Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Chris Riddell’s Doodle a Day
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat (Ottoline, #1)
Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse (Goth Girl, #1)
Ottoline Goes to School (Ottoline, #2)
Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death (Goth Girl, #2)
Poems to Live Your Life By
Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright (Goth Girl, #3)
Ottoline at Sea (Ottoline, #3)
Neil Gaiman/Chris Riddell 3-Book Box Set: Coraline; The Graveyard Book; Fortunately, the Milk
Goth Girl and the Pirate Queen (Goth Girl, #2.5)
Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony (Goth Girl, #4)
Ottoline and the Purple Fox (Ottoline, #4)
The Emperor of Absurdia
Poems to Fall in Love With
100 Hugs: Festive Edition
Wendel’s Workshop
Buddhism For Sheep
Guardians of Magic (The Cloud Horse Chronicles, #1)
Mr Underbed
My Little Book of Big Freedoms: The Human Rights Act in Pictures
Explore Halloween costumes inspired by children’s books by Michael Lawrence, Eric Carle, Janet Ahlberg, Allan Ahlberg, Jill Murphy, Julia Donaldson, Cressida Cowell, Nicola Killen, Lucy Strange, and L. Frank Baum.
Children’s poetry for 7-11-year-olds with collections and anthologies by Michael Rosen, Joseph Coelho, Carol Ann Duffy, Brian Moses, Benjamin Zephaniah, Zaro Weil, Kate Wakeling, Neal Zetter, John Agard, T.S Eliot, Maya Angelou, Kaye Webb and more.
Children’s book news for June 2025: award winners, new releases, book sales trends, and key updates for UK teachers and parents. Find highlights from poetry and fiction to inclusive books and literacy campaigns.
Seaside themed stories for EYFS, KS1, KS2 and KS3 with titles by Michael Rosen, Mairi Hedderwick, Shirley Hughes, Sam Usher, Atinuke, Richard Pickard, Michael Morpurgo, Lauren St John, Liz Kessler and more.
20 pirate books for children interested in life on the high seas and primary schools looking for pirate books for cross curricular topics. Authors include James Davies, Celia Rees, Neil Gaiman, Lindsay Eagar, Derek Keilty, Cornelia Funke, and Philip Ardagh.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Summer 2025. These reading recommendations include picture books, poetry, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Books for Year 1 – here’s our selection to challenge and interest children aged 5-6 in UK primary schools. Handpicked recommendations from teachers and librarians, with titles by Michael Rosen, Julia Donaldson, Jon Klassen, Judith Kerr, Satoshi Kitamura, and more.
Children’s, young adult and teen books about Halloween, trick or treating, ghosts, unexplained events, and dark spooky nights. With books by Oliver Jeffers, Julia Donaldson, Eric Carle, Harriet Muncaster, Roald Dahl, Susan Hill, Neil Gaiman, Rainbow Rowell and more.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2024. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels, poetry and non-fiction.
Season 1, Episode 7 of the School Reading List podcast. With new book post, 30 great books for February 2023, a look at our 6th form book list and why we reading records are not a good idea.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in autumn 2020. These children’s reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in autumn 2019. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
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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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