!
Ethel the Penguin has a familiar, repetitive, rhythmic feel that young children aged 3–6 will enjoy. Who wouldn’t want a wild, fun penguin living next door in an iceberg semi-detached?
Land of the Last Wildcat weaves an environmental message through an adventure story that also covers challenging subjects such as the loss of a parent, workplace bullying, and the struggles associated with single parenthood.
Shiver Point: Under A Howling Moon is part of a series worth investing in – not just for its chilly theme, but also its writing. Dylan’s horroresque analogies are great starting points for scary storytelling activities.
Your Time is Up is a great story to recommend to GCSE and above pupils who love action-filled murder mysteries with the added depth of complicated teenage relationships. Will Zaina ever finish her final Maths exam?
Jakub’s Otter is a lovely book that tells an all-too-common, sad story in a way that is uplifting rather than depressing or preachy. Jakub, a young carer, has the sole responsibility of looking after his mum.
The Skeleton in the Cupboard: and other stories create a pleasant and positive atmosphere where nature and creativity flourish. It is a beautifully written, dreamlike storybook that I would recommend for Key Stage 2 children.
Nina Peanut: Mega Mystery Solver is an entertaining and enjoyable read for older children. It’s perfect for fans of Wimpy Kid and Lottie Brooks. This comic-style book is hilarious, with bright, humorous illustrations that make it hugely engaging.
The River Thief should suit confident readers from Year 5 onwards. There are plenty of discussion points in this thought-provoking book, which, once started, should encourage most children to finish it.
Time Travellers – Secrets and Spies is an exciting, gripping adventure story that educates through curiosity and excitement and could inspire the next generation to avoid past mistakes and consider ethical behaviours.
The Wild Robot is a charming story of artificial intelligence, an orphaned goose, wildlife, and climate change storms entwining to show loss, disaster, growth. This spirited story explores the possibilities when robot and nature collide and grow together.
The Arctic Fox is a lovely book. The messages it contains are relayed positively, showing how things have improved in some environmental areas, as well as highlighting things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint.
Desert Echoes is a bold and resolute novel that confronts sensitive issues related to culture and sexuality, providing hope and optimism, and restoring belief in happy endings. The story is poignant and impactful and beautifully narrated.
Handle With Care begins right in the middle of the action, and the fast pace continues until the final page. Opening with a dramatic and unexpected birth in a history classroom, the mysteries surrounding the situation are gradually revealed.
Let’s Split Up is a fast-paced, twisty read that blends a high school LGBTQ romance with a classic ‘whodunit’, reminiscent of Scooby-Doo and his gang. Let’s Split Up will appeal to fans of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and Netflix’s Sabrina.
I Shall Never Fall in Love is a heart-warmingly inclusive period romance, perfect for fans of Lex Croucher’s Gwen and Art are Not in Love and Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper.
Little Spruce is a heart-warming Christmas story that would make a perfect addition to a festive storytelling session or child’s stocking. The beautiful illustrations are full of inclusive characters and feature a blended family.
Shadow Creatures is an utterly compelling and must-read story. It’s ideal for whole class reading in UKS2, children aged 9 upwards studying World War Two and for pupils who have enjoyed Goodnight Mr Tom and When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit.
Presto! Magical Recovery Co. is an easy read about a young girl whose regimented life becomes far less ordinary than she ever thought it could be. Follow Amber’s life as she is taken to places she didn’t know existed.
Dance Just Like So has its own fast rhythm that carries you through the story at a fast pace and quickens your pulse. Any children who are a bit musical, theatrical or like to dance, will love this.
Maggie Sparks and the Fang-tastic Fairground is a good read for 5-9-year-old children. And if they love it, it’s just one of a growing collection of Maggie Sparks magical adventures.
Within the Heart of Wicked Creatures is a must read for those who enjoy fantasy, and young adult themes. A steady read which slowly unravels, it will suit teen readers who are seeking a gradual but inspiring read.
Bigg School: Secret Crush is a great book for showing how changing emotions in our early teens can surprise us. Astrid is confident, she doesn’t follow everyone else, and she’s quite glad some of her classmates think she’s a bit weird!
Twenty-Four Seconds From Now is a powerful and touching modern-day romance that will inspire older readers to trust their instincts and wait until they find ‘the one’. It will appeal to fans of Judy Blume and Kwame Alexander.
Serena and Laloolee Fly Away is a delightful fable that will appeal to young readers and older storytellers. It will be a particular delight for bedtime story sessions.
Chris Mould’s War of the Worlds is a worthy addition to the many interpretations of this classic tale. This high-quality text will appeal to fans of both traditional science fiction and modern graphic novels.
The Dark Within Us is gripping and undoubtedly well-planned and researched. It provides a refreshing addition to the large collection of supernatural adventure/ romances available to young people.
Peng and Spanners: When Pigs Go Bad is ideal for readers who lack in confidence or crave a quick light-hearted read. The randomness of character, plot and dialogue reminds children that reading can be fun.
I Hear You, Mountains is a lovely read if you’re planning on going to the countryside, park or any outdoor space. Appreciating the outdoors using senses and mindfulness techniques is very therapeutic to mind and body.
I Am a Courageous Cub is a good social storybook to promote self-regulation and positive well-being in young children and a great resource for preschools and schools.
My Big Fat Smelly Poo Diary is a book to make parents shudder and children laugh out loud! The humour is pretty much all poo related both in words and illustrations and the book would be suitable for confident and less confident readers alike.
Montezuma’s Tantrum is a brightly illustrated, informative, book about the Aztecs which gives just enough information for younger students to to be able to answer historical questions or for those who are slightly older to write a simple report.
The Reluctant Vampire Queen Finds her Fangs is ideal for less confident 12+ year-old readers who would benefit from an easy read laced with comedy, absurdity and occasional emotion. It’s great for a group read to explore issues common to many adolescents.
The River’s a Singer is an engaging, culturally diverse poetry collection that will appeal to fans of Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho. The series of poems on a traditional Jamaican Christmas are particularly enlightening.
When It’s Your Turn For Midnight is a hard-hitting but ultimately uplifting novel for older teenagers. It is likely to appeal particularly to fans of Malorie Blackman and Sarah Crossan.
I Will Never Leave You is ideal for Y8 and upwards book clubs and YA readers who are seeking something that is easy to follow and a little unusual in the issues and concepts it confronts.
Griselda Snook’s Spectacular Books is a great picture book full of friendly, Halloween-themed characters that will excite any reader of lower primary school age. Timms shows the reader that books can be for everyone.
Mabel and the Big Wide World is a truly wonderful book that any child below the age of 7 would be delighted to read. The images in this book are stunning with detailed collages of landscapes, flowers and life.
Roar: A Celebration of Great Sporting Women is great to dip into in reading groups, or citizenship or tutor time sessions, to help open conversations with teens about the challenges they face and whose footsteps they might follow in.
Work It, Lara Bloom by Dee Benson is thoroughly enjoyable for the intended audience. For promoting and helping to sustain leisure reading in KS3, this title would be a perfect addition to secondary school library collections.
The Colour of Revenge is an amazing, original, and exciting book, which draws the reader in and takes them on a fascinating journey with so many twists, turns, and unexpected cliff-hangers that it is almost impossible to put down.
Love Is All We Need sends a powerful and important message to the young reader. It’s a wonderfully vibrant and happy book that I recommend for children from nursery age and upwards.
Gina Kaminiski Rescues the Giant is a smart delight and the illustrations are beautiful and really bring everything together. As a teacher and educator understanding the importance of visual emotions, it is a book I would read to children and recommend to teachers.
Little Bear Lost brought memories flooding back to me of reading Jane Hissey’s earlier books to my children many years ago. I recognised the characters in this book immediately, as did my 23-year-old daughter.
Pizza Pete and the Missing Magic is packed full of talk of pizza, flapjacks, funny names, and bizarre, beak-growing moments that will really appeal. Carrie Sellon has created relatable characters and developed personalities.
With The Great Phoenix of London, Lindsay Galvin has once again woven a legend into a hugely significant historical event – an excellent way of grasping and keeping the attention of students aged between 9 and 12.
Mia and the Secrets of Lunis is a first-class read. Mia has been a relatable main protagonist from the start, struggling with both the every day and the unique problems she has encountered in her young life.
Cowgirls and Dinosaurs: Big Trouble in Little Spittle is a fast-paced, heart-warmingly hilarious and funny graphic novel. Lucie Ebrey explores what it takes to be a true friend.
Circus Maximus: Return of the Champion really evokes the historical period of the story, as well as providing an action-packed plot. The plot is detailed and audacious and there is a list of characters, information on chariots, and historical references.
World of Sport is an absorbing title, especially in this Olympic year perhaps, but it has much to offer beyond this initial association. World of Sport is a truly valuable addition to all non-fiction collections.
Doodle with Duddle: How to Draw Dinosaurs is essentially an educational book without feeling like one because of how fun it is to complete; thus, it is ideal for supplementing cross-curricular lessons.
Death at Morning House is a real page-turner, depicting modern and past teenage relationships with great accuracy and honesty. The setting of the novel is one reminiscent of The Great Gatsby, harking back to a time of American opulence and grandeur.
Mariana and the Merchild is a charming tale of love and kindness that will appeal to existing fans of Jackie Morris and those who have yet to discover her beautiful picture books.
Caterpillar Cake is a bright and fun-filled poetry collection that will appeal to fans of Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho with playful rhymes and madcap concepts that will engage even the most reluctant of readers.
Sisters of the Moon is an enthralling and atmospheric tale of the power of female friendship. Weaving lunar mythology with modern teenage concerns, this is a fast-paced and engaging read.
The Last Thing You’ll Hear is a summer must-read for any musical, festival-loving literary adventurer! This summer thriller has it all: musical undertones, family overtones and an enthralling will they/won’t they budding relationship!
Smoke and Mirrors is a credible title for Y6 or KS3 pupils with challenging home lives, who would derive comfort from seeing their own lives reflected in literature; equally well-placed as a title for opening up class discussion around the issues raised.
Mawson in Antarctica: To the Ends of the Earth is a great option for supporting curriculum topics and for children who find greater appeal in real-life stories than in fantasy worlds.
The Snowman Code is a lovely book with a nice message mixed into a story that should entertain most 7-9-year-olds. It’s ideal for reading before or after Christmas and beginning a discussion about bullying, mental health issues.
Poo in the Zoo: The Super Pooper Road Race has hilarious illustrations, rhyming text, and a touch of wordplay take the reader on an adventure to find out whose poo can be used to fuel madcap vehicles.
This is Happy! Explores happiness and how to find it, combining things all children love with bear hugs and an array of family fun. This book encourages young children to find happiness all around them and appreciate the little things.
One Up is a fun story to read aloud, it is bright and colourful with inventive illustrations which have plenty of detail and are just right for talking about. It is a book which will be read many times without everything being spotted straight away.
Sherlock Bones and the Mischief in Manhattan would be really fun to use in schools, encouraging students to solve the clues and building up a culture of collaboration as a class, working as a team to resolve the riddles.
The Midnight Panther is a truly joyous read that will appeal to readers of all ages. Its deceptively simple story of finding your place in the world is wonderfully enhanced by the incredible illustrations. This is truly a book to treasure.
Galápagos Islands is a beautifully designed and immersive book that will appeal to future scientists and explorers. It’s a beautifully presented non-fiction guide to one of the world’s most biodiverse and ecologically vital environments.
We Have Everything We Need To Start Again is a fresh, modern collection for both new and established poetry fans. It will have particular appeal to female readers and fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Nikita Gill.
Nora and the Map of Mayhem is a laugh-out-loud child’s, fiction book with character growth and development throughout. Joseph has you gripped from the start with hilarious anecdotes and beastly monsters that you can picture vividly in your mind.
100 Things to Know About Sport is part of an award-winning series that is educational, fun and good value for money. The clear explanations and bright illustrations make this a book that is easily accessible and one that you can dip in and out of.
Don’t Disturb the Pirate is a great bedtime story with an exciting, explorer/adventure style beginning following through to a calmer, sleep-inducing ending. The illustrations are engaging with glistening fish, tiny turtles and a cute and quirky seagull.
Grimwood: Party Animals is is perfect for early independent readers and those pupils who have just mastered beginner reads and are ready to finally enjoy a slightly longer story, but for whom it is critical the steps to reading for pleasure success are still available.
Watts and Whiskerton: Buried Bones and Troublesome Treasure is a lovely, fun book with very tactile and smaller thicker pages. Each page is welcoming and easy to understand, which is brilliant for less confident readers.
Delta and the Lost City by Anna Fargher is perfect for KS2 history, lovers of animal narratives and general natural disaster enthusiasts. This emotional story promotes loyalty, bravery and social justice and Pompeii’s devastating conclusion remains ingrained in our memory.
Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North would be best suited to a confident, mature, reading group aged 12+. It will be read by children who have lived through a pandemic relatively recently.
She Sold Seashells … and Dragons. The curious Mary Anning is a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging read for children interested in interested in dinosaurs, palaeontology and geology.
You Got This! is a joyful tale of positivity and mutual support that teaches children that they can be their own cheerleaders, whilst recognising that we all have our sad times.
Move, Mr Mountain! is a colourful, easily understood book for younger readers with plenty of details to spot and subjects to discuss. The friendship that grows between Mr Mountain and Lily is a highlight.
The Moonlit Campout would be a suitable text to support a topic on the dark. It would also be a good way of opening up early conversations around the things that scare us, as one character is afraid of the dark.
The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals is a smashing non-fiction title with endless use in a primary setting this is a book that is sure to be well-thumbed as soon as it is added to collections.
Wild East is an engaging, highly relevant tale that will appeal to fans of Steven Camden’s Stand Up Ferran Burke and Kwame Alexander’s Swing. A positive, uplifting tale, it will inspire future word-smiths and those who dare to dream of better things to come.
The Virtue Season is an engrossing, powerful tale that will appeal to fans of Kalynn Bayron’s Cinderella is Dead and Ally Condie’s Matched trilogy. The fast-paced plot will immediately grab the reader’s attention. The ending is exhilarating and cries out for a sequel.
Warrior Girl Unearthed is an immersive tale of cultural heritage and finding your own place in the world. It will appeal to fans of Kalyn Bayron and Tomi Adeyemi as well as readers who appreciate a well-crafted, culturally authentic adventure story.
Lily Halfmoon: The Witches’ Council is an easy, enjoyable read for 7-11-year-olds with flying paper dragons, sphinx riddles, taming kelpies, flying races, animal guardians and diary entries.
We Are Family is a delightful and moving celebration of how a family can comes together in hard times and overcome the adversities they face together as a unit.
The Boy in the Suit is a book with heart and a likeable main protagonist whose experiences encompass the problems far too many families are currently struggling with.
I Really, Really Don’t Like Parties is a perfect title for supporting the very young with their first explorations into the world of children’s parties, or indeed any example of attending their first events without an adult.
The Big Day would be a useful addition to classroom collections to promote inclusivity of all relationships. It could also be used as a discussion support text in PSHE.
Jawsome: Licence to Rock is a fun, funny book, and could just as easily be read aloud as a great way to end the school day. Suitable for both confident and reluctant readers it has just enough jeopardy to hold a child’s interest.
Sunny Side Up provides a healthy dose of positivity and a sensitive approach to the big feelings that little ones can often experience. It’s a great book for toddlers and primary-age children (and their adults!).
Dads Are Incredible is a celebration of all the wonderful dads out there. Heart-warming and funny, this book is a lovely read and a beautiful book that celebrates the love between a father and child and is sure to be a favourite on every bookshelf.
I can’t wait to recommend Dungeon Runners: Hero Trial to my Key Stage 2 pupils – especially those who love fantasy-adventure novels. The fact that it’s only the first in a series is even more exciting!
When the Wild Calls is a thrilling journey of adventure that leaves the reader wanting more and more. Expect 9-12-year-olds to get hooked on Juniper and Bear’s compelling ecological story. Highly recommended.
Max Magic: The Incredible Holiday Hideout is Dyslexia friendly with clear, spaced-out font and straightforward language combined with pace and action. Children will find it hard to put this book down.
How to be a Genius Kid is an effective high-low option for children who feel intimidated by ‘older’ books, and although technically a chapter book, it doesn’t feel like a chapter book!
Solstice: Around the World on the Longest, Shortest Day is an ideal KS2 non-fiction title for supporting Geography, Maths and PSHE units. Much more than this though, it is an essential leisure non-fiction title for its ability to quench the thirst of all hungry young fact finders!
Moving Up is a useful addition to the bookshelves of upper KS2 classrooms and Y7 form rooms, either as a text for supporting citizenship time discussions or for pupils to dip into independently.
The Last Dragon is an ideal class reader for upper KS2 pupils (Years 5 & 6 in primary school), either as a text for reading lessons or as a stimulus for book talk in PSHE time.
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Our latest reading national curriculum year group recommended reading lists: Picture books for the under 5s | Books for Reception | Books for Year 1 | Books for Year 2 | Books for Year 3 | Books for Year 4 | Books for Year 5 | Books for Year 6 | Books for Year 7 | Books for Year 8 | Books for Year 9 | Books for Year 10 | Books for Year 11
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