Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Author & Illustrators

JonArno Lawson Books

Shortlisted for the CLiPPA poetry prize, Wise Up! Wise Down! is a collaborative poetry book that reads like a chat between old friends. The concept is a conversation between two poets – in poetry, of course!

Instead of a standard collection of separate pieces, celebrated poets John Agard and JonArno Lawson volley ideas, rhymes and riddles back and forth across the pages. Different fonts make it easy for children to track the witty conversation between the two.

Satoshi Kitamura’s distinctive illustrations add another appealing layer, connecting the verses beautifully. It is a rich, challenging and deeply fun poetry book that makes a fantastic addition to poetry shelves or reading for pleasure slots for confident upper KS2 readers who love wordplay. You can also find out more in JonArno’s recent interview about the book for our blog.

Over The Shop is a wonderfully illustrated and enjoyable wordless picture book that tells the story of the need to find a tenant for the flat above a shop, which has unfortunately fallen into disrepair. The shop itself is run by a grandma and her granddaughter. However much they try, they cannot seem to find a tenant with real vision for the space above the shop, until a couple with big ideas comes along. The fact that this book is wordless means that it would be a great resource to create art, explore through drama and inspire writing opportunities across a whole school or in any individual year group.

There is a theme of kindness, community and acceptance weaved within the story too, which could also be explored and discussed further. The illustrations by Qin Leng are colourful, detailed and symbolise the transformation of not only the accommodation as the story progresses but also the relationships between the characters. They help to bring the characters to life and as a reader, you can infer what the characters are like based on their actions in the drawings, especially that of the young girl. This is a lovely wordless story to share in a primary school setting.

A dazzling wordless picture book celebrates creative problem-solving, teamwork, and the sun-splashed wonder of a day at the beach.

The creators of the acclaimed Over the Shop evoke a perfect summer beach day – and themes of creativity, cooperation, flexibility, and persistence – all without a word in this sun-warmed, salt-stained delight of a story. A busload of beachgoers spills out onto the sand for a day of fun and frolic. Three siblings begin work on a castle, patting and shaping the sand as the sun arcs over the sky. Time and again, their progress is halted: a windswept hat topples their creation; a toddler ambles through it; the tide creeps close, and then too close. Meeting each demolition with fresh determination, the builders outdo themselves time and again, until the moment arrives to pile back into the bus for home. An authentic portrait of sibling cooperation – and glorious inspiration for creative people of all ages – A Day for Sandcastles channels the thrill of surrendering expectations on the path to infinite possibility.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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