Recommended reading books for primary and secondary aged children in the UK
Curated children’s book lists selected by genre and nonfiction subject for cross-curricular teaching. Are you looking for great books to support your primary KS1 or KS2 teaching areas?
Below are our recommended collections for cross-curricular projects. These book list suggestions aim to cover all curriculum subjects and themes and include a variety of genres, including poetry, reading for pleasure, fiction and narrative nonfiction. We’re adding new genres and nonfiction subjects every week, and we hope these lists of quality texts will help teachers and librarians to find useful books for classrooms and school libraries.
Genre and nonfiction books are a great way to encourage children to read for pleasure, delve into a subject on their own terms, investigate areas they are interested in for deeper home learning, and develop a personal attachment to a curriculum area. Books for cross-curricular teaching also allow pupils to appreciate how cultures, civilisations, movements and philosophies span disciplines in real life and are not limited to discrete areas of learning.
Not only that, but when a child reads a book about something they are enthusiastic about, suddenly it no longer seems like schoolwork. Using classroom displays of genre-books, and highlighting non-fiction corners of the library can help to motivate students to read independently and develop preferred literary interests.
The lists are updated and revised regularly to make sure books are up-to-date and relevant to the UK National Curriculum. Each recommended book includes a description and suggestions for classroom use. For each genre, there’s also a hand-picked selection of useful resources, links and free downloadables.
Our genre and cross-curricular booklists are created for UK teachers and school librarians who need reliable texts for topics, themes and classroom libraries, with contributions from subject specialists on our booklist curation panel. We add and refresh lists regularly to help schools find strong fiction, nonfiction, poetry and narrative nonfiction for teaching and reading for pleasure. For age-specific recommendations, start with KS2 reading lists or KS3 reading lists.
For more nonfiction and ideas, see our list of magazines for children and teens.
By Tom Tolkien. This page was last updated on .
History books for children and teens tailored for KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4 teaching and learning and school libraries.
Geography topic books for children in UK primary schools. Exciting nonfiction and fiction titles to enliven geography teaching.
PSHE (Personal, Social, Health, and Economic Education) topic books for children in UK primary and secondary schools.
British Black history books for children and teens including titles by Floella Benjamin, David Olusoga, Atinuke, Benjamin Zephaniah, Alison Hammond, Jeffrey Boakye, Catherine Johnson, Michaela Morgan, David Lammy and Troy Deeney.
Books for children about politicians, big egos and influencers with titles by Michael Rosen, Hans Christian Andersen, L. Frank Baum, Beverley Naidoo, Elle McNicoll, Yomi Adegoke, Rebecca F. Kuang, Naomi Klein, Jon Ronson, and Maria Ressa.
Science fiction and STEM topic books for Key Stage 1,2 & 3, including fiction and nonfiction titles by Amy Bond, Christopher Edge, David Wiesner, Jane Wilsher, Ross Welford, SF Said and Margaret Wild.
LGBTQIA+ themed books for secondary schools, featuring titles by Simon James Green, Alice Oseman, David Levithan, Phil Stamper, Rainbow Rowell, Dean Atta, Meg Grehan, Juno Dawson, Kalynn Bayron, William Hussey and Erin Ekins.
Gardening topic books – our list includes nonfiction practical guides, picture books, garden-related stories and illustrated reference books with titles by authors including Melanie Brown, Lizzy Stewart, Abigail Wheatley, A.M. Howell, Gilles Clement and Émilie Vast.
Teen thrillers with titles by Holly Jackson, Karen M. McManus, E. Lockhart, Robert Muchamore, Sophie McKenzie, Maureen Johnson, Kody Keplinger, Rory Power, Ravena Guron, and William Hussey.
Environment, climate change and eco topic books for EYFS, KS1, KS2 & KS3 with titles by Emma Shevah, Neal Layton, Jess French, Karen Swann, Piers Torday, Gemma Fowler, Isabel Thomas & Zillah Bethell.
Ancient Egyptian topic books for Key Stage 2, including titles by David Long, Emma Carroll, Emily Bone, David Weitzman, Marcia Williams, Joe Todd-Stanton, Laura Wood and Terry Deary.
Children’s books about families and adoption 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.
Children’s and YA stories set in Cornwall with titles by Michael Morpurgo, Rosemary Manning, Daphne Du Maurier, Tom Palmer, P. D. James, Liz Kessler, Susan Cooper, Helen Dunmore, Lauren St John, and Winston Graham.
Dystopian books for children and teens with titles by George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, Suzanne Collins, Stephen King, William Golding, Kazuo Ishiguro, Ray Bradbury, Jordan Ifueko, Yoko Ogawa, and Patrick Ness.
Survival and bushcraft books for children and teens with titles by Bear Grylls, Andy McNab, Katherine Rundell, Michael Rosen, William Golding, Neal Shusterman, Preet Chandi, Jean Craighead George, Gary Paulsen, and Michael Grant.
Books for teenage boys who don’t like reading with titles by Marcus Rashford, Randall Munroe, Marjane Satrapi, Caitlin Doughty, Juno Dawson, Tom Palmer, Deborah Meaden, Dean Atta, Rashmi Sirdeshpande, Malcolm Duffy, Nathanael Lessore.
Volcanoes and earthquakes topic books for KS2. Authors include Ben Hubbard, Sophie Williams, Philip Pullman, Lauren St John, Caroline Lawrence, Anita Ganeri, Anne-Sophie Baumann and Meredith Hooper.
All about me topic books for EYFS including picture books by Mem Fox, The School of Life, Esther Pia Cordova, Lupita Nyong’o, Hervé Tullet, Sophy Henn, David McKee, and more.
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 Pichon, Jo Simmons and Enid Blyton.
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.
Children’s and teen books about World War 1 with titles by Terry Deary, Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey, Michaela Morgan, Berlie Doherty, Dominic Sandbrook, Theresa Breslin, Tom Palmer, Michael Morpurgo and Hilary McKay.
Slave trade books for children and teens with titles by Kwame Alexander, Catherine Johnson, Alex Wheatle, Esi Edugyan, Yaa Gyasi, Andrea Levy, Zora Neale Hurston, Mary Prince, James Walvin, and Kereen Getten.
First chapter books for children aged 5-8 with titles by Michael Rosen, Ross Montgomery, Alex Milway, Katie Jennings, Phil Earle, Francesca Simon, Cornelia Funke, Julie Sykes, Alex T. Smith, and Harriet Muncaster.
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.
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.
Romans themed 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.
Remembrance and war topic books for children in KS1 and KS2 suitable for literacy, research, and cross-curricular topics. Including titles by Michael Rosen, Lois Lowry, Tom Palmer, Kate Saunders, Martin Impey, Bali Rai, and Judith Loske.
Nuclear war and survival books for children and teens with titles by David McKee, Emma Carroll, David Almond, Kerry Drewery, Robert Swindells, Todd Strasser, Judith Loske, Raymond Briggs, Nevil Shute and Annie Jacobsen.
Autumn books for children in EYFS, KS1, and KS2 suitable for cross-curricular topics. Including titles by Sam Usher, Lois Ehlert, Ruth Symons, Hazel Maskell, Dianna Aston, Jessica Courtney-Tickle, and Emily Gravett.
Human body books for children in EYFS, KS1, and KS2 suitable for cross-curricular topics. Including titles by Charlotte Markey, Robert Winston, Adam Kay, Yumi Stynes, Emma Quay, Nick Fisher, and Elizabeth Verdick.
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.
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.
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.
Graphic novel versions of GCSE English novels and playscript set texts for young adults in KS4 to appeal to both reluctant and able readers and make challenging exam texts more accessible.
Golf books for children and teens with titles by James Patterson, P. G. Wodehouse, John Feinstein, Mark Frost, Clive Gifford, John David Anderson, Shamini Flint, David A. Kelly, Richard Michelson, and Ann Kelly.
Books for detentions with titles by Kate DiCamillo, David Baddiel, Liz Pichon, Jeff Kinney, Michael Rosen, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, Ravena Guron, Holly Jackson, and Karen M. McManus.
Traditional stories for children with titles by Sophie Anderson, Jon Klassen, Taiye Selasi, Axie Oh, Michael Rosen, Ibi Zoboi, Hafsah Faizal, Chitra Soundar, Kevin Crossley-Holland, Mal Peet, and Isabel Greenberg.
Poetry books for 5-7 year olds with titles by Michael Rosen, Benjamin Zephaniah, Maya Angelou, Dr. Seuss, Joseph Coelho, Jane Yolen, Nicola Davies, James Carter, Matt Goodfellow, and June Crebbin.
Ocean and sea life books for children with titles by Alex Bell, Lauren James, Jess McGeachin, Nicola Davies, Michael Morpurgo, Yuval Zommer, Britta Teckentrup and Ken Wilson-Max.
Dinosaurs topic books for EYFS, KS1 & KS2. With books by authors including Dean Lomax, Susan Hayes, Chae Strathie, Hollie Hughes, Sophy Henn, Julia Donaldson, Matthew Reinhart and Deiter Braun.
Consent books for teens with titles by Laura Bates, Laurie Halse Anderson, Holly Bourne, Juno Dawson, Louise O’Neill, George M. Johnson, Non Pratt, Jennifer Mathieu, Alan Bissett, and Courtney Summers.
Primary to secondary school transition books including titles by Matt Goodfellow, Anne Fine, Katie Kirby, Rosie Jones, Lisa Williamson, Libby Scott, Rebecca Westcott, Jeffrey Boakye, Yassmin Abdel-Magied, and Tolá Okogwu.
Animal stories for children – our reading suggestions with first chapter books, middle-grade fiction, teen novels and picture books by writers including Iona Rangely, Joe Wicks, Satoshi Kitamura, Moira Butterfield, Toon Tellegen and Nina Bawden.
Animals nonfiction books for children with wildlife, behaviour, conservation, endangered species, animal diversity and evolution titles by Mike Barfield, Julie Beer, Ed J Brown, Dieter Braun, Susan Martineau, Brooke Barker and Moira Butterfield.
Edgy stories for 11-14 year olds with titles by Kwame Alexander, Malorie Blackman, Hilary McKay, Jason Rohan, Ele Fountain, Christopher Edge, Catherine Bruton, Derek Landy, Simon James Green, Robert Muchamore, Anne Cassidy & more.
Superhero stories for 3-11-year-olds – our recommendations. This list features picture books and short chapter books by writers and illustrators including Julia Donaldson, Dav Pilkey, Neal Zetter, Phil Earle, Mini Grey, Cynthia Leonor Garza, Sue Hendra and more.
Christmas topic books with fiction and nonfiction suitable for children in EYFS, KS1 & KS2 including titles by Raymond Briggs, Fiona Watt, Dawn Casey, Kate Saunders Graham Oakley and Catherine Doyle.
Playscripts for children including titles by Julia Donaldson, Roald Dahl, Louie Stowell, Alan Ayckbourn, Sarah Walden, Ted Hughes, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo, David Grant, Malorie Blackman, Zizou Corder, Piers Torday and Evan Placey.
Weather books for children with titles by David McKee, Debi Gliori, Hannah Pang, Sam Usher, Maggie Li, Grahame Baker-Smith, Dianne Hofmeyr and Carol Thompson, James Carter, Tamsin Mori and more.
Books about fashion for children and teens with titles by María Isabel Sánchez Vegara, Megan Hess, Sophia Bennett, Holly Smale, Juno Dawson, John Peacock, Lesley Ware, Carina Axelsson, Caroline Young, and Sofi Thanhauser.
Combat sports books for children and teens with titles by María Isabel Sánchez Vegara, James Patterson, Kwame Alexander, Jewell Parker Rhodes, Markus Zusak, Fonda Lee, Robin Ha, Nicola Adams, Ronda Rousey, and C. S. Pacat.
Judaism books for children and teens with titles by Michael Rosen, Sandi Toksvig, Elie Wiesel, Art Spiegelman, Lesléa Newman, Liz Kessler, Keren David, Elana K. Arnold, Peter Lantos, and Susan Hood.
Rugby books for children and teens with titles by Patrick Ness, Alice Oseman, Tom Palmer, Shamini Flint, Adam Hargreaves, Chloe Walsh, Maggie Alphonsi, Rob Burrow, Johnny Sexton, and Gordon D’Arcy.
Food and cookery topic books including picture books by Gianna Pollero, Jasbinder Bilan, Winsome Bingham, Ewa Jozefkowicz, Chris Callaghan, A.F. Harrold, Morag Hood, Laura Gladwin and more.
Fables for children with titles by Satoshi Kitamura, Joseph Coelho, Sophie Anderson, Petr Horáček, Helen Ward, Poonam Mistry, Sita Brahmachari, Onjali Q. Rauf, Yuval Zommer, and Yaba Badoe.
Children’s books with LGBTQIA+ themes for primary schools with titles by Jessica Love, Simon James Green, Ian Eagleton, Juno Dawson, Raina Telgemeier, Sarah Hagger-Holt, Alex Gino, Jen Carney and Benjamin Dean.
Banned books week suggestions with middle-grade fiction, teen novels, nonfiction and picture books by writers including Roald Dahl, Judy Blume, Jason Reynolds, Raina Telgemeier, David Levithan and Sherman Alexie.
Kindness, empathy and love children’s books for students aged 3-12+ including titles by Laura Dockrill, Malcolm Duffy, Dan Smith, Alice Oseman, Jess McGeachin, Michael Rosen, Catherine Rayner, Satoshi Kitamura, Suma Subramaniam, Benjamin Dean, R J Palacio & more.
Easter topic books with fiction and nonfiction suitable for children in EYFS, KS1 & KS2 including titles by Roger Hargreaves, Fiona Watt, Charlotte Zolotow, Emily Gravett, Brian Wildsmith and Kes Gray.
Book series for children and teens to encourage reading for pleasure, including titles by Dominic Sandbrook, Liz Pichon, Harriet Muncaster, Kevin & Katie Tsang, Marie Lu Robert Muchamore and Jason Reynolds.
Maps, mapping and atlases for children and teens, including nonfiction titles by Vivian French, Collins Maps, Emily Hawkins, Thiago de Moraes, Lonely Planet, Joshua Foer, Tim Marshall and Dorling Kindersley.
Cricket books for children with titles by Clive Gifford, Shamini Flint, Gary D. Schmidt, Shehan Karunatilaka, Cheryl Diane Parkinson, Matt Oldfield, Tanya Aldred, Sachin Tendulkar, Varsha Shah, and Lawrence Booth.
Fishing books for children and teens with titles by Beatrix Potter, Emily Gravett, Anita Desai, Jess Butterworth, Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock, Ernest Hemingway, Bao Phi, Chigozie Obioma, Liz Kessler, Malachy Tallack and Herman Meville.
Science fiction books for children and teens with titles by Karen Inglis, Christopher Edge, Madeleine L’Engle, Louis Sachar, Donna Barba Higuera, S. F. Said, Malorie Blackman, James Dashner, Douglas Adams, Soyoung Park, Ben Oliver & more.
Exploration topic books for KS2, including fiction and nonfiction novels, picture books and real life stories by writers including Sally Walker, William Grill, Libby Jackson, Nellie Huang, Catherine Johnson, Katherine Rundell, Alexandra Stewart and Joe Todd-Stanton.
Careers books for children and teens with titles by Dr Shini Somara, Tony Fadell, Helen Tupper, Sarah Ellis, Paul D. Tieger, Barbara Barron, Lucy Clayton, Marc ‘Elvis’ Priestley, Lydia Spurr, and Joel Elad.
Lunar New Year books for children and teens with titles by Grace Lin, Malinda Lo, Geraldine McCaughrean, Gene Luen Yang, Sue Lynn Tan, Adeline Yen Mah, Alice Wong, Aram Kim, Eric Huang, and Kevin Tsang.
Music books for children including titles by Giles Andreae, Rose Robbins, Jackie Morris, Brita Granström, Fiona Watt, Kes Gray, David Almond, James Mayhew, Jeffrey Boakye, and Jasbinder Bilan.
Dance books for children with titles by Giles Andreae, Guy Parker-Rees, Joseph Coelho, Noel Streatfeild, Eva Ibbotson, Anna Kemp, Johannes Radebe, Chitra Soundar, Katherine Woodfine, and Efua Traore.
Pop-up and interactive books for children with titles by Julia Donaldson, Axel Scheffler, Jan Pieńkowski, Robert Sabuda, Antoine de Saint-Exupery, David McKee, Moira Butterfield, Clotilde Perrin, Charlotte Guillain, and Christopher Lloyd.
Spring themed books for children with books by Cicely Mary Barker, Eric Carle, Ruth Brown, Sam Usher, Gabby Dawnay, Moira Butterfield and Daniel Thompson and more.
Africa themed books for children and teens with nonfiction and fiction titles by Wakanyi Hoffman and Onyinye Iwu, Niki Daly, Ken Wilson-Max, Yaba Badoe, Wilbur Smith, Namina Forna, Wole Soyinka and more.
Children’s and teen books about World War 2 with fiction, nonfiction, true stories, picture books, graphic novels, poetry and diaries, with titles by Michael Rosen, Bali Rai, Tom Palmer, Sufiya Ahmed, Michael Morpurgo, Ruta Sepetys and Anne Frank.
Politics books for children and teens including titles by Michael Rosen, Alastair Campbell, Kamala Harris, Amanda Li, Tim Marshall, Malala Yousafzai, George Orwell, Axie Oh and many more.
Australia topic books by a diverse range of Australian children’s authors and illustrators, including books by Margaret Wild, Armin Greder, Lian Tanner, Dianne Bates, Aunty Joy Murphy, Kate Grenville and Paul Jennings.
Winter themed books for children and teens with titles by Chitra Soundar, Walter De la Mare, Dawn Casey, i-Spy, Abi Elphinstone, Sam Usher, Sue Hendra, Michael Morpurgo, Melissa Albert and Michael Rosen.
Children’s books about minibeasts, including titles by Britta Teckentrup, David McKee, Sharon King-Chai, Eric Carle, Libby Walden, Steve Jenkins, Giles Andreae, M.G. Leonard, Lynne Reid Banks and Isabel Thomas.
Encyclopedias for children in primary and early secondary school with titles by Kate Hale, Christopher Lloyd, Paige Towler, DK, Andrew Pettie, Julie Beer, John Woodward and Jane Wilsher.
Toxic masculinity themed books for children and teens with titles by Ziggy Hanaor, Keith Negley, Jason Reynolds, Jeffrey Boakye & Darren Chetty, Susie Day, Nathanael Lessore, Luke Palmer, James Goodhand, Louise Finch and Alan Bissett.
Manga for teens including titles by Masashi Kishimoto, Tsugumi Ohba, Hiromu Arakawa, Io Sakisaka, Hajime Isayama, Kazue Kato, Bisco Hatori, Eiichiro Oda, Ryoko Fukuyama, and Yana Toboso.
Victorians topic books for children with titles by Mick Manning, E.L Norry, Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Rosen, Catherine Bruton, Philip Pullman, Berlie Doherty, Terry Deary, Lindsay Galvin and Kieran Larwood.
Keep your teen reading over the summer holidays with books by Abiola Bello, Simon James Green, Cynthia Murphy, Oskar Kroon, Meredith Adamo, E Lockhart, Angeline Boulley, Tess Sharpe, John Schu and more.
Chess themed books for children & teens, including titles by Daniel King, Tanitoluwa Adewumi, Murray Chandler, Jennifer Shahade, Graham Burgess, Sabrina Chevanne, Stefan Zweig and Vladimir Nabokov.
Art topic books for 4-16-year-olds – our recommendations. This list includes how to art guides and real-life stories about children and adults inspired by art. Writers include Julia Donaldson, Allan Ahlberg, Andrea Beaty, Kari Herbert, David Hockney, Akwaeke Emezi and Tracy Chevalier.
Children’s books to read over the weekend including picture books by Sophy Henn, Josh Lacey, Maz Evans, Ben Miller, Zillah Bethell, Emily Critchley, Eliza Berkowitz, Phil Earle and more.
Maya civilisation books for children including fiction and nonfiction titles by Maz Evans, Katherine Rundell, Alex Scarrow, Alastair Humphreys, Clare Hibbert, Davide Domenici, Jerome Martin and Rupert Matthews.
Classics for children with titles by E.B. White, John Masefield, Somadeva, Roald Dahl, Michael Rosen, Jenny Nimmo, Benjamin Zephaniah, Vijaydan Detha, Rosemary Sutcliff and Sane Guruji.
Stone Age, Bronze Age & Iron Age themed children’s books including titles by Bridget Marzo, Raymond Briggs, Kathleen Fidler, Tom Palmer, Marcia Williams, Satoshi Kitamura, Sophie Kirtley, Terry Deary, Ben Lerwill & more.
Architecture, buildings and home books for children with titles by Charlotte Guillain, Britta Teckentrup, Moira Butterfield, Roman Belyaev, Andrea Beaty, Mick Manning, Brita Granström, Jenny Jacoby, Paul Farrell and more.
Tudor and Stuart books for children including titles by Patrice Lawrence, Terry Deary, Gillian Clements, Michael Rosen, Lindsay Galvin, Philip Ardagh, Lucy Worsley, Michael Morpurgo, Ally Sherrick and Tony Bradman.
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