Recommended reading books for primary & secondary aged children in the UK
Joshua Seigal is a poet, performer and educator. He earned an MA in creative writing and education from Goldsmiths, University of London. He has performed at schools and at festivals including the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Cheltenham Literature Festival and the Emirates Airline Literature Festival. He is an ambassador for National Poetry Day UK, and he has been commissioned to write and perform for the BBC.
His Bloomsbury books include I Don’t Like Poetry (2016), which was shortlisted for the Laugh Out Loud Awards, Little Lemur Laughing (2017), Welcome to My Crazy Life (2020), Yapping Away (2021), Who Let the Words Out? (2023) and I Tell Myself I’m Awesome (2026). He edited the anthology I Bet I Can Make You Laugh (2018). He won the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards in 2020 with I Bet I Can Make You Laugh and in 2023 with Yapping Away, won the People’s Book Prize in 2022, and Who Let the Words Out? won the 2024 Reading Rocks Award in the Lower Key Stage Two category. His 2026 collection I Tell Myself I’m Awesome was published by Bloomsbury Education on 26 February 2026.
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.
Suggested reading books for Year 4 children, aged 8-9. A selection of exciting titles aimed at boys and girls of all abilities in lower KS2. Featured authors include Michael Rosen, Helen Cresswell, Andy Griffiths, Pamela Butchart and Malorie Blackman.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in spring 2026. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
Season 1, Episode 14 of the School Reading List podcast. New book post, 30 great books for September 2023 and how to organise quiet reading time.
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Autumn 2023. These 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 2021. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
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