Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Age Group: KS3 (Ages 11-14)

Swim Team

Graphic novel

A splashy, contemporary middle grade graphic novel from bestselling comics creator Johnnie Christmas!

Bree can’t wait for her first day at her new middle school, Enith Brigitha, home to the Mighty Manatees—until she’s stuck with the only elective that fits her schedule, the dreaded Swim 101. The thought of swimming makes Bree more than a little queasy, yet she’s forced to dive headfirst into one of her greatest fears. Lucky for her, Etta, an elderly occupant of her apartment building and former swim team captain, is willing to help.

With Etta’s training and a lot of hard work, Bree suddenly finds her swim-crazed community counting on her to turn the school’s failing team around. But that’s easier said than done, especially when their rival, the prestigious Holyoke Prep, has everything they need to leave the Mighty Manatees in their wake.

Can Bree defy the odds and guide her team to a state championship, or have the Manatees swum their last lap—for good?

Fig Swims the World

Lou Abercrombie

Chapter book

If you have ever set yourself a New Year’s Resolution, then you will relate perfectly to Fig Fitzherbert, the hero of the novel, ‘Fig Swims the World’. Fig would certainly be considered a ‘higher achiever’; she is a fantastic pianist, loves maths (and is incredibly talented in this area) and also loves making lists! Whilst Fig’s talents are undeniable, they never seem enough for her mum, who sets her a (seemingly impossible) challenge each New Year.

In this novel, Fig decides to take matters into her own hands and set herself a challenge…to swim around the world. This challenge is made even more ambitious as, when she sets the challenge, Fig cannot swim at all! It is an inspirational roller coaster of an adventure, with relatable characters and warm humour throughout. Her relationship with Sage, an older swimmer whom Fig meets at the pool, is particularly wonderful.

Fig is an inspirational character, and her journey gives so much to discuss around perseverance, motivation and facing your fears. It’s a brilliant read and would be an ideal accompaniment to discussions around ‘setting goals and challenges’.

Tennis Shoes

Noel Streatfeild

Chapter book

Reissued in ‘A Puffin Book’ series of best-loved children’s classics, this is a sharp and funny story that follows in the footsteps of Ballet Shoes, Theatre Shoes, Circus Shoes and Party Shoes by Noel Streatfeild.

In TENNIS SHOES the Heath children are found to have tennis in their blood. Their grandfather and father before them had been top players, and the twins are champion material. Then Nicky – cheeky, rebellious Nicky – starts to practise in secret, but talented at tennis as she is, the ambitious Nicky first has battles to win with herself – on and off the tennis court.

Indie (Books are My Bag) Book Awards

Curated entirely by independent bookshops, The Indie Book Awards showcase the best paperbacks to read over the summer. The awards include two categories for children’s books: Picture Book and Children’s Fiction.

Here at BooksForTopics we were delighted to see so many of our favourite titles and authors among the shortlisted titles for both categories. Duncan Beedie and Maudie Powell-Tuck, whose hilarious Hank Goes Honk was one of our 2024 Books of the Year, feature in the Picture Book shortlist with an equally anarchic follow-up, Hank Meets Frank. The Children’s Fiction shortlist includes two previous BooksForTopics Books of the Month: the chaotic, history-inspired graphic novel Tiny Hercules, and Phil Earle’s hilarious year 7 transition story Finn’s Epic Fails.

For more information about the Indie Book Awards click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Brielle and Bear: Once Upon a Time

Salomey Doku

Chapter book

A wonderfully romantic love story perfect for teen readers – the first in a full-colour graphic novel series

Fairytale Rule No.1: All the best fairytales start with ‘Once upon a time . . .’

First-year student Brielle, a daydreamy book lover, knows everything there is to know about fairytales. Returning to the city of Rosebridge four years after moving away, she attends Once Upon a Time University, with the intention of living her fairytale dream. And when she meets Bear, shy vice-captain of the Princes rugby team, at the bookshop where she works, Brielle’s dream is off to a good start.

Determined to forget the past, and with an unexpected new relationship blossoming, Brielle feels she’s finally living the dream. That is, until she discovers that she’s not the only one hiding something . . .

Spark! School Book Awards

Now in their fifth year, the Spark! School Book Awards’ simple aim is to get children reading. There are five categories featured, including fact and fiction books for all ages – and children themselves vote for the winners in every category.

We are delighted to see so many of our favourites shortlisted across the categories. The Picture Fiction for Early Readers shortlist includes our EYFS Recommended Read The Camel Who Had the Hump, while former books of the month Grumpfort and Running My Own Race are featured in the 7+ Fiction and 9+ Fiction shortlists respectively.

The Information Books category includes Pets Tell Tales: Ancient Egypt and The Great Pollination Investigation, both of which are recommended in our curriculum topic booklists.

For more information about the Spark! School Book Awards click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Waterstones Children’s Book Prize

Established in 2005, the Waterstone’s Children’s Book Prize recognises emerging talent in children’s literature across three categories: Illustrated Books, Younger Readers and Older Readers.

This year’s shortlist includes several BooksForTopics favourites, including Huw Aaron’s Unfairies, recommended in our Christmas Gift Guide, Ashley Thorpe’s Spirit Warriors, which featured in our Book Friday Recommendations, and former Book of the Month My Rice is Best, by Selina Brown.

Congratulations to the winners of the 2026 awards: Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob (Illustrated and Overall Winner), Evie and Maryam’s Family Tree (Younger Readers) and A Language of Dragons (Older Readers).

For more information about the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Excelsior Award

The Excelsior Awards recognise great graphic novels and manga, with the winners being decided based on children’s ratings of each book.

The 2026 shortlists for the White (KS2), Blue (KS3) and Red (KS4) awards feature an impressive range of characters and worlds, some already well-known such as Minecraft: The Manga, Star Wars: Jango Fett – Trail of Lost Hope and Stranger Things & Dungeons and Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire. Two titles from our 2025 Gift Guide are also shortlisted: Unfairies (White award) and When the Sky Falls (Blue award).

For more information about the Excelsior Award click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Nero Book Awards Children’s Fiction Award

Back for its third year, the Nero Children’s Fiction Award celebrates outstanding writing for children by great authors living in the UK and Ireland.

This year’s shortlist includes four powerfully written chapter books. There’s gripping mystery in People Like Stars and electrifying fantasy in Dragonborn, while Shrapnel Boys and the winning title, My Soul, a Shining Tree, are historial fiction set in the first and second world wars.

For more information about the Nero Book Awards click here, or check out the full shortlist below!

Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize

Awarded by The Royal Society, the Young People’s Book Prize recognises excellent, accessible STEM books for under 14s.

Some brilliant non-fiction picks appear in this year’s shortlist, including The Animal Body Book, which is one of our top choices for the KS2 Animals Topic, and our former Book of the Month pick, The History of Information. The winning title this year was The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals, by Mike Barfield and illustrator Paula Bossio.

For more information about the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize click here, or check out the full shortlist below!