Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Age Group: KS2

Graphic Novel

The next in the Babysitters Club Graphic Novel series – originally written by Ann M Martin and adapted by Cynthia Yuan Cheng! Stacey is so excited! Her friends from The Baby-sitters Club are coming to New York City for a long weekend. It’s going to be perfect: a party and a sleepover on Friday night, a big baby-sitting job on Saturday, and lots of sightseeing throughout.

But it turns out that the baby-sitters are way out of place in the big city. Mary Anne sounds like a walking guidebook, Dawn is afraid of everything, Kristy can’t keep her mouth shut, Claudia is jealous of Laine – Stacey’s New York best friend – and Mallory and Jessi feel intimidated by Stacey’s classmates. With ten kids to baby-sit and a full schedule of activities, how will Stacey keep the weekend from becoming a complete disaster?

A brand-new story from the original author

The series that has been entertaining children for generations

Full-colour graphic novel

Chapter book

It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mum travelled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States.

The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to bear. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with a unique boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.

A moving story of family separation and the importance of the connection between animals and humans, this novel has the enormous heart and uplifting humour that readers have come to expect from the beloved author of Counting by 7s.

Poetry

Ava is hiding – hiding from the small cramped room where she lives with her two little siblings and her mum, hiding from the taunts and hostility she gets at school, hiding from her sometimes lonely and joyless life. But there is love here too. Her best friend Roxy, her wise Trinidadian Nan and a stray dog she befriends. Can Ava be brave enough to allow some light to shine into the darkest part of her being? Moving, emotive and poignant, Coral Rumble’s poetic novel is a compellingly beautiful read.

Non-fiction

Here we are at 4.6 billion years ago, and as we raise the curtain . . . the STORY OF LIFE is about to begin! (Yes, that’s right – we’re telling the story of the ENTIRE history of Planet Earth).

Take your seats for the ENTIRE history of Planet Earth, as we take a whistle-stop tour from the birth of Earth, to the age of bacteria, the era of dinosaurs . . . to the moment of people (blink and you’ll miss it).

Narrated by a friendly troop of insects and with mind-blowing, lively illustrations, this illustrated non-fiction book will entertain and educate, as we put on a show, the greatest show, the show of the evolution of life on Earth.

From internationally bestselling creator, Mini Grey, winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal, this is her first non-fiction book and it’s told with wit, humour and heart.

Chapter book

A locked-room mystery packed with rooftop chases, hidden codes and mind-bending science, The Clockwork Conspiracy is a must for fans of the Adventures on Trains series and Sharna Jackson’s High Rise mysteries. Aspiring inventor Isaac Turner lives with his dad, the Chief Horologist in charge of Big Ben. But when his father vanishes from the belfry on the night the clocks go back, leaving behind only a smashed pocket watch and a cryptic message, Isaac determines to find him.

Hunting a trail of clues through London’s landmarks, Isaac uncovers a sinister plot in the gears of government and embarks on a race against time to save his father – and time itself.

Chapter book

A magical NEW story filled with adventure, wonder and edge-of-your-seat excitement, set in a world of daring dragons and magical maladies by the best-selling author of Sky Song, Abi Elphinstone . . .

Rusty Fizzbang, vet to magical beasts, needs an apprentice. Ember Spark, looking for adventure, is his newest recruit – and together with an unlikely friend, Arno, she is sent to help a baby dragon whose parents have gone missing. But keeping magical beasts a secret isn’t an easy task, especially with arch-villain, Jasper Hornswoggle, hot on their heels and keen to derail them…

Chapter book

Exciting, funny, heartwarming, and mind-bendingly clever, Time Travelling with a Tortoise is the extraordinary, adventure-packed sequel to Ross Welford’s beloved, bestselling debut, Time Travelling with a Hamster.

Al Chaudhury travelled back in time to save his father’s life.

And it worked – Al’s dad is alive again and life is back to the way it should be. At least, that’s what Al thinks.

But when an accident robs Al’s beloved Grandpa Byron of his world-beating memory, Al is forced back in time again, this time leaving someone behind, trapped in a prehistoric dimension.

Al is forced into a rescue mission to recover his friend from the past… and to make sure that there will be a future waiting for them all.

It turns out time travel is far more complicated than Al thought.

Chapter book

From the award-winning author of The Storm Keeper’s Island, set sail on Catherine Doyle’s latest perilous adventure to the magical islands of Darksea

Deep in the heart of the Atlantic Ocean, where the full moon rests on the horizon, lies a secret kingdom called Darksea. Ruled by the Pirate King, Captain O’Malley, Darksea’s tranquil waters have, of late, been haunted by an invisible and deadly monster – a monster that is eating the once-beautiful islands in gigantic bites. On the other side of the horizon, at his home in Galway, Max Reid and his family are battling a different monster. His big brother Christopher is in hospital and getting sicker – and his parents have begun to talk of miracles. Then one night a loud, bright red parrot taps on Max’s bedroom window, carrying an invitation from the pirate king. Captain O’Malley needs a new crew member for a dangerous quest; and the reward is everything Max has been hoping for. But in Darksea, not everyone is as they seem. When Captain O’Malley’s secret threatens to upend their mission and destroy Max’s chance to help his family, Max realises he’s going to have to navigate much more than he bargained for…

Chapter book

The first book in the ‘criminally good’ Crookhaven series, the secret school where students are taught to do wrong, so that one day, they can put the world to rights.

13-year-old Gabriel is a brilliant pickpocket, a skill which he uses to keep his often empty belly not quite so empty. And then one day, he’s caught.

But instead of being arrested, he is invited by the mysterious Caspian Crook to attend Crookhaven – a school for thieves. At Crookhaven, students are trained in lock-picking, forgery and ‘crim-nastics’, all with the intention of doing good out in the world, by conning the bad and giving back to the innocent.

But … can you ever really trust a thief?

With a school wide competition to be crowned Top Crook and many mysteries to uncover, Gabriel’s first year at Crookhaven will be one to remember…

Chapter book

The year is 2507. The oceans have risen.

A new dawn of piracy has begun.

Jacoby Blunt and Jasmine Peacock are students at the elite Pirate Academy.

This is no ordinary school!

Lessons range from Knots Class and Sailing to Combat Workshop… The teachers are all pirate legends… The pressure is always on…. Friendship is everything.

When a new kid, the mysterious Neo Splice, arrives, everything changes FAST. Suddenly the dangers are no longer simply out on the oceans but right here, amongst them. In the face of real peril, the students of Barracuda class must put everything they have learned to the test against a ruthless and seemingly unstoppable new enemy.

Welcome to Pirate Academy – once you step through the door you won’t ever want to leave!

Cover and interior art by Teo Skaffa

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments