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Branching Out: Books for Fans of Grimwood

If you like Grimwood, try these…

Young readers love the Grimwood series of books by Nadia Shireen, with its hilarious animal heroes, laugh-out-loud humour and high-energy adventures.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of the Grimwood series. Readers who love the anarchic humour of these books might enjoy the comically sinister The Beast and the Bethany, the darkly funny Stitch Head or the monster-hunting Grumpfort.

For readers looking for a new highly readable series featuring funny, illustrated animal characters, we recommend Swapna Haddow’s Dave Pigeon or Adam Stower’s Murray and Bun.

Those who have enjoyed Grimwood’s high-energy adventures will feel at home with the wildly chaotic Betty Steady or the high octane Race to Imagination Island.

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Branching Out: Books for Fans of Adam Kay

If you like Adam Kay’s books, try these…

Adam Kay’s books are a huge hit with children, from his entertaining non-fiction titles packed with hilariously gross facts, to his laugh-out-loud fiction with quirky characters and fast-paced plots based on real-life science.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Adam Kay’s books. Fans of Dexter Procter who are looking for more laugh-out-loud stories of children acting beyond their years might enjoy Head Kid, Race Against Crime or A Beginner’s Guide to Ruling the Galaxy. Readers ages 9-12 who love funny books could also try Finn’s Epic Fails or Time Travelling with a Hamster.

If it’s humour for would-be doctors and medics that you’re looking for, then we recommend Pamela Butchart’s The Broken Leg of Doom or Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s The Astounding Broccoli Boy.

Adam Kay is also known for his laugh-out-loud, entertaining and often gory non-fiction books. Readers looking for similar fact books might want to add Greg Jenner’s Totally Chaotic History series, Big Manny’s Science is Lit or Dara O Briain’s Secret Science to their collection.

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Branching Out: Books for Fans of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure

If you like Choose-Your-Own-Adventure, try these…

Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books are hugely popular with young readers, offering exciting stories with interactive features that allow them to drive the story, leading to multiple possible endings.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. Pick a Story, Once Upon a Fairytale, and Bear Grylls’s You Decide Your Adventure offer illustrated stories for younger readers that put them in the driving seat.

Readers aged 7-9 searching for adventures in the pick-your-path style might enjoy the Solve Your Own Mystery books, Traitor Island or The Beano’s The Day We Got Lost in Time. For 9-11 year olds, try Shadow Chaser or Helen Rutter’s The Boy with Big Decisions.

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Oracy Booklist for KS2

Best Books for Oracy in KS2

This oracy booklist offers a selection of high-quality titles chosen by experts to boost spoken language skills, critical thinking and dialogic talk in Years 3 to 6.

These hand-picked books are selected to engage KS2 readers while building confidence in speaking and meeting National Curriculum goals for literacy in a talk-rich environment, including the latest primary oracy framework.

Specially selected to get children thinking, debating, speaking and storytelling, this list showcases picturebooks like The Midnight Fair and poetry like This is Not a Small Voice alongside non-fiction titles about the power of speech like How to Talk So People Will Listen and Talking History.

Help your pupils find their voice with our expertly curated list of the best books for oracy in KS2, perfect for class debate, philosophy for children (P4C) or literacy lessons.

We also have a separate Oracy Booklist for Ages 4-7.

The Carnegies

Judged by librarians, the 2026 Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people in two categories: the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. This year’s shortlists were announced on Tuesday 10th March.

The Medal for Illustration shorlist features six picturebooks and two graphic novels. The theme of connection through journeys features strongly in this list, including a journey to a nearby town in The Paper Bridge, and a journey through memories in The Sleeper Train. Two debut illustrators are also highlighted in this list: Kengo Kurimoto for Wildful and Oboh Moses for Freedom Braids. Category winner Wiggling Words, by Kate Rolfe, uses typography and colour to explore what reading is like for people with dyslexia.

The Medal for Writing shortlist includes BooksForTopics favourites J. P. Rose’s Birdie and Katya Balen’s Ghostlines, which both feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Teen relationships are the focus for two of the other nominations in this category: Jason Reynolds’s Twenty-Four Seconds from Now and Tia Fisher’s Not Going to Plan. Category winner Wolf Siren is Beth O’Brien’s feminist reimagining of Red Riding Hood.

You can check out the full shortlist for the 2026 Carnegie Awards below.

Oracy Booklist for EYFS and KS1

Best Books for Oracy in EYFS and KS1

Looking for the best books to encourage oracy in your Primary classroom? This curated booklist offers a selection of high-quality titles chosen by experts to boost spoken language skills, listening comprehension, and dialogic talk in EYFS and Key Stage 1.

These hand-picked books will entertain young readers while building Tier 2 vocabulary, boosting confidence in speaking and meeting National Curriculum goals for literacy in a talk-rich environment, including the latest primary oracy framework.

Specially selected to get children talking, joining in, debating and presenting, this list pairs established classroom classics like Room on the Broom, Gorilla and Would You Rather with exciting newcomers like Don’t Trust Fish, My Rice is Best, and Don’t Think of Tigers.

Help your pupils find their voice with our expertly curated list of the best books for oracy for EYFS, Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 – perfect for storytime, circle time or literacy lessons.

We also have a separate Oracy booklist for KS2.

FCBG Children’s Book Award

Established in 1981, the FCBG Children’s Book Award is the only national children’s literature award voted for solely by children from start to finish. Books are shortlisted in a final “Top Ten” which is divided into three categories: Books for Younger Children, Books for Younger Readers and Books for Older Readers. We are delighted to see so many BooksForTopics favourite authors, illustrators, titles and characters featured in this year’s shortlist.

Among the selections for Younger Children is Michelle Harrison and David Tazzyman’s There’s a Shark in My Pants!, which featured in our recommendations for summer holiday reading. BooksForTopics favourites Julia Donaldson and Sara Ogilvie won this category with their new collaboration, Gozzle.

Some of our favourite characters star in the selections for Younger Readers, including Murray and Bun in Murray the Pirate, and category winner Pablo and Splash in Roman Holiday. Chante Timothy’s Supa Nova, which is highlighted in our Year Group Recommended Reads, completes the Younger Readers choices.

For Older Readers, the list includes Hide and Seek, from Christopher Edge’s Fear Files horror series, and category winner Fidan Meikle’s My Name is Samim, both of which have featured in our Books of the Month selections.

Online voting will open on Monday, 23rd March. You can see the full shortlist for this award below, and you can find out more on the FCBG website.

Inclusive Books for Children (IBC) Awards

Established in 2024 to recognise the best new inclusive books, these awards fit into Inclusive Books for Children‘s wider aim to make mainstream books inclusive, and to bring inclusive books into the mainstream. We’re thrilled to see some of our favourite titles, authors and characters among the 13 books shortlisted for the 2026 awards.

Zeki is a popular character among younger readers, and we were delighted to see him featured among the shortlisted titles in the Baby and Toddler Books category with Zeki Goes to the Market. Alex Strick’s accessible, touch-and-feel title Let’s Play was the winner in this category.

The Picture Books shortlist included BooksForTopics favourite Cloud Boy by Greg Stobbs, an empathy-building story of the challenges faced by neurodivergent children which has featured on our Recommended Reads booklists. The category winner was The Beautiful Layers of Me, a beautifully illustrated celebration of individuality and heritage by Sophia Payne.

The Children’s Fiction category shortlist includes three titles from our Year Group Recommended Reads booklists: laugh-out-loud animal adventure Pia’s Pet Club: Puppy Problem, fun friendship story The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood: School Trip, and category winner Supa Nova, a science-inspired graphic novel.

Check out the full shortlist for the 2026 awards below!

Media & Digital Literacy Books

Best children’s books about media and digital literacy

This list of the best books about media and digital literacy covers topics from AI and the internet to spotting fake news and staying safe online.

The hand-picked titles in this list include non-fiction books to encourage critical thinking, such as The Truth Detective and Fake News and How to Spot It. There are also books exploring the internet and AI, including The History of Information and From AI to Wi-Fi. Picturebooks like Old Macdonald Had a Phone and Don’t Trust Fish also feature alongside chapter books like Fake and Adam Wins the Internet, ensuring that this booklist has something to appeal to all young readers.

Help children to understand and navigate the digital worlkd with this carefully curated list of the best books about the media and digital literacy.

Read For Empathy – Primary

Read for Empathy 2026 Booklist – Primary Collection

Updated 2026 booklist!

“Science shows that empathy is learnable and that reading is an important empathy-building tool. This collection will help parents and educators to surround children with empathy experiences, inspiring them to understand others better, and tackle societal problems like racism.” EmpathyLab Founder Miranda McKearney OBE.

The aim of the Read for Empathy collection is for schools, libraries, families and community groups to use the books to help raise a generation with strong empathy skills. Chosen by expert judges, the primary collection features 40 books for 3-11 year olds, including picturebooks, novels, poetry, non-fiction and graphic novels.

There is also a secondary empathy booklist which showcases 25 titles for 12-16 year olds.

Each title on this list was selected because of its empathy-building job, offering children the opportunity to expand their understanding of different people and life experiences, and helping them to find ways of experiencing and building empathy.

The 2026 Read For Empathy book collection comes at a time when empathising with others has never been needed more. Contemporary themes highlight the big social issues our children face, including characters affected by poverty, prejudice and racism. Many books underline the importance of understanding other people’s points of view, and respecting differences.

Others address the urgent need for empathy for the environment, the conflicting expectations placed on young people, and empathy’s power to build stronger communities. There is a special section devoted to books which help young readers understand and share emotions.

More information and downloadable resources are available on the Empathy Lab website.