Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Age Group: KS2

Chapter book

Glorious, powerful, magic; a city of twists, turns and tricksters; extraordinary secrets which only one girl can uncover . . . welcome to the world of Arkspire.

Arkspire is a city obsessed by magic. The five Arcanists – a group of all-powerful magicians – have protected the great city for as long as anyone can remember. Within the hustle and bustle of these cobbled streets lives Juniper Bell, a thief who’d do anything for her family – even her unbelievably annoying sister, Elodie.

Then one night, something incredible happens. A mysterious stolen relic (nothing to do with Juni, ahem…) explodes, revealing a mysterious creature, Cinder – who appears to ‘bond’ with Juni. The only creatures like that are allegedly dangerous enemies of the Arcanists . . . and it’s not long before they turn their attention to Juni.

Soon Juni, Cinder and everyone she loves are pulled into an extraordinary world of magic, power and prestige – but also grave danger. It seems the world Juni thought she knew is nothing but a lie – and now only Juniper and Cinder can bring it down.

Chapter book

An adventure to treasure from two multi award-winning creators, discover a classic story of family, friendship and believing in your own magic.

When Summer and her foster family are having lunch one day, a hole appears in the middle of the living room. That hole leads to a dragon and the promise of three wishes, granted by a very unusual witch.

Summer wishes for popularity and plenty of money, and things are looking up . . . until she realizes that the hole in the floor is getting bigger and the witch is getting more sinister. As things begin to unravel, will Summer get her dearest most secret wish?

Nick Lake’s classic story of dragons, witches and wish-fulfilment is beautifully illustrated by Emily Gravett.

Picturebook

When Chang meets an elderly elephant named H’non, she makes a promise to rescue her from a lifetime of captivity. Together, they embark on a quest to find a new home where H’non can live as nature intended – wild and free.

Created by environmental activist Trang Nguyen and award-winning manga artist Jeet Zdung, Saving H’non: Chang and the Elephant is an inspirational graphic-novel adventure, based on a true story, about a young conservationist who overcomes the odds to give H’non the elephant the life she deserves after 50 years of hardship.

Chang’s daring story is for any young reader, animal lover and intrepid explorer who’s ready for adventure!

Chapter book

Make fir cones into little owls and paper plates into animal masks. Turn a cardboard box into a fantastic castle and odd socks into fun puppets. You can even use an old sink to make a wonderful wildlife pond, with water lilies and even frogs.

Follow Dragonfly Nursery as they get creative and discover the fun of ‘upcycling’. Simple Make-It instructions are included.

Rubbish? Not any more!

Chapter book

Seth learns some important life lessons when he’s transported back to Ancient Egypt in this absorbing time-slip adventure from bestselling author Karen McCombie.

Chapter book

Some secrets are just too dangerous to know… A gripping World War II story about how two girls foil an aristocratic plot to bring down the government and hand the country to the Nazis…

When Sidney Dashworth’s school is evacuated to a huge stately home in the countryside, she thinks she’s going to spend the war being very bored. At least her brother must be having fun, flying his Spitfire all over France! But soon Sidney and a housemaid called Nancy discover that the Earl is up to no good. He has secret nighttime meetings with mysterious men from the government and seems to be hiding something sinister on his land. At first it’s all terribly thrilling, investigating by creeping about at night and finding secret passageways, but soon everything takes a deadly turn. Sidney’s brother goes missing over France and the war hits home with a terrible reality. The Earl and his evil plotters must be stopped, or nothing will ever be the same again…

Chapter book

A laugh-out-loud illustrated adventure featuring Trixie Pickle, the Banksy of her school.

A weird sickness bug has been spreading through Wormwood Town and everyone is wondering if there’s something in the water. Trixie Pickle Art Avenger uses the power of art to investigate – can she get to the bottom of the mystery around the town reservoir?

She’s got a lot on her plate – being bored to sleep by Money Week at school, making comics with her best friend Beeks and finding a way to bring down the local mean girls – but with artistic inspiration from Botticelli, Damien Hirst and Kehinde Wiley, the Art Avenger is sure to win the day.

Highly illustrated throughout by Olaf and with fact files of hilarious and irreverent details about real artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Hokusai, Trixie Pickle is perfect for fans of Konnie Huq, Sam Copeland and Liz Pichon.

Chapter book

A laugh-out-loud illustrated adventure featuring Trixie Pickle, the Banksy of her school.

A weird sickness bug has been spreading through Wormwood Town and everyone is wondering if there’s something in the water. Trixie Pickle Art Avenger uses the power of art to investigate – can she get to the bottom of the mystery around the town reservoir?

She’s got a lot on her plate – being bored to sleep by Money Week at school, making comics with her best friend Beeks and finding a way to bring down the local mean girls – but with artistic inspiration from Botticelli, Damien Hirst and Kehinde Wiley, the Art Avenger is sure to win the day.

Highly illustrated throughout by Olaf and with fact files of hilarious and irreverent details about real artists such as Yayoi Kusama and Hokusai, Trixie Pickle is perfect for fans of Konnie Huq, Sam Copeland and Liz Pichon.

Chapter book

The unmissable follow-up to the phenomenal bestselling and award-winning The Last Bear. Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold and perfect for readers 8+

April Wood has returned home from her adventure on Bear Island, but over a year later, she can’t stop thinking about Bear.

When April hears that a polar bear has been shot and injured in Svalbard, she’s convinced it’s her friend and persuades her dad to travel with her to the northernmost reaches of the Arctic. So begins an unforgettable journey across frozen tundra and icy glaciers.

But along the way, she discovers much more than she bargained for – a tiny polar bear cub, desperately in need of her help. In freezing temperatures, April must navigate the dangerous Arctic terrain and face her deepest fears if she’s to save him.

Beautifully illustrated by Levi Pinfold, Finding Bear is a stunning story of survival, a heartwarming tale of love and shows us how hope is born from the smallest of beginnings.

Chapter book

The first in a brand-new sensationally spacey, action-packed and adventure-filled middle grade series written by the incredible Lorraine Gregory – perfect for fans of MG Leonard and David Baddiel!

Nothing exciting ever happens on twelve-year-old Danny’s estate. That is until he falls through a locker in his grandad’s workshop and finds himself in an Interdimensional Lost Property Office! And – even weirder – his new boss is a giant purple squid on a segway!

Now Danny, best mate Modge and annoying cousin Inaaya find themselves in charge of returning alien items to all corners of the universe. But someone – or something – is determined to stop them. And there’s NOTHING these evil aliens won’t stop at to achieve complete multi-dimensional domination . . . even trapping Danny and his friends on a planet a million light years away from Earth.

If the fate of the entire multiverse was in your hands, what would YOU do?

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