Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

KS3 Geography Reading List

Recommended Books to Support Geography at KS3

If you are looking for recommended books to support Geography in Years 7, 8 and 9, this BooksForTopics expertly curated reading list is here to help!

This geography booklist for 11-14 year olds features a range of themes and formats, including map books like UK in Maps, books about our planet and its future like Bright New World and true-life stories like Great Adventurers.

There’s also a great choice of chapter books exploring a range of geographical themes, including natural disasters in Tsunami Girl and Floodland, migration in Boy 87 and Welcome to Nowhere, and journeys in The Girl of Ink & Stars and Mexikid.

With something for all budding geographers, the titles on this booklist will open up the world of Key Stage 3 Geography.

War Horse

Michael Morpurgo

Chapter book

Before the Steven Spielberg film, before the National Theatre production, there was the classic children’s novel – War Horse. From the nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo.

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

War Horse was adapted by Steven Spielberg as a major motion picture with Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The National Theatre production opened in 2007 and has enjoyed successful runs in the West End and on Broadway.

A great way of introducing young readers to the realities of WWI. Look out for Morpurgo’s other war fiction including Friend or Foe, Waiting for Anya, King of the Cloud Forests and An Eagle in the Snow.

War Horse is a story of universal suffering for a universal audience by a writer who ‘has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers’ (The Guardian).

Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

KS3 History Reading List

Recommended Books to Support History at KS3

If you are looking for recommended books to support secondary History in Years 7, 8 and 9, this BooksForTopics expertly curated booklist is here to help!

This Key Stage 3 history reading list features a huge range of themes and formats, including well-known true-life stories like The Diary of a Young Girl, fiction that crosses historical time zones like The Buried Crown, and discussion-starting non-fiction gems like Normal Women.

Among the featured titles, there’s poetry in Poems from the Second World War, mythology in Norse Myths, and a picture book account of a real-life escape from an Auschwitz convoy in One Day. The non-fiction picks include the visually stunning Medicine and an illustrated edition of Peter Frankopan’s The Silk Roads, which offers a truly original history of the world. There’s also a host of exciting historical fiction, including the Elizabethan-era adventure Cue for Treason, Benjamin Zephaniah’s powerful real-life inspired Windrush Child, and Jasbinder Bilan’s gripping Victorian mystery, Nush and the Stolen Emerald.

With something for all budding historians, the titles on this booklist will bring topics from across KS3 history to life.

Stitched Up!

Oriol Vidal & Steve Cole

Chapter book

The horrific real-life cost of fast fashion is exposed in this gripping tale of survival from bestselling author Steve Cole.

When twelve-year-old Hanh is offered a job as a shop assistant in Hanoi, she sees it as a chance to earn money to send back to her family living in poverty in rural Vietnam. But on her arrival in the city, she soon learns that the job offer was a lie and finds herself working in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory.

Life in this sweatshop is a daily hell of long hours, little rest, poor food and regular violence. Hanh is desperate to escape, but when an opportunity arises will she be able to find the courage to take a dangerous chance?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8. Please note that this book contains mature content.

Rugby Warrior

Gerard Siggins

Chapter book

It’s a new school term and Eoin Madden has new responsibilities. He’s now captain of the Under 14s team and has to deal with friction between his friend Rory and new boy Dylan as they thrash it out for a place as scrum-half.

And away from the pitch Eoin has his hands full. He starts work on a project about Irish-born All Black Dave Gallaher who died in World War I. Then history becomes reality when an old book brings Eoin a lot closer to the rugby legend than he ever thought possible …

Fast-paced action, mysterious spirits and feuding friends – it’s a season to remember!

Striking Out by Ian Wright

Ian Wright & Musa Okwonga

Chapter book

Thirteen-year-old Jerome Jackson dreams of becoming a world-class footballer. But with a difficult home life, Jerome can’t see how he’ll ever make this dream come true … until he meets a mentor figure who can hopefully put him on the right track.

“The best strikers aren’t the most skilful ones. They are the ones who never give up.”

Perfect for fans of real-life drama

Readers will love Ian Wright’s cameo role in the story

With phenomenal cover art from Benjamin Wachenje.

Rebound

Dawud Anyabwile & Kwame Alexander

Verse novel

It’s 1988. Charlie Bell is still mourning his father, and struggling to figure out how he feels for his best (girl) friend, CJ. When he gets into trouble one too many times, he’s packed off to stay with his grandparents for the summer. There his cousin Roxie introduces him to a whole new world: basketball. A legend on the courts is born. But can Charlie resist when trouble comes knocking once again?

From the New York Times-bestselling author Kwame Alexander, Rebound is a stunning coming-of-age novel in verse about basketball, family and staying true to yourself. A prequel to The Crossover, winner of the Newbery Medal, and follow-up to Booked, highly commended for the CLiPPA prize and nominated for the Carnegie Medal. With comic-book illustrations from award-winning graphic novel artist Dawud Anyabwile.

Lu (Run)

Jason Reynolds

Chapter book

Lu must learn to leave his ego on the sidelines if he wants to finally connect with others in the finale to the New York Times bestselling and award-winning RUN series from Jason Reynolds.

Lu was born to be co-captain of the Defenders. Well, actually, he was born albino, but that’s got nothing to do with being a track star. Lu has swagger, plus the talent to back it up, and no-one’s gonna outshine him.

Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu’s way – literally and not-so-literally – and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means.

Expect the unexpected in the final event in Jason Reynold’s award-winning and bestselling RUN series.

Sunny (Run)

Jason Reynolds

Chapter book

When Sunny stops running in the middle of a race, Coach asks him what he wants to do instead. His answer is dance, but you can’t be on a track team and dance… can you? With his dad’s expectations weighing down on him, Sunny finally finds a track event that feels like dancing. But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything that’s been eating him up inside?

READ THE RUN SERIES: Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school running team – a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose and a lot to prove. Not only to each other, but to themselves.

Anatomicum

Jennifer Z Paxton & Katy Wiedemann

Non-fiction

Welcome to the museum that is always open to explore…

Step inside the pages of Anatomicum to enjoy the experience of a museum from the comfort of your own home. The 2019 offering from Welcome to the Museum guides readers through the human body, from the muscles we use to show emotion, to the delicate workings of the brain. With sumptuous artwork by Katy Wiedemann and expert text by professor Dr Jennifer Z Paxton, this beautiful book is a feast of anatomical knowledge.