At the ages of 5-7, many children develop the attention span to listen to stories that continue over several instalments and are ready to start listening to chapter books at storytime. We’ve picked out a selection of short, age-appropriate chapter books that make great read-aloud stories for children of this age group – whether for whole class stories at school,  fun family read-alouds or gentle bedtime stories.

Our primary reading experts have picked a selection of recommended chapter books to suit all tastes – from animal stories and tales of magic to popular classroom favourites and laugh-out-loud side-splitting adventures. We’ve also included some classic stories suitable for this age group and a handful of highly-illustrated chapter books for those readers who love looking at the pictures while they listen.

On this list we have selected books that lend themselves well to being read out loud. If you are looking for first chapter books for children to read independently, we have a separate list for this here.