Recommended Reads for Year 4: New Additions for 2025

11-year-old Silver is wild at heart and loves nothing better than climbing trees. Her parents are desperate to have another baby, but not even medical intervention has worked for them. Family life has lost its colour and happiness – they all need a change of scenery and something new to focus on. Then her father is offered a four-month job in Costa Rica, painting pictures of turtles for a rescue centre. The plan is for the centre to sell his artwork, raising funds as well as raising awareness of the turtles’ plight.

As Silver settles into her new life at the animal sanctuary, she makes a new friend, and he encourages her to become actively involved in safeguarding the turtles.A chance encounter with the rarest turtle of all results in Silver feeling the weight of new responsibilities, and when disaster strikes on a very stormy night, it is up to the two youngest turtle protectors to save many lives.

The story threads together many interesting themes and wraps them up in a wonderful story about wildlife, habitats and the changing animal world. Friendship, self-doubt, bravery and resilience weave through the chapters alongside thorny issues such as depression and family strife. The characters are all likeable and you find yourself empathising with and rooting for Silver and her parents, as well as the turtle families.

It is a well-crafted, feel-good story, which, just like Hannah Gold’s previous animal books, is a fantastic read.

The Clarice Bean books by Charlie and Lola creator Lauren Child are cleverly written, illustrated chapter books. The books are both laugh-out-loud funny and also tinged with mature themes that are suitable for a KS2 audience.

Clarice Bean has a unique voice that readers will find funny and interesting. She is also very ecologically aware, and the sustainability and climate issues are never thrust down your throat, but are just there and explained in the best way. This book covers a child’s perspective on stress, friendship, marriage breakups and old age decline, but the narrator’s warm and sharp observations never make it heavy or a difficult read.

Clarice Bean, narrating the story, is just wonderful. She is so straight-talking and demonstrates how youth see things clearly in a way that adults often do not.

A wonderfully silly and gloriously bonkers adventure that introduces the brilliantly funny heroine, Betty Steady.

Bustling with quirky characters, clever wordplay and outrageous situations, this book plunges readers into a world of surreal humour, where Mr Gum meets Starfell. When Betty lands herself in trouble, she finds herself shrunken and trapped by the mischievous Toad Witch, who plans to take over Wobbly Rock.

This story is a riot from start to finish, perfectly matched by Sarah Horne’s exuberant illustrations. This is a series that will fondly appeal to humour-loving readers in KS2.

This is a fun school adventure which will appeal to fans of Pamela Butchart and Serena Patel. The story centres around Mina and her friends and their fears as they hear rumours of a spooky phantom that’s said to haunt the venue for their school camping trip.

The text is large, with wide-spaced lines and generous illustrations and some playful typesetting for emphasis, which all help with appealing to those children put off by extensive blocks of dense text. The authentic portrayal of Mina’s Bangladeshi family adds a layer of interest to the story.

This will be particularly popular with lower KS2 in a school library and will also be enjoyed by some of the older children looking for a lighter, entertaining read.

This is an adrenaline-filled rollercoaster ride of a story!

The story begins with a bang and the race is on to find sixteen ‘lightstreams’ hidden across the globe. When the lightstreams have been discovered,  the finders transported to Imagination Island. There, we encounter larger-than-life characters with traits, strengths and weaknesses, who work with, and sometimes against, each other to save the island for generations to come.

The storyline is fast and furious with a hectic romp through puzzles and adventures. The family characters are well construed and Mel Taylor-Bessant paints a clear picture of shy Luca and each of his siblings. The appeal will sit well with years 3 and 4 while the language and some of the content are informal and strong in places, and the pace rarely lets up, perhaps leaning towards older readers too.

This is a tale of love, loss and identity. It has magical sparkles of light and humour amongst the serious themes of depression and separation. The Snowman Code is a book about kindness. It may be set in the longest, coldest of winters, but it is warm and tender and would melt even the iciest of hearts. Share it and enjoy its message of love, kindness and togetherness.

Exciting, strange, magical, adventurous and gripping.

Jasbinder Bilan’s books are always so lovely and heartwarming. They also have a powerful message within the pages, and this short and accessible animal story is no exception.

Puloma lives with her aunt and uncle after being orphaned. She isn’t treated very kindly, so she runs away. Joining the circus seems the perfect solution. Their encounters Nyla, a sloth bear who is forced to dance and is mistreated. Puloma escapes with Nyla in search of safety.

Puloma is a wonderful character. Lonely at first, she soon shows her brave, strong morals. She knows the way Nyla is treated is wrong. The story is well written and touches on the world of animal cruelty. There is a section at the back explaining India’s sloth bear protection and conservation projects. This book is also dyslexia-friendly.

Michael Morpurgo does it again with this heartwarming and sometimes teary tale inspired by the extraordinary true story of the French Drummer Boy of Waterloo.

A story of friendship, courage and battles. Cobweb is a puppy in 1815, the story journeys through his life and the adventures it takes him on.

This is a wonderfully funny story from the queen of humour Pamela Butchart tells of some friends trying lots of different ways to make money. They have some ups and downs along the way as they take their idea of selling cheap pizza and try to make it into a business that makes lots of money.

Ben’s family are having some money troubles at the moment because his Dad has lost his job, and he wants to help his family find the money to pay the rent. He has read a self-help book about becoming a billionaire and thinks he can do it as well. He uses the tips from the self-help book as his guide for the best things to do to succeed in business. The story ends with a lovely example of how friends can come together to help each other.

This is a great example of a diary that primary children in Key Stage 2 would engage with. The illustrations help to break up the text and make it more exciting for the reader.

An interesting and evocative picture book, transporting readers to a 1950s Canadian mining town through the eyes of a young boy.

The boy gazes at the sea in the mornings, always aware that his father is working deep below it in the coal mine. This first-person narrative immerses us directly into the boy’s everyday world, steeped in the legacy of a challenging industry.

Sidney Smith’s sweeping illustrations contrast the shimmering seascape with the darkened world of the mine. This visual juxtaposition powerfully highlights the boy’s unspoken future, stirring profound questions about choice as he wonders at his own destiny.

The rhythmic book offers rich opportunities for discussion in Key Stage 2 classrooms about family heritage, community and whether paths are truly inevitable or open to change. A powerful and thought-provoking book.

Sebastian and his two best friends, Lina and Étienne become stranded on a desert island and it’s all Sebastian’s fault. The three friends won a school competition to take part in an environmental summer camp where they would learn how to protect the planet. Sebastian became particularly competitive with the other children at the camp, and before they knew it, there they were, shipwrecked and alone on another island. Headstrong Lina soon takes charge, determined that they won’t make the same mistakes as the children in ‘The Lord of the Flies’ and Sebastian sets out to gain his military dad’s approval.

Told from Sebastian’s point of view, the chapter headings are a series of ‘survival tips’ based on things he’s learnt along the way. The story is full of humour, wit and several animal companions, but it also carries a lovely message about friendship and working together to overcome difficulties.

This is a great adventure story by popular children’s author Jenny Pearson, suitable for Year 4 and up. It will also be loved by fans of humorous stories.

This latest historical fiction from Tony Bradman has all the elements of a traditional historical adventure story, with a thoughtful and courageous hero who’s out to prove himself navigating the Roman world and who’s naturally skilled in a classic sword fight. The story is exciting, tightly plotted, and grounded in enough research for the setting to be thoroughly convincing.

Lucius is eager to be adopted by his new stepfather and to make his way in Rome, but instead finds himself packed off to Londinium, where he discovers a ruthless assassin on his tail. To escape, he joins the Roman army under a false name. His bravery and loyalty quickly earn him recognition from his commanders, but the more he gains success, the more he wishes he could reclaim his true identity. As danger looms on the northern border, Lucius’s position becomes more precarious and secrets from his past threaten to resurface and destroy everything he has fought for.

While not especially complex, the narrative is pacy and well-written, with great chapter headings that read like newspaper headlines. It would make an excellent page-turning read-aloud or ‘read for pleasure’ recommendation in any class studying Roman Britain at Key Stage 2.

The Summer Dolphin takes readers to the Welsh coast, where Lillie’s holiday is overshadowed by loneliness as her sister excludes her. This is the latest in a series of animal stories by beloved children’s author Holly Webb. A glimpse of dolphins offers Lillie brief joy, but a desire to prove herself leads Lillie on a risky solo trip to a tidal island, where she faces danger.

This poignant story expertly captures the raw emotions of a younger sibling while beautifully evoking the Welsh coast and its wildlife.

David Dean’s illustrations bring the characters and nature to life, making it a perfect read for those who enjoy short chapter adventures about family and animals. An adventurous and joyful animal story.

This book is packed with information for budding mountaineers or fans of Geography.

Filled with facts, this book is perfect for class libraries or topic boxes. The beginning of the book features information about mountains, geographical terms, mountain ranges, explorers and the preparation involved before attempting to reach a summit.

The rest of the text concentrates on pages of information dedicated to famous mountains across the world, including Everest, Kilimanjaro and Vinson Massif – which is perfect for in-depth study work. Each section includes facts and details about conquests and climbs, accompanied by a very detailed glossary.

A fact-filled, round-the-world tour of the greatest mountains on Earth that is the perfect read for children and adults alike.

Bertie and the Alien Chicken by Jenny Pearson is a fast-paced, laugh-out-loud novel that is perfect for engaging KS2 readers.

Bursting with humour and heart, the story follows a child’s wildly imaginative adventure involving a very suspicious chicken, blending everyday family life with outrageous fun. Pearson’s distinctive voice keeps readers hooked while also delivering a warm, emotionally grounded story. Beneath the comedy, the book explores themes of family, belonging, grief and resilience in a sensitive and age-appropriate way.

The accessible language and short chapters support reluctant readers while still offering depth for more confident ones. This is an excellent choice for the classroom: funny, heartfelt and meaningful!

‘Terrible True Tales by Terry Deary (of Horrible Histories fame) allows young readers to learn about the history of the Romans in a fun, engaging way.

Like with any good historical fiction, children are introduced to an array of death, rebirth, slaves, soldiers and a little bit of gore! The book is split into four short stories, previously published separately, which capture some famous legends from Roman history. Through the story collection, we witness the fire of Circus Maximum, Roman Emperor Claudius betraying the Queen and the volcanic eruption in Pompeii. In the final story, readers will learn about the infamous legend of the Roman geese, much to their amusement.

At the end of each short story, the author has included a ‘you try’ section, which allows the reader to engage in an activity linked to the story and imagine themselves as a Roman. Readers are also given a guide to which elements of the Roman stories are based on historical fact, teaching them about history as they read.

It is 1249 BCE, and Henut lives in Egypt with her blended family. Her father remarried following the death of her mother, who was lost in the River Nile. Henut feels she is different from her family and is distrustful of the gods, which frustrates her father and causes a rift between them.

Strange things start to happen to Henut and her family, which lead to her leaving her family and embarking on a mission to uncover the truth and set things straight. She soon finds out that family cannot always be trusted and that the protection of the gods might be important after all – especially when breaking into a tomb in the infamous Valley of the Kings.

The book was enjoyable to read and would be a great class reader for a lower KS2 class studying the Egyptians.

Anyone fascinated by animals or nature will love this book. The whole premise of the book is to look in detail at animals’ mouths. How do they eat? How do certain animals use their mouths to travel, or call for help? All of the answers can be found inside this book.

The facts are presented straightforwardly so that they can be easily understood by children. The illustrations help bring the information alive. For example, in a section about which animal has the longest tongue, the anteater is depicted, and the termite nest is shown in cross-section to enable the reader to picture clearly how far the tongue goes.

This is a fascinating information book to aid science topics on habitats and adaptation, and one that will be snapped up by the jaws of fact-loving readers in lower KS2.

A wonderful uplifting read from Helen Peters.

Hannah and her siblings are aghast when their always-strong, forever-busy farming father has an accident leaving him hospitalised and unable to work for weeks. Things go from bad to worse when they discover that the farm’s landlord wants to sell the farm off, leaving them homeless and farmless. They need to raise two million pounds in a few short months

The Great Farm Rescue tells the story of how Hannah, her friends and family – along with many volunteers – try the impossible task of raising the funds to save the farm. Running alongside the fundraising storyline is that of Hannah’s school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the bully determined to get Hannah thrown off the play and humiliate her for good measure. This storyline is a continuation of Helen Peters’ previous books in the ‘Hannah’s Farm’ series, but also can be read as a standalone.

This heartwarming adventure will be enjoyed by many, as read-aloud enjoyment from 6 plus and read-alone for ages 8 and above. With an abundance of likeable characters, human and animal, you can’t help but get swept up in the drive to save the farm and the many twists and turns along the way. The book is well written with a plot line that keeps you wanting to read more, with a few laughs along the way.

The Beanstalk Murder may have elements of a traditional fairy story – a beanstalk and a land of giants – but this is so much more than a fairy tale! Full of plot twists, double-dealing and peril, it is a real page-turner.

When the dead body of a giant falls out of the sky and flattens the village of Old Stump, Anwen Sedge knows that there is a mystery to solve: a mystery in the form of murder. Anwen is a meadow witch who aspires to train at the Academy of High Magic; what she lacks in talent, she makes up for in determination and optimism. Her attempts at conjuring spells always end in disaster, much to the amusement of her rival Cerys Powell.

Anwen uses an ancient bean seed to magic a passageway to the Sky Kingdom, which is the land from which the dead giant had fallen. What then ensues is a series of breathtaking disasters, nail-biting near-misses and laugh-out-loud blunders.

The Beanstalk Murder has a plot that twists like tendrils.  It has mystery, intrigue and red herrings in giant helpings and the reader will be guessing right up until the end. This would be a great read-aloud, each chapter ending on a cliffhanger will ensure that there will be groans when the book is closed for the day. It is also an enticing chapter book for those who are reading independently.

‘Into The Volcano’ is an engaging and informative text full of interesting facts for a Key Stage 2 audience. The book supports the National Curriculum objective of understanding the processes that give rise to key physical features of the world – it describes, in a way that the reader will be able to understand, whilst still using ambitious vocabulary, how and where volcanoes are formed, the different types of volcanoes, as well as discussing their positive and negative effects.

We enjoyed the inclusion of myths and legends inspired by real-life volcanoes, details about books and films that feature volcanoes (both real-life and fictional ones); and stories of artists who have chosen volcanoes as their subject.

Throughout the book, there are fascinating ‘Did you know?’ snippets – for example, did you know that scientists believe that the ‘scream heard piercing through nature’ which inspired Edvard Munch’s world-famous painting ‘The Scream’ was in fact the effects of Krakatau exploding?

This volcano-themed children’s book is a fascinating read from start to finish.

What a brilliant book! Ten-year-old Matilda has decided to build a rocket to travel to the moon and back. This story is jam-packed with facts about what is needed for each stage. From gravity and orbits to fuel calculations, you find out how previous space missions solved each aspect of space travel and the science behind them. And of course, all the key questions about space missions are answered like how do you poop in space?!

Matilda is a brilliant role model for women in STEM – intelligent, sparky and ambitious. Her narrative voice is strong and entertaining.

The mix of science and the history of the Apollo missions makes this book absolutely fascinating, and the illustrations, font styles and chatty style make it an easy read for Key Stage 2.

With brilliant links to STEM subjects, this would be a particularly good addition as a reading-for-pleasure choice alongside the Earth and Space topic in Science. It also shows ambition, resilience and the ability to research and plan before undertaking a task.

On Poetry Street provides 52 poems, one for each week of the year.

The book begins with Brian Moses welcoming readers with a ‘simple test’ for seeing whether they are ‘hooked on words’ and can create poetry for themselves. He then invites readers to ‘walk down poetry street’ with him, introducing them to the spectacular range of poems ahead.

In this collection, the opportunities for writing poetry or engaging children in oracy opportunities are endless. There is so much playfulness and creativity on each page. This collection of poems feels to be written with fun at its centre, while also providing scaffolding for budding poets to write their own. You can see why Brian Moses is one of Britain’s favourite children’s poets. A must for every classroom bookshelf or for a teacher to keep on their desk to read aloud and inject the joy of poetry into the classroom every day.

This is the second in the series of Livi’s adventures, but it works well as a standalone read, as there is plenty of backstory to explain it all.

It is a wonderfully bonkers book, taking Roman and Greek mythology and using it as the basis for madcap escapades, mixed up with modern situations too. I particularly liked the extensive glossary and use of historical terms throughout the text. My favourite part was the collection of objects, and I don’t think it would spoil the plot to mention that Alan Titchmarsh’s secateurs are amongst them. Any book that can make adults as well as children laugh and learn, has got to be a good one.

Livi is such an entertaining narrator, and her bluntness is her strength. The illustrations and cover by Flavia Sorrentino are a delight, hinting at the story at the start of each chapter as well as bringing some of the characters to life. This is definitely the sort of book to make a great read-aloud and companion text for any Romans topic.