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.
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.
Goodnight Sun is a wonderful text to support families struggling with bedtime routines. This story is certain to raise a smile and some giggles from children and adults alike.
Knowing the Score is a lovely, positive book. You don’t need to be hooked on tennis to enjoy this as everything is explained clearly. Gemma is a mature, instantly relatable, main protagonist.
Sar Wylda and the Legendary Goldbreaker is a feast for the imagination. With inspirational characters, a touch of science, fast-paced life-and-death situations and bags of adventure for children aged 8 years and up.
Beti and the Little Round House is a lovely book which has the potential to enchant. There are four stories contained in this charming book, one for each season. It’s a book to treasure!
Big Ideas From Literature is an original non-fiction text that would be a great resource for school libraries and classrooms. The book provides both adults and children with a greater insight into the power of stories and how books can change our world.
This Book Will Self Destruct is a funny, action-packed graphic novel that will appeal to fans of the Agent 9 and Peng and Spanner series. The second book in the series – Agent Harrier: You Only Spy Twice – is due to be published in October 2024.
The Tindims of Rubbish Island and the Deep Sea Treasure is a lovely story written with great imagination. It is easily accessible and written in dyslexia friendly font. I also enjoyed the way each chapter is summarised before it starts.
Bringing Back Kay-Kay is a special book which explores a missing boy and how his family, friends, and the police view things differently. It’s an excellent story which will draw students in.
The Island at the Edge of Night both confirms and surprises in equal measure. Faye is an excellent main protagonist, who is conflicted but strong-willed and absolutely not about to go down without a fight!
Outside In is a beautiful, accessible poetry collection that will appeal to fans of Michael Rosen and Joseph Coelho. It’s beautifully presented, with full-colour illustrations on each page by Julia Murray.
The Heart of the World is a fantastically rich, swashbuckling adventure that will appeal to fans of Tamora Pierce and Kalynn Bayron. Themes of love, sacrifice, family and destiny are woven together in this intricately plotted and epic tale.
Aya and the Star Chaser is beautifully entwined with traditional Bengali folklore. This gothic fairy tale explores good versus evil, the love of family and conquering the darkest of enemies.
Your Brain is a Lump of Goo is an amusing and informative “book made by brains, about brains, for brains.” The illustrations are clever, fun, bright and engaging, encouraging children to absorb the information playfully.
High Top: Sole Mates is a persuasively positive and bright using colourful illustrations. It’s a brilliant model for young children to understand the concept of being considerate of others and most importantly, to spread love.
How to Teach Grown-Ups About Climate Change is an excellent introduction to the concept of climate change to captivate the thoughts of children and adults. It could inspire the next Greta Thunberg!
Skylar and the K-pop Headteacher is a joyful tale of friendship, being a super K-pop fan and chasing your dreams. It’s a highly enjoyable read with a great twist at the end.
Richard Scarry’s I Am a Bunny – since its original print over fifty years ago it has been translated into multiple languages, including bilingual editions.
Pink Trucks is an engaging read-aloud book that will surely capture the attention and imagination of young children – especially those who are fond of vehicles!
Aliya to the Infinite City is an exciting, fast-moving fantasy for confident readers who enjoy longer books. It has an exciting storyline with enticing cliffhangers which could be suitable for reading aloud.
Countdown to Bedtime Sleepy Unicorn will help young children slow down, relax and drift off to sleep, hopefully dreaming about the fluffy bunnies, tiny fireflies or some of the other lovely characters they have seen throughout the book.
Bad Panda: Mites, Camera, Action is a hilarious stand-alone story in itself but, there are others in the series. So, don’t be surprised if your child wants to read the rest of the series after they have finished!
Tourmaline and the Museum of Marvels is an excellent follow-up to Tourmaline and the Island of Elsewhere and once again I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. The strongest message throughout is that friendship matters.
Those We Drown is an immersive tale of mystery and hidden depths that will appeal to fans of Kalynn Bayron’s This Poison Heart. It is not recommended for anyone about to go on a cruise!
Where Sleeping Girls Lie is an intricately plotted tale of loyalty and the quest for justice. It will appeal to older readers who enjoyed This Book Kills and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.
Readers will quickly become immersed in this near-future, scarily real dystopia. Soulmates And Other Ways To Die is an original tale of destiny and independence that will appeal to fans of You & Me at the End Of The World.
The ‘Luis Ortega’ Survival Club is a powerful, uplifting story of bravery, friendship and standing up for the truth. It celebrates female empowerment and will appeal to fans of You Think You Know Me and Moxie.
If I were asked now to make up a package of ten collections of poetry to be shipped out to every primary school in the country, then this would be one of them. Neal Zetter’s poems are funny, surprising, liberating, clever and thought-provoking.
Whether used independently by students or as part of a structured revision program designed by teachers or parents, SATs Like a Ninja stands out as a highly accessible and useful revision guide to help build your Year 6 child’s confidence.
Hide and Seek is an absolutely brilliant book which shows how secrecy, rumour, and paranoia became interwoven with everyday life during WW2. It is sympathetic and informative in a way which means most readers in the designated age range will be able to access.
Aimed at children aged 7+, Grimwood: Attack of the Stink Monster is ideal for reading aloud to the class. The unpredictable humour will engage and further motivate pupils to read independently. ‘Awooga!’
Bird is Dead is a great book for adults to share with a child and explore this important subject. There are amusing moments mixed with the colourful illustrations that give the subject a lighter note.
Elki Is Not My Dog will encourage children to consider things from an animal’s point of view and consider compassion and the care a dog needs. The expressions of the characters enhance the empathy and kindness theme which, runs through the book.
Hotel for Cats is a fun read, with humour aimed directly at younger readers with pawful puns aplenty but the simple storyline also contains a serious message. It’s ideal for reading aloud, especially with all the cat puns contained here!
A Cure Ever After is a clever, immersive tale of friendship, deceit and finding your own place in the world. It will appeal to fans of Philip Pullman and Rainbow Rowell as well as readers who appreciate a well-crafted fantasy.
Stitch Head is an action-packed graphic novel that will appeal to fans of the Amelia Fang and Grimwood series. The graphic novel format makes for a lively and accessible read, even for reluctant readers.
Alyssa and the Spell Garden is a good book to discuss the importance of community, whether that is where you live, where you go to school, or where you spend your leisure time, and how easily that can change.
The Grimmelings is an atmospheric, well-written, standalone novel where the majesty of New Zealand’s stunningly beautiful landscape leaps off the page. The lives of Ella and her family draw you straight in.
I Really, Really Need a Poo by Karl Newson and Duncan Beedie is a great talking point for PSED topics and animal studies. Children may want to join in with the gassy sound effects. Expect many re-readings.
Time Travellers: Adventure Calling is a brilliant book for those who love or loathe history as it is written in such an informative and engaging way that it should appeal to everyone.
Peng and Spanners is a funny, action-packed graphic novel. The bold layouts and large speech bubbles will appeal to reluctant readers, making this a highly accessible and fun read. Further books in the series are planned.
The Untameables is a charming tale of friendship and bravery. Themes of independence, respecting others and standing up for your own truth run throughout the book, giving young readers a powerful story of tolerance and inner strength.
Frank the Unicorn Alpaca is a fun story with an easy rhythm, which is humorous, joyful, and great to read aloud. Frank is an unlikely hero and at the beginning. everyone can sympathise with his dilemma.
A Drop of Golden Sun is a lovely, feel-good, novel where problems are revealed and then solved without too much angst. There are interweaving storylines covering loneliness, bullying, alcohol abuse, fragmented families, and mental health issues.
Winner Takes Gold is is an enjoyable read. As an adventure story for someone who enjoys reading anything sport-related, this could very well hit the spot. The lengths some will go to in pursuit of perfection were scarily detailed.
Diamond Jack is excellent book is a fast-moving and action-packed read, with great main protagonists to cheer for. There are plenty of surprises, many of which I didn’t see coming at all!
Old Bear is a charmingly nostalgic tale that will appeal to young readers and their parents. It would be ideal for bedtime reading or group storytime sessions. The text is beautifully illustrated, with a full-page picture on each spread.
Ultrawild’s large-scale format and shiny cover will give it instant shelf appeal. The intricate line drawings, multiple speech bubbles and graphic-novel-style presentation will grab the attention.
Evolution is a high-quality, fascinating insight into our amazing natural world, perfect for both classroom and school library usage. It will appeal to confident readers with an interest in nature who are looking to be inspired by scientific pioneers.
I Want a Dog is a lovely book, using straightforward language in just the right amount and at the right register, clearly and economically illustrated and revealing an important insight, which I have for some time now tried to ensure that my grandson can absorb.
Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm is a fast-moving middle-grade novel which draws the reader into an exciting dual-realm adventure. Readers will relate to the characters and the mythical Cosmic Realm.
Growing Up Powerful Journal is a positive, interactive resource for the early teenage years that will appeal to fans of Judy Blume and the Rebel Girls books. Each section has a multi-choice personality-style quiz and real-life stories of inspiring girls and young women.
A Bear Called Paddington is a delightful collection that will appeal to readers of all ages and will be a particular delight for story time sessions. In this edition, the marmalade-loving bear from Darkest Peru is as charming today as ever.
Ancient Love Stories will appeal to both history and romance fans and to all readers longing for their own epic love story. Written by classical scholar Emily Hauser and illustrated by Swedish designer Sander Berg, this is a highly visually appealing book.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe board book is a gentle way to introduce very young readers to a more sophisticated series of children’s stories. This version brings that magical world to life for younger children.
The Memory Thieves is fast-moving and exciting throughout and could easily be enjoyed as a whole class experience or as private reading for those at the higher end of the suggested reading ages and abilities.
Storm Dragon is a beautifully illustrated book which, according to my six-year-old grandson, had nothing in it he didn’t like! The grandpa and his grandchild tackle everything with an enthusiasm that leaps off the page.
Santa’s New Reindeer all children will enjoy and I think will result in it becoming a favourite Christmas read. It is a pleasure to read aloud to a young audience who I have no doubt will enjoy it enormously, especially as the reader has to say ‘poop’!
Merry Whatmas? is a lovely book about what Christmas should be about seen through the eyes of Hedgehog, Tortoise, and their friends. Each page covers a different friend and their favourite part of the preparations for the big day.
The illustrations in Scarygirl are wonderful and there is far more in each picture than first meets the eye. One advantage of this graphic novel is that one visit isn’t nearly enough.
Last-Place Lin is a positive and highly relevant tale of determination that will appeal to fans of Charlie and Lola and Julia Donaldson. The bright illustrations and minimal text make for an accessible read and children will identify with the Sports Day theme.
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