Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Resource Available: Resources available

Non-fiction

Learn to greet people around the globe in this interactive atlas of hellos.
With over 150 languages, flaps to reveal pronunciation and fact-files explaining how to write ‘hi’ in hieroglyphs and how to sign ‘hao’ in Native American hand talk. Hello World opens up a world of exploration and greetings at your fingertips.

Chapter book

Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, who died soon after she was born.

So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she’s full of questions for her extended family.

But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence – and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta.

Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is …

The second novel by Jasbinder Bilan, author of the Costa Award-winning Asha & the Spirit Bird and a rising star in middle-grade fiction.

Perfect for readers aged 9 and up – for fans of Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

A beautiful and emotional family drama lightly woven with magic, in a breathtaking Indian setting.

Graphic Novel

Young, up-and-coming illustrator William Grill weaves a detailed visual narrative of Shackleton’s journey to Antarctica.Grill’s beautiful use of colored pencils and vibrant hues effortlessly evokes the adventure and excitement that surrounded the expedition. His impeccably researched drawings, rich with detail, fastidiously reproduce the minutiae of the expedition.Children will love examining the diagrams of the peculiar provisions and the individual drawings of each sled dog and packhorse. This book takes the academic and historical information behind the expedition and reinterprets it for a young audience.

Chapter book

Reeve and McIntyre bring you another rip-roaring read! The Race to the Top of the World! It comes around once in a lifetime, and the prize? Your heart’s desire. Shen and Sika can’t resist the chance to win, but competition is fierce. The path to victory is littered with snow trolls, sea monsters, and a gang of particularly hungry yetis. But Shen and Sika have something the other contestants don’t have. Actually, they have 66 other things; pugs to be exact. That’s a 264 paw-powered sled! Bursting with stunning illustration throughout, this is a book not to be missed!

Chapter book

A magical wintry story filled with adventure, wonder and edge-of-your-seat excitement, this is the perfect read for fans of Michelle Harrison, Piers Torday and Emma Carroll.

‘Once an adventure digs its claws in, there is not an awful lot you can do about it. Especially when magic is involved . . .’

In the snowy kingdom of Erkenwald , whales glide between icebergs, wolves hunt on the tundra and polar bears roam the glaciers. But the people of this land aren’t so easy to find – because Erkenwald is ruled by an evil Ice Queen and the tribes must stay hidden or risk becoming her prisoners at Winterfang Palace.

Join Eska , a girl who breaks free from a cursed music box, and Flint , a boy whose inventions could change the fate of Erkenwald forever, as they journey to the Never Cliffs and beyond in search of an ancient, almost forgotten, song with the power to force the Ice Queen back.

This is a story about an eagle huntress, an inventor and an organ made of icicles. But it is also a story about belonging, even at the very edges of our world . . .

Chapter book

It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just the same.

Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . .

When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?

A gorgeously imaginative middle grade fantasy adventure combining the best of Peter Pan, Lemony Snicket, Northern Lights and Alice in Wonderland.

Poetry

A timeless, beautifully designed book for children and adults alike, The Lost Words is a gift that will be pored over and cherished for years to come.

All over the country, there are words disappearing from children’s lives. These are the words of the natural world; Dandelion, Otter, Bramble and Acorn, all gone. A wild landscape of imagination and play is rapidly fading from our children’s minds.

The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood. It is a joyful celebration – in art and word – of nearby nature and its wonders. With acrostic spell-poems by award-winning writer Robert Macfarlane and illustrations by Jackie Morris , this enchanting book evokes the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages.

Chapter book

Joe has always loved the moorlands above his home: the wildness, the freedom, the peace. But since his father died, everything has changed, and the moors are no longer a place of refuge. Now the whole community is divided over the fate of the hen harriers that nest up there in the heather – and Joe is stuck right in the middle, with a choice to make, and a huge secret to keep. Joe can’t do what’s right for everyone. But can he find the strength to fight for what he really believes in? Expert storyteller Gill Lewis presents a beautiful tale of loss, expectation, and change – with an important and thought-provoking environmental message.

Non-fiction

Welcome to the museum that is always open to explore…

Step inside the pages of Oceanarium to enjoy the experience of a museum from the comfort of your own home. This stunning offering from the Welcome to the Museum series guides readers around the world’s oceans, from sandy shorelines to the deepest depths. Get up close and personal with giant whale sharks, tiny tropical fish, majestic manatees and so much more, travel the world from frozen Arctic seas to shimmering coral reefs, and learn why it is so important that we protect our oceans.

Intricate artwork by rising star Teagan White combines with expert text by education officer Loveday Trinick from the National Marine Aquarium, UK. A stunning exploration of the underwater world, and a must-have for any animal enthusiast.

Non-fiction

This is our Blue Planet: a beautiful blue marble suspended in a sea of stars. Dive into these incredible stories from BBC Blue Planet II.

Unlike billions of other worlds in the Milky Way, 71 per cent of our Blue Planet is covered by ocean. It’s home to the greatest diversity of life on Earth but is our least explored habitat; we’ve better maps of Mars than of the ocean floor.

With so much more to discover, take a deep breath . . . and dive into a wondrous world beneath the waves .

Explore coral reefs that shimmer in a kaleidoscope of colours. Venture to the bottom of the ocean where creatures beyond your wildest imagination live in the dark. Chase sea otters through kelp forest seas, and glide the open ocean with humpback whales.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments