Recommended Reading List

 

Books for EYFS – our recommendations

Books for EYFS – 100 picture books to read before you are 5 years old. Here’s our selection of recommended picture books that are ideal for children aged 3-5 who are learning to read at home, or in Nursery, pre-school, Early Years, and infant schools. 

 

Children learn to read pictures before they read words, and that’s why it’s so important to make use of picture books when reading with the youngest children. There will be a wide variation in reading and inference abilities in this age group, and this is normal.

 

Children love to look at stories through the illustrations, ask questions and think about what will happen next. Repetitive language and the use of rhyme will also help children to predict, mimic and remember the words, and encourage them to join in with parents, teachers or older siblings at reading time. This collection of 100 picture books includes wordless stories, rhyming tales, counting stories, poetry and traditional fables – all highly illustrated to keep your child’s imagination fired up.

 
Books for Reception – the following list contains suggested stories to appeal to children aged 4 and 5 years old in primary school EYFS classes in the UK. These reading recommendations include a range of titles to cover all ability ranges. We aim to provide a wide variety of book choices for literacy planning, reading spines, and to develop a reading for pleasure pedagogy. These books are suited to first independent reading, paired reading, to read together with your child or for encouraging a lifelong love of books. This list of picture book titles for infants is reviewed regularly and features authors including Steve Weatherill, Antoinette Portis, Fifi Kuo, Jeanne Willis, Chitra Soundar, Oliver Jeffers, and Julie Fulton.
 

Suggested reading list for Year 1 pupils in KS1 age 5-6 by  and last updated on 14 October 2021.

Books for Year 1 – the following list contains suggested stories to appeal to children aged 5 and 6 years old in lower Key Stage 1 primary school classes in the UK. These reading recommendations include a range of titles to cover all ability ranges including the less able and the more able, and we aim to provide a wide variety of book choices to read together with your child or encourage them to begin to read independently and develop a love of reading and imaginative stories. This list of books for infants is reviewed regularly and features authors including Satoshi Kitamura, Eric Carle, Chris Riddell, Jill Murphy, Michael Rosen, Judith Kerr, and Mini Grey.

 

Suggested reading list for Year 2 pupils in KS1 age 6-7 by  and last updated on 14 October 2021

Books for year 2 – if you are looking for great books for six-year-olds, here’s our list of 50+ of the best books to engage infants aged 6-7 in year two and foster an early love of reading. The following suggestions contain picture books, poetry, first readers and chapter books to appeal to a wide variety of children in KS1 year 2 classes in UK primary schools. These recommended books consist of a range of titles to appeal to ability ranges including the less able, the more able, reluctant readers and struggling readers. This list includes year 2 books suitable for individual reading, reading with siblings, class reading, support groups, book clubs, reading corners, for reading aloud and performance, and paired reading. This curated list is revised each term and includes stories by Mac Bennett, Anete Melece, Margaret Mahy, Louise Fatio, Michael Rosen, Anete Melece, Anthony Browne, Raymond Briggs and Wendy Orr.

 

Suggested reading list for Year 3 pupils in KS2 age 7-8 by Tom Tolkien and last updated on October 14, 2021.

 

Books for Year 3 – looking for a great book for the classroom, the school library or your child’s collection? The following list contains 50 short chapter books, more advanced picture books and rhyming verse to appeal to children aged 7-8 in lower Key Stage 2 of UK primary schools. There is a range of recommended reads suitable for all ability ranges within this age group, including titles for both reluctant and more independent readers. In all our hand-picked lists, we feature books to appeal to a wide range of interests and situations, including classroom reading corners, school libraries, book clubs, learning at home, reading and discussing using zoom and teams, reading buddies and first free readers. This list of reading suggestions for seven-year-olds is curated by our team of teachers and school librarians, is reviewed termly and includes stories by SF Said, Lara Hawthorne, John Steptoe, Roald Dahl, Gabrielle Kent, Dick King-Smith, Isabel Minhos Martins, Derek Keilty, Helen Cresswell and Lucy Daniels

 

Suggested reading list for Year 4 pupils in KS2 age 8-9 by Tom Tolkien and last updated on October 14, 2021.

 

Books for Year 4 – this list contains titles to appeal to children aged 8-9 in Year 4 of primary school. The books consist of a range of titles to cover all ability ranges including the less able and the more able, including funny stories, adventures, mysteries, scary tales, stories to fire the imagination and narrative non-fiction. This list of reading suggestions is revised regularly and includes stories by Nina Bawden, Malorie Blackman, Cressida Cowell, Gillian Cross, Ross Montgomery, and Roald Dahl.

 

Suggested reading list for Year 5 pupils in KS2 age 9-10 by Tom Tolkien and last updated on October 14, 2021.

 

Books for Year 5 – this curated list contains books suitable for children aged 9-10 in upper KS2 of primary school. These titles – picked by teachers, librarians and authors, consist of a variety of fiction and nonfiction books for all ability ranges including the more able and readers who struggle. We’ve picked books suitable for whole-class reading, home-learning, online zoom and teams sessions, intervention groups, book clubs, performance; and paired, sibling, buddy & shared reading. This list of books for 9-year-olds is edited termly and includes children’s stories by Vashti Hardy, Polly Ho-Yen, Christopher Lloyd, Kate DiCamillo, Cornelia Funke, Maz Evans, Anthony Horowitz, Malorie Blackman, Judith Kerr and Eoin Colfer.

 

Suggested reading list for Year 6 pupils in KS2 age 10-11 by Tom Tolkien and last updated on October 14, 2021.

 

Our top 50 books for Year 6, selected by teachers and librarians. Are you looking for a storybook for the classroom, the library, or your child’s collection, or choosing titles for a class reading list, or curriculum spine of year 6 books? The following list contains 50 titles for children aged 10-11 in KS2 of primary school, suitable for individual reading, paired reading, class teaching, and book clubs. These reading for pleasure recommendations for 10-year-old pupils consist of a variety of fiction and nonfiction books for all ability ranges and interests. The books in this list are reviewed termly and include middle-grade novels and stories by Jamila Gavin, Onjali Rauf, David Almond, Lara Williamson, JRR Tolkien, Michelle Magorian, Zizou Corder and Nina Bawden.

 

Magazines and newspapers for children and teenagers by Tom Tolkien and last updated on September 18, 2021

Magazines for children, tweens and teens, including comics and newspapers for children. This list features recommended titles suitable for use at primary and secondary school level.

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