Winner of the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, this is a very popular choice for KS2. It tells the story of a small girl called Maia, who journeys down the Amazon River with her strict governess, making friends and enemies along the way. It is rich in descriptive language in both its depiction of the Brazilian jungle and in its descriptions of complex and cruel characters that will stay with you long after you close the book.

This is a children’s literary classic. Set along the river bank, it recounts the humorous adventures of Toad, who relies on his helpful friends Mole, Ratty and Badger to keep him safe from a series of disasters that he seems to bring upon himself.

This story from award-winning author Elizabeth Laird is a great choice for KS2. When young Finn takes a dive in the water near his fishing village, he is delighted to find dolphins to swim with. However, the dolphins face a terrible threat due to the masses of rubbish floating around in their water. It is up to Finn to find a way to save the sea creatures and prevent their natural environment from becoming ruined. This is a topical and thought-provoking novel.

Publishers are spoiling us at the moment with a wealth of non-fiction titles for children that are presented with creativity and a high visual appeal. Once Upon a Raindrop: The Story of Water by James Carter and Nomoco immerses the readers into the wonderful world of water; from the tiny raindrops that drip and drop onto hills to the waves roaring mightily in the oceans and then to the wispy evaporations of steam and clouds.
More than a simple explanation of the water cycle, this book uses gentle and poetic verse to evoke the transient flow of water through its different forms, accompanied by swirling, meandering watercolour illustrations. Sometimes the shape and sizes of the words on the page seamlessly blend with the images to further bring life to the poetry…

An informative picture book aimed at teaching children why water is valuable and what changes they can make in their everyday lives to conserve and not waste water. The book starts by exploring different uses for water, moving on to how our water is cleaned at treatment centres before closing with ideas for children to consider about how they can use less water.

If you know Flying Eye publishing house’s output, you will know before you even see this book that ‘Amazon River’ is a beautiful object, that the art will be as thoughtful as the writing, the quality of paper as important as the factual information.
Reading this to a class as the launch to a topic on the Amazon/Rainforests will undoubtedly whet the children’s appetite to learn about this astonishing and awe-inspiring place. The introduction is amply matched by the end piece, ‘A river of the World’, which sums the book up perfectly, as well as acting as an excellent discussion starter on the interconnectedness of our planet…