Best Books for Year 1 (Children Aged 5-6)
NEWLY updated – April 2024!
Our team has selected the 50 best books for 5 and 6 year olds in Year 1. Top up your Year 1 reading collections with our hand-picked list of recommended storytime favourites, laugh-out-loud picture books, animal stories, early chapter books, illustrated poetry collections, non-fiction texts and more.
This list of recommended reads for Year 1 includes fiction and non-fiction books that cover a variety of themes. From classic stories to modern adventures, our collection is curated to cater to the interests and reading levels of children ages 5 and 6. This booklist includes popular Year 1 stories such as The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark, Look Up! and Fantastic Mr Fox. as well as some lesser-known storytime delights that we highly recommend, like The Smart Cookie, Adventuremice and Matt Carr’s hilarious eight-legged secret agent, Spyder.
At BooksForTopics, we believe reading is essential to a child’s development, and Year 1 forms a very important stage in a child’s reading journey. That’s why our expert team has put together this list especially for Y1 children, with stories at just the right level. Whether your children are confident readers or just starting out on their reading journey, our selection of books is designed to encourage a love of reading that will last all through primary school and beyond.
As well as the Year 1 booklist, we’ve also got a printable poster and downloadable checklist for you. Schools can purchase full sets of the books via Peters.
Browse the Y1 booklist below or scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.
