Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

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Age Group: KS1

Recommended children’s books about habitats and ecosystems

In this collection of the best children’s books about habitats and ecosystems, young readers can explore diverse landscapes and discover the intricate web of life that sustains each unique environment.

The Incredible Ecosystems of Planet Earth and The Atlas of Ocean Adventures offer exciting, beautifully illustrated journeys through diverse habitats around the world, meeting the creatures who live there and learning more about the challenges they face. Alongside a fabulous collection of non-fiction titles, this list also features chapter books to ignite the imaginations of aspiring conservationists, such as The Last Bear and The Akimbo Adventures.

Recommended children’s books about everyday materials

This collection of children’s books about everyday materials will help young readers to learn all about the materials we use in our day-to-day lives, their properties and how we use them.

From small-scale materials in Nano to a whole house in The Mellons Build an Eco House, and from everyday clothes in Why Do We Wear Clothes? to extraordinary workwear in The Spacesuit, these stories help children discover the huge range of materials that make up the things around them – while A Planet Full of Plastic and Rubbish? challenge young readers to consider the sustainability and environmental impact of the materials that we use every single day.

Recommended children’s books about famous scientists

Discover the inspirational lives of scientists and learn about the groundbreaking discoveries and incredible inventions that made them famous!

This list of the best children’s books about famous scientists will introduce young readers to some of the most important scientific minds in history – from Einstein in On a Beam of Light to Stephen Hawking, and from Marie Curie and her Daughters to Rosalind Franklin.

This carefully curated collection of real-life science stories will help to bring scientific history to life, and help children to see scientific advances through the eyes of those inspirational people who made them happen.

Non-fiction

From the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and the father of modern medicine.

Little Louis was born in France during a time when doctors were still trying to figure out what made people sick. During his teen years, he discovered a love for science and became famous for figuring out how to kill off damaging microbes. Through his curiosity and creativity (and lots of trial and error), his research led to the development of vaccinations, a vital tool in today’s world.

This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the iconic chemist’s life.

Non-fiction

From the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Nikola Tesla, the scientist and inventor whose groundbreaking inventions we continue to use today.

Since he was a young boy growing up in the Austrian Empire, Nikola was fascinated by science and numbers. His teachers knew he had a brilliant mind, but Nikola’s irregular routines and fondness for playing cards meant that he was kicked out of school before he could finish his exams. However, after working for a spell at the Budapest Telephone Exchange, where he made several clever innovations to their electrical systems, he managed to get a job with Edison Machine Works in New York, U.S.A.

In the United States, Tesla’s inquisitive nature and ingenious mind spurred him on to keep exploring electricity, and he came up with several groundbreaking inventions during this time, including breakthroughs in alternating current and wireless remote controls. By the end of his life, the brilliant inventor had more than 300 patents for original and unique inventions, and had advanced scientific thought by a generation.

This inspiring book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the iconic scientist’s life.

Non-fiction

In this book from the critically acclaimed, multimillion-copy bestselling Little People, BIG DREAMS series, discover the life of Stephen Hawking, the genius physicist and author.

When Stephen Hawking was a little boy, he used to stare up at the stars and wonder about the universe. Although he was never top of the class, his curiosity took him to the best universities in England: Oxford and Cambridge. It also led him to make one of the biggest scientific discoveries of the 20th century: Hawking radiation. This moving book features stylish and quirky illustrations and extra facts at the back, including a biographical timeline with historical photos and a detailed profile of the brilliant physicist’s life.

Non-fiction

Meet Grace Hopper: the woman who revolutionised computer coding, coined the term ‘computer bug’ and taught computers to ‘speak English. An ace inventor and groundbreaker, Grace Hopper transformed the world of computer science. This book tells the inspirational story of this amazing woman with a passion for maths, an insatiable curiosity and the firm belief that “it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than…to get permission.”

Non-fiction

Alan Turing was:

A mathematician

A scientist

An inspiration

Alan Turing was a mathematician, scientist and codebreaker who helped defeat the Nazis in the Second World War with his incredible decoding of secret messages from enemy soldiers.

Discover his life story in this beautifully illustrated book, from his childhood as a quiet boy who loved maths, to becoming one of the most important scientists and codebreakers in history.

Chapter book

Princess Minna loves to sort out mix-ups and mishaps in the kingdom! In this full-colour, illustrated chapter book, join her on her hilarious quest to be the best princess OF ALL!

Princess Minna lives in Castle Tall-Towers with the King and Queen, Raymond the Wizard and her best dragon friend, Lorenzo. There are often mix-ups and mishaps in the kingdom and Princess Minna loves to sort them out!

She can tame unicorns, kiss frogs and fight dragons (apart from Lorenzo) and she is very good at fixing things before it’s time for bed.

In The Best Princess, Princess Minna’s mirror ALWAYS tells her that she’s the best princess of all, so she’s SHOCKED when one day it says that PRINCESS SKY-BLUE is the best! Princess Minna sets out to put things right again but learns instead that being a BEST FRIEND is far better!

Full of colourful illustrations, these short, funny stories are perfect for readers just moving on from picture books and visual readers.

Chapter book

Meet Izzy the Inventor in a laugh-out-loud series that brings together science, magic and a very lovable unicorn. Packed full of illustrations and easy-to-read text, this series is perfect for beginner readers and fans of Isadora Moon and The Naughtiest Unicorn.

Izzy the Inventor is back in Fairytale Land and this time she must rescue a prince from a wicked fairy’s curse. If she fails, he’ll vanish! With the help of Henry the unicorn, Izzy needs to work out how to make it snow in summer, create an exploding volcano and a contraption to help Henry fly. But can Izzy’s science skills stand up to an enormous dragon?

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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