If you’ve previously purchased our 50 Recommended Reads pack for Year 1, then this list is for you! Update your collection with this special list of books which have been newly added to our 50 Recommended Reads list for Year 1.
Newly updated: June 2026
Browse this list of 50 recommended books for preschool children (3- and 4-year-olds). Top up your preschool or nursery book collections with the BooksForTopics hand-picked list of classic stories, laugh-out-loud picture books, animal tales, poetry books, and non-fiction for EYFS children.
Parents and teachers know how important it is to encourage a love of reading in children from a young age. Reading with nursery and preschool children not only helps with language development but also encourages imagination and creativity, and it is best to offer a wide variety of books to try.
This booklist includes popular preschool stories such as Owl Babies, Peace at Last and The Tiger Who Came to Tea, as well as some lesser-known storytime delights that we highly recommend, like A Surprise for Snail and Eat Your Peas.
Handpicked by teachers and children’s reading experts, our diverse and varied preschool reading list is designed to help those looking for the best high-quality and age-appropriate books for reading with nursery or preschool children, featuring 50 of the best books for preschoolers available today.
As well as the BooksForTopics preschool booklist below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster, a downloadable checklist and a handy bookmark for you, and schools can purchase full sets of the 50 books via Peters.
Browse the preschool booklist below or click on each book to find out more. Scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.
Newly updated: June 2026!
Each of our Year Group Recommended Reads lists contains 50 books specially picked out for reading for pleasure in each school year group, from Preschool to Year 9. The lists are designed to provide recommendations of age-appropriate and accessible books across a range of genres and styles.
When we put together each list, we look for a balance across different genres and styles. Some children naturally navigate towards non-fiction, while others find graphic novels or poetry the most enjoyable forms to pick up and read.
Each list contains a balance of age-appropriate fiction, picturebooks, non-fiction, poetry and graphic novels, with a handful of novelty or tactile books added in too. We’ve also aimed to collate lists that cater for different reading styles, interest levels, publication dates (you’ll find some true golden oldies as well as brand new titles on each list) and also books that contain a diversity of characters and settings. This way, schools using our lists can offer children access to a wealth of quality reading choices to enjoy.
Each Year Group Booklist comes with a printable poster and checklist and is also available to purchase as a full book pack from Peters.
New Additions – Updated for 2026-27
Each of our Year Group Recommended Reads lists contains 50 books specially picked out for reading for pleasure in each primary year group, from Preschool to Year 6. The lists are designed to provide recommendations of age-appropriate and accessible books across a range of genres and styles. These lists differ from our topic booklists, as the books are purely selected to read for pleasure at each age group. The Year Group lists also come with printable posters and checklists.
We update our lists annually and schools can purchase sets of the packs from Peters. As well as the full book packs, schools can also purchase a top-up pack containing just the newly added titles for 2026-2027.
Some of the titles are newly published, whereas others are older favourites that have just been added to the Year Group lists for the first time. Browse the lists below to see the new additions for each year group, launched 2nd June 2026.
If you’ve previously purchased our 50 Recommended Reads pack for Reception, then this list is for you! Update your collection with this special list of books which have been newly added to our 50 Recommended Reads list for Reception.
Newly updated: June 2026
This list of the top books for Y4 has been selected by experienced primary teachers, librarians and children’s book experts.
Year 4 children thrive best with their reading when they are able to choose from a quality selection of adventure stories, thought-provoking chapter books, funny books, animal tales, picturebooks, graphic novels, poetry collections, non-fiction texts and more. We hope that there will be something for everyone on this list, but do keep your eyes open for disappearing landmarks, witches flying umbrellas, a giant dog and a friendly cockroach …
This Year 4 reading list is carefully designed to match the age, developmental stage and interest level of children in Year 4. This booklist includes some of the most popular Year 4 stories such as The Land of Roar, The Boy at the Back of the Class and How to Train Your Dragon as well as some lesser-known storytime delights that we recommend for Y4, like David Almond’s AI-inspired Brand New Boy, Elizabeth Laird’s Song of the Dolphin Boy and the fun-packed, nautical detective story Cruise Ship Kid: Thief at Sea.
As well as the Y4 reading list below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster, a downloadable checklist and a handy bookmark for you, and schools can purchase full sets of all 50 books via Peters.
Browse the Y4 reading list below or scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.
Newly updated: June 2026
Our primary school reading experts have selected a list of the top 50 recommended books for children in Year 5. There are so many books to love on this list, but do keep an eye out for houses that walk, a ten-year-old doctor, boarding schools for criminals and a bad hair day like no other…
Year 5 children benefit from being able to choose from a range of books by both classic and contemporary authors in different genres and formats.
This booklist includes popular Y5 books such as Percy Jackson, Impossible Creatures and Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s The Blockbusters, as well as lesser-known gems that are equally delightful, like Torben Kuhlman’s stunning picturebook Edison and Bali Rai’s tale of a young Sikh footballer, Bobby Bains Ain’t Playing.
Our curated booklists are compiled by specialists in children’s literature, and we take pride in presenting a diverse range of voices and catering to different types of readers, ensuring that there is something for everyone.
We have also provided accompanying Y5 resources to support parents and teachers, including a printable poster, a downloadable checklist, a handy bookmark, and the option for schools to purchase full sets of the 50 books through Peters.
Browse the Y5 reading list below or scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.
If you’ve previously purchased our 50 Recommended Reads pack for Year 6, then this list is for you! Update your collection with this special list of books which have been newly added to our 50 Recommended Reads list for Year 6.
If you like Holly Webb’s animal books, try these…Holly Webb’s animal stories feature gentle adventures with themes of kindness, hope and bravery. With relatable characters and loveable animals, these chapter books are hugely popular with independent readers.
We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Holly Webb. Those looking for more tales of special bonds between humans and animals could try Charlotte’s Web, Snow Foal or Lizzie & Lucky.
For young readers who enjoy stories of local animal rescues, we recommend An Otter Called Pebble, Because of Winn-Dixie or Appletree Animal Agency, while those looking for stories of wild animal conservation might enjoy Jess Butterworth’s Red Panda Rescue or Hannah Gold’s The Last Bear.
If you like The Wild Robot, try these…Adventurous and thoughtful, The Wild Robot books feature themes of technology, environment and survival. The books are a stalwart in primary classrooms, with a picture book version and animated movie also being bit hits.
We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of The Wild Robot. Readers looking to further explore the environmental theme might enjoy Piers Torday’s captivating animal adventure The Last Wild, Elizabeth Laird’s conservation story Song of the Dolphin Boy, and folklore-inspired Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit.
For more stories of island adventures, we recommend Jess Butterworth’s survival story, Lost on Gibbon Island, featuring illustrations by Rob Biddulph. Childhood games come to life in Jenny McLachlan’s The Land of Roar, while Michael Morpurgo’s The Puffin Keeper is a story of friendship, hope and new beginnings set in the Scilly Isles.
Readers who love Roz, The Wild Robot’s loveable main protagonist, will find similarly appealing robot characters in Tin by Padraig Kenny, Scrap by Guy Bass, and Ted Hughes’s classic story, The Iron Man.
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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?
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