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Books About Summer

Best Children’s Books About Summer

As the weather warms up and the summer holidays beckon, why not celebrate this season of sunshine and adventures with some Summer-themed books for children?

From classic seaside tales like Lucy and Tom at the Seaside and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch, to laugh out loud stories of animal adventures like You Can’t Take an Elephant on Holiday and The Great Hamster Getaway, our selection has something for everyone to enjoy. This Summer booklist is recommended for parents, teachers and librarians looking to inspire a love of reading and a thirst for adventure in young children.

Get ready to dip your toes in and explore the sights, sounds and smells of the summertime with our list of recommended children’s books about Summer.

best books for children for autism awareness

Autism and Autistic Characters

Recommended children’s books about autism and autistic characters

Browse our booklist of recommended children’s books that foster awareness and understanding of autism. Our selection of books offers a range of perspectives on neurodiversity, exploring different experiences of autism including personal accounts and experiences of supporting family and friends. Books and stories can play an important role in raising awareness and promoting understanding towards autistic individuals as well as celebrating their strengths and talents and allowing children with autism to be represented in stories written by authors with similar experiences.

Our booklist is designed for anyone seeking to promote diversity and inclusion in their personal or school settings, including parents, teachers, and those looking for personal development. This varied booklist of picturebooks, chapter books and graphic novels includes relatable stories for autistic children, as well as books that help all children to understand what it is like for autistic people to navigate a world that isn’t always designed with them in mind and stories designed to celebrate neurodiversity.

year group recommended reads booklist

Year Group Recommended Reads 2022 Archive

Best Books for Each Year Group 

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 for the purpose of reading for pleasure at each age group.

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.

NB: This is an archive of the 2022 booklists. If you want to most up to date versions, click here.

 

best childrens books about king charles iii

King Charles III

Best Children’s Books about King Charles III

What better way to get to know our monarch than this list of the best children’s books about King Charles III? Featuring richly-illustrated books full of facts and fun stories for sharing, children will love learning about the King’s life story and passions, and the customs and traditions of his role.

Our list of recommended stories about the King provides a glimpse into the life of our monarch and offers a perfect blend of education and entertainment, making history come alive in an engaging and accessible way. For young readers looking to learn about the King’s life story and journey to coronation, this list will provide the most relevant recommended books such as The Boy Who Would Be King or Our King Charles.

For readers looking for fiction themed around the king, we recommended the entertaining illustrated picturebook The King’s Hats or a royal encounter with a favourite character in Winnie The Pooh Meets the King.

Whether it’s a bedtime story or a classroom adventure, join us on this enchanting journey through living history and introduce young children to the royal world of King Charles III.

best books about life cycles

Life Cycles Topic

Best children’s books about life cycles

Hatching, growing, changing… this list brings you the best children’s books about life cycles. Featuring butterflies, seeds, eggs and more, this collection covers the life cycles of a huge range of creatures and plants. From favourite stories to fascinating non-fiction texts with vibrant illustrations, children in the Early Years and KS1 will love exploring the science of how all sorts of organisms change and grow with our list of recommended children’s books about the topic of life cycles.

best books about colours

Books about Colours

Recommended children’s books about colours

Lose yourself in the glorious world of colours. This collection of books about colours mixes vibrant illustrations, heartwarming stories and fascinating science to offer a range of perspectives on the EYFS colours topic. Rainbows and crayons feature alongside favourite characters to bring the colours topic to life. Brighten up your classroom with this list of the best children’s books for learning about colours.

best books about festivals and celebrations

Festivals and Celebrations Topic

Best children’s books about festivals and celebrations

Let’s celebrate! Featuring fun picturebooks and fascinating non-fiction texts, this collection of the best children’s books about festivals and celebrations offers a colourful and insightful global journey. Learn about festivals from a range of cultures and traditions and extend your children’s understanding of important religious celebrations with this list of books for Early Years and Key Stage One classrooms, designed to bring the topic of festivals and celebrations to life.

best books about people who help us

People Who Help Us Topic

Recommended children’s books about people who help us

Discover the world of key workers! From teachers and bin lorry drivers to medics and police officers, this collection offers a fascinating insight into the people whose job it is to help us. This list offers the best children’s books about people who help us, and features illustrated storybooks alongside lift-the-flap explorations of emergency vehicles to introduce young children to a host of helping jobs.

best books about on the farm

On the Farm Topic

Best children’s books about farms

Whether it’s the animal characters who live in the farmyard, the exciting machinery or how farms help to get food onto our plates, this collection covers all aspects of life on the farm in an entertaining and informative way. From fun rhymes about an animal talent contest to informative non-fiction texts about tractors and milking, there’s plenty to discover in the Down On the Farm topic. Roll your sleeves up and get stuck into this list of the best children’s stories about farms, farmyard animals and where our food comes from.

books for fans of murder most unladylike

Branching Out: Books for Fans of Murder Most Unladylike

If you like Murder Most Unladylike, try these…

The Murder Most Unladylike books form a series of children’s murder mystery novels written by Robin Stevens. Popular with children aged 9-12, the stories follow the adventures of two schoolgirls who set up their own detective agency.

Fans of the Murder Most Unladylike series enjoy the stories’ unfolding mysteries told through Hazel’s witty case notes. Readers also love the fast-paced plots with clever twists, the character-centred drama and also the 1930s boarding school setting. The stories deal with important themes like friendship, diversity, loyalty and social class against the backdrop of the murder investigations. Additionally, many children enjoy the collectibility of the series with their rainbow-hued covers and sprayed edges.

We’ve put together a list of ten similar books for fans of Murder Most Unladylike. Readers who want to get their hands on more murder-mystery style stories could try the Violet Veil Mysteries or equally one of Fleur Hitchcock’s atmostpheric murder stories like Murder at Twilight. Those looking for another boarding school drama to get stuck into might enjoy Malory Towers or Emily Lime: Librarian Detective. If you’re looking for a strong female sleuthing duo to fill the void left by Daisy and Hazel, we think you’ll love Lori and Max or Sophie and Lil in The Clockwork Sparrow. Finally, for children looking for a new suspenseful series to start collecting, we recommend Mysteries on Trains (starting with The Highland Falcon Thief) or the book-lovers’ fantasy world of Pages & Co – both of which are strong favourites among children who like to read through a series.

Browse the full list below of books for children looking for more books like Murder Most Unladylike…

 

 

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