Summer Reading Challenge
Summer reading challenge – A good reading challenge will not only promote reading and encourage reading for pleasure, but it will encourage a reading culture to spread like a virus throughout your school. Updated for 2026.
Sarah Crossan author page
Sarah Crossan biography
Sarah Crossan is an Irish author of books for children, teenagers and adults. She grew up in Dublin and London and studied philosophy and literature before training as an English and drama teacher at the University of Cambridge.
Her novel The Weight of Water was first published in 2011. She followed it with books including Apple and Rain (2014), One (2015), Moonrise (2017), Toffee (2019) and Where the Heart Should Be (2022).
One, a verse novel published by Bloomsbury in 2015, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 2016. Crossan’s books for children and teenagers have also received the CBI Book of the Year Award, the YA Book Prize and the CLiPPA Poetry Award.
Her first novel for adults, Here Is the Beehive, was published in 2020. In 2025, Walker Books published her picture book A Totally Big Umbrella, illustrated by Rebecca Cobb.
A Totally Big Umbrella was published by Walker Books on 28 August 2025.
Biography writer: Joanna Nance-Phillips
Children’s literature expert and primary school teacher with 30+ years of experience running a primary school library, teaching literacy and tutoring in the UK and abroad. Articles and reviews by Joanna Nance-Phillips 
Farming themed books for children and teens
Farming themed books for children with titles by Michael Morpurgo, Mary Hoffman, Elwyn Brooks White, Stella Gibbons, John Lewis-Stempel, James Rebanks, Sarah Crossan, Sita Brahmachari, Linda Newbery, and Adam Henson.
Books for 12 year olds
Books for 12-year-olds – favourites chosen by children including titles by Michael Grant, Sarah Crossan, Rick Riordan, Taran Matharu, A.F. Steadman, Erin Hunter, Malala Yousafzai, Faridah Abike-Iyimide, Christopher Edge, Lis Jardine and Alice Oseman.
Our picks of the best children’s books coming out in spring 2026
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.
Resilience topic books
Children’s books about resilience, perseverance, and grit, including titles suitable for KS1 and KS2 by David Long, Cece Bell, Matthew Syed, Julie Murphy, Esther Pia Cordova, and Barney Salzberg.
Children’s Literature News August 2025
Children’s book news for August 2025: classroom reading picks, prize winners, nature writing, humour awards, YA headlines, festivals, and policy moves shaping libraries and school resources.
Our picks of the best children’s books coming out in Spring 2019
Here’s our selection of top new titles coming out in Spring 2019. These reading recommendations include picture books, early and middle-grade fiction; young adult novels and non-fiction.
2016 CILIP Carnegie Medal Shortlisted Books
The 2016 shortlist of books for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2016 – recommended for children aged 10-14+ and young adults in primary and secondary schools. A great list for secondary school class readers and summer reading material for teens.
Bestselling books by Sarah Crossan
Browse Sarah Crossan books on UK.Bookshop.orgBrowse Sarah Crossan books on Waterstones.com
Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops, or Waterstones.com.
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Our latest reading national curriculum year group recommended reading lists:
- Books for EYFS | Books for Reception
- Books for KS1 | Books for Year 1 | Books for Year 2
- Books for KS2 | Books for Year 3 | Books for Year 4 | Books for Year 5 | Books for Year 6
- Books for KS3 | Books for Year 7 | Books for Year 8 | Books for Year 9
- Books for KS4 | Books for Year 10 | Books for Year 11
- Books for 6th Form
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