Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Format: Chapter book

The Yeti’s Sneeze is playful, bright, and full of energy — but it also quietly champions empathy, inclusion and emotional understanding.

This is one of those books that feels delightfully silly on the surface but has a surprising amount of emotional and curriculum – friendly depth underneath. It follows the Unicorn School crew as they deal with a gigantic, chaotic sneeze from a very anxious yeti — and everything that sneeze sets off.

As both a primary teacher and a parent of an SEN child, it hits that sweet spot where fun, feelings and learning all sit together comfortably.

‘It’s hard to know where to start. There’s so much to say – about the murders, and the codes, and the spy, that I’m getting tangled up in the story already…’

It’s December 1941, and almost Christmas, when a bomb falls on Deepdean School for Girls. May and Nuala are whisked away from the chaos and sent to stay with May’s big sister, Hazel Wong, who is working at Bletchley Park.

Within seconds, they’re thrown straight into their most dangerous case yet. A codebreaker has been shot in what appears to be a tragic accident – until a suspicious and top-secret message is discovered in his pocket. Was he a spy, working for the other side? Was the message planted on him? Most importantly – was this murder?

Worst of all, Daisy’s big brother, Bertie Wells, is being blamed. It’s up to May, Nuala and their friend Eric to prove Bertie’s innocence and solve the mystery. But Bletchley is a strange and secretive place, full of Britain’s most ingenious minds. They’ll need to watch, listen, and puzzle out the incredible, unthinkable truth…

The thrilling brand-new mystery from the million-copy-bestselling author of Murder Most Unladylike.

Before the Steven Spielberg film, before the National Theatre production, there was the classic children’s novel – War Horse. From the nation’s favourite storyteller, Michael Morpurgo.

In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story.

War Horse was adapted by Steven Spielberg as a major motion picture with Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, and Benedict Cumberbatch. The National Theatre production opened in 2007 and has enjoyed successful runs in the West End and on Broadway.

A great way of introducing young readers to the realities of WWI. Look out for Morpurgo’s other war fiction including Friend or Foe, Waiting for Anya, King of the Cloud Forests and An Eagle in the Snow.

War Horse is a story of universal suffering for a universal audience by a writer who ‘has the happy knack of speaking to both child and adult readers’ (The Guardian).

Michael Morpurgo has written more than one hundred books for children and won the Whitbread Award, the Smarties Award, the Circle of Gold Award, the Children’s Book Award and has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal four times.

Lu must learn to leave his ego on the sidelines if he wants to finally connect with others in the finale to the New York Times bestselling and award-winning RUN series from Jason Reynolds.

Lu was born to be co-captain of the Defenders. Well, actually, he was born albino, but that’s got nothing to do with being a track star. Lu has swagger, plus the talent to back it up, and no-one’s gonna outshine him.

Lu knows he can lead Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and the team to victory at the championships, but it might not be as easy as it seems. Suddenly, there are hurdles in Lu’s way – literally and not-so-literally – and Lu needs to figure out, fast, what winning the gold really means.

Expect the unexpected in the final event in Jason Reynold’s award-winning and bestselling RUN series.

When Sunny stops running in the middle of a race, Coach asks him what he wants to do instead. His answer is dance, but you can’t be on a track team and dance… can you? With his dad’s expectations weighing down on him, Sunny finally finds a track event that feels like dancing. But as he practices for this new event, can he let go of everything that’s been eating him up inside?

READ THE RUN SERIES: Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school running team – a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose and a lot to prove. Not only to each other, but to themselves.

The horrific real-life cost of fast fashion is exposed in this gripping tale of survival from bestselling author Steve Cole.

When twelve-year-old Hanh is offered a job as a shop assistant in Hanoi, she sees it as a chance to earn money to send back to her family living in poverty in rural Vietnam. But on her arrival in the city, she soon learns that the job offer was a lie and finds herself working in virtual slavery in an illegal garment factory.

Life in this sweatshop is a daily hell of long hours, little rest, poor food and regular violence. Hanh is desperate to escape, but when an opportunity arises will she be able to find the courage to take a dangerous chance?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8. Please note that this book contains mature content.

It’s a new school term and Eoin Madden has new responsibilities. He’s now captain of the Under 14s team and has to deal with friction between his friend Rory and new boy Dylan as they thrash it out for a place as scrum-half.

And away from the pitch Eoin has his hands full. He starts work on a project about Irish-born All Black Dave Gallaher who died in World War I. Then history becomes reality when an old book brings Eoin a lot closer to the rugby legend than he ever thought possible …

Fast-paced action, mysterious spirits and feuding friends – it’s a season to remember!

Thirteen-year-old Jerome Jackson dreams of becoming a world-class footballer. But with a difficult home life, Jerome can’t see how he’ll ever make this dream come true … until he meets a mentor figure who can hopefully put him on the right track.

“The best strikers aren’t the most skilful ones. They are the ones who never give up.”

Perfect for fans of real-life drama

Readers will love Ian Wright’s cameo role in the story

With phenomenal cover art from Benjamin Wachenje.

Adrift on the Antarctic pack ice with no means of escape and no hope of rescue, Ernest Shackleton and his men are surely doomed.

In August 1914, Ernest Shackleton and his men set sail for Antarctica, where they plan to cross the last uncharted continent on foot. In January 1915, his ship, the Endurance, becomes locked in pack ice. Later, it sinks without a trace.

To survive, Shackleton and his crew of twenty-seven men must undertake a trial even more extreme than their planned crossing of the frozen continent. Their aim is to make it home against tremendous odds, with only lifeboats to cross the heavy seas of the South Atlantic – and the life-saving power of Shackleton’s extraordinary leadership skills.

Forbidden to leave her island, Isabella dreams of the faraway lands her cartographer father once mapped.

When her friend disappears, she volunteers to guide the search. The world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a fire demon is stirring from its sleep.

Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

A beautifully written, multi award-winning story of friendship, discovery, myths and magic for any age – perfect for fans of Philip Pullman, Frances Hardinge or Katherine Rundell

From the author of Julia and the Shark and The Mercies, chosen for the Richard & Judy Book Club

Set in an extensive and stunningly-imagined parallel world imbued with magical realism

A gorgeous gift with intricate star-chart illustrations throughout – a present for young and old, which will stay with you long after reading

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