Guidance: Recommended Anglo-Saxon Topic Books for Children

What are the best Anglo-Saxon books for primary schools?

Our Anglo-Saxons topic booklist for KS2 features a curated selection of books about the Anglo-Saxon invaders and settlers. The list includes chapter book stories set in Anglo-Saxon times, like Tony Bradman’s gruesomely detailed Anglo-Saxon Boy and Terry Deary’s entertaining tale The King Who Threw Away His Throne, which covers the interplay between the Saxons and the Picts.

Anglo-Saxon picturebooks are slightly more difficult to come by, but we recommend The Princess Who Hid in a Tree for a shorter tale with a strong female lead, or the comic book style King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Classroom teachers looking to share information about daily life in the Anglo-Saxon period should try the non-fiction book Men, Women and Children in Anglo-Saxon Times, which is well suited for KS2.

The BooksforTopics Anglo-Saxon Booklist has everything you need to dig into your history topic! Schools can buy full packs of the books via Peters.

Is the Anglo-Saxon story of Beowulf suitable for KS2?

Beowulf is considered to be among the most important Anglo-Saxon texts and is one of the oldest surviving poems in Old English. Although the author is unknown, the single existing copy can still be seen today in the British Museum. The famous Anglo-Saxon story of Beowulf takes the form of an epic poem, which is a long poem telling a story of heroes and warriors. Beowulf is the name of the hero of the tale, and the poem tells of how he saves the people of the Scandinavian Geat tribe by battling against monsters and dragons – in particular a famous monster called Grendel.

Although the poem was originally written down in Old English, modern translations have been made, including some excellent children’s editions that are very well suited for KS2 Beowulf lessons. Beowulf is an excellent choice of story to read as part of an Anglo-Saxon topic, and much can be learned of Anglo-Saxon culture and literary traditions by studying an age-appropriate version of the tale.

Which are the best Anglo-Saxon stories for KS2 teachers to read aloud?

If your class likes action and excitement, then Anglo-Saxon Boy is a top choice of class novel for KS2. This exciting story from Tony Bradman is set just before the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Follow the story of young Magnus and his adventure-packed journey to the Battle of Hastings, as he is forced to contend with vicious family feuds and merciless claims to the throne. Full of excitement, danger and all the gore of the period, this is an action-packed novel brimming with historical details.

For a more light-hearted and entertaining set of Anglo-Saxon KS2 stories, lower KS2 classes will love the Saxon Tales series by Horrible Histories creator Terry Deary. The texts are accompanied by fun illustrations and are easily accessible to most pupils in Year 3 and Year 4. Choose one or read through all four of the Saxon tales in the series: The King Who Threw Away His Throne, The Lord Who Lost His Head, The Witch Who Faced the Fire and The Shepherd Who Ate His Sheep.

Are lesson plans or resources available for any of the recommended KS2 Anglo-Saxon books?

You’ll notice that some of the books we select for our booklists also feature downloadable resources like worksheets or teaching packs that have been provided by our publishing partners. Teachers looking for Anglo-Saxon KS2 planning could try the guided reading notes that come with The Buried Crown, offering chapter-by-chapter discussion questions, writing opportunities and cross-curricular ideas for KS2 teachers.

For Year 3 or Year 4 English planning, we’d recommend the lesson plans produced by KS2History to accompany Beowulf, which forms a 2-week literacy unit for lower KS2. A complete Anglo-Saxons KS2 history unit is also available from the same website.

How are the books for this BooksForTopics reading list selected?

Each of our history topic booklists contains a carefully curated selection of books to support the teaching of the primary curriculum. Curriculum relevance is at the heart of our curation process – alongside quality and classroom suitability – and our thorough analysis of the history requirements for KS1 and KS2 helps us to select the most relevant books for schools teaching each of the topics.

In the case of the Anglo-Saxons topic, the National Curriculum for Key Stage 2 states that pupils should be taught about ‘Britain’s settlement by Anglo-Saxons and Scots’ as well as ‘the Viking and Anglo-Saxon struggle for the Kingdom of England to the time of Edward the Confessor’. Our Anglo-Saxons booklist includes children’s fiction and non-fiction texts that explore themes of invasions, raids, settlements and kingdoms as well as stories that relate specifically to daily life in Saxon times. The books cover topics about the Anglo-Saxon invaders and settlers, the legacy of kings like Alfred the Great and Athelstan, crime and punishment in the Dark Ages, epic poems like Beowulf and the battle for land between different tribes.

Our review panel of teachers and education experts provides information about which books support the curriculum effectively, as well as writing detailed reviews for some of the books that we feature too. In addition to our Review Panel feedback and curriculum analysis, we work with a team of booksellers to make sure that the books on our lists are readily available from publishers in order to supply them to schools and classrooms. Schools can buy full packs of most of our topic booklists directly from Peters.

Which other KS2 history topic booklists are available?

Our booklists span the range of the KS2 history curriculum as a selection of wider thematic booklists that offer further depth and historical interest.

If you are looking for children’s books that match a particular historical period, travel back in time with our handpicked selection of recommended children’s books about history. From books for children about the Stone Age and Maya topic books to children’s books about Roman Britain and World War 2 children’s novels, we’ve got a mountain of quality-checked book recommendations to support your topic.

For children learning about ancient civilizations from around the world, try our Ancient Egyptians topic booklist and books about the Ancient Greeks. The early to middle ages are well covered in our booklists about Viking invaders and settlers and Tudor books for children, whereas our Victorian topic book recommendations and WW2 booklists bring readers up to speed with more modern history units.

Some of our history booklists are more thematic and span larger periods, such as our list of Black British History children’s books or the Crime and Punishment KS2 booklist.

Be sure to check out our full range of topic booklists if you are looking for children’s books themed around a particular history topic. Here are a few popular favourites you might also like:

• Vikings KS2 Booklist
• Stone Age to Iron Age Booklist
• Children’s Books About Explorers
• KS2 Books about the Slave Trade
• Black History Children’s Books
• Children’s Books about Kings and Queens.

Where can I purchase the books on the BooksForTopics Anglo-Saxons booklist?

• Buy the individual books on this list from the BooksForTopics store on Amazon.

• Purchase individual titles from this booklist via the BooksForTopics page on BookShop.Org.

• To buy the full book pack, schools can purchase via Peters.