NEW! Year Group Recommended Reads 2025-2026 booklists launched
Today (3rd June 2025), the BooksForTopics team has launched the 2025-2026 Year Group Booklists, containing 50 Recommended Reads for each primary year group.
Booklists to Boost Reading for Pleasure
With children’s reading enjoyment at a low, the BooksForTopics year group recommended lists are used to assist teachers and families looking for high-quality and age-appropriate reading for pleasure recommendations. Each list contains 50 recommended reads, from classics to new titles, matched to the age and stage of each year group.
Launched annually, each Year Group Recommended Reads list contains 50 books specially picked out for reading for pleasure in each primary year group, from Preschool to Year 6. These lists differ from our topic booklists, as the books are purely selected for the purpose of reading for pleasure at each age group. As many of the BooksForTopics community of teachers, librarians and families will know, these booklists are some of the most visited pages on our website.
The annual BooksForTopics Year Group Booklists are now in their eighth year and places on the list are hotly contested, with publishers submitting relevant titles and a review panel of teachers and education experts helping to review the submissions.
The lists are free to access on the BooksForTopics website alongside printable resources.
2025-2026 Updates
The 2025 ‘Recommended Read’ Year Group booklists launch today (3rd June) and feature a balance of age-appropriate reads for today’s children to read. A high volume of publisher submissions was received this year, with a new submissions system in place for the first time. HarperCollins, Macmillan and Penguin dominate the lists, but also represented among publishers this year are Alanna Max, b small, Child’s Play International, Lantana, Knights Of, Mama Makes, Magic Cat, Scallywag Press and Owlet Press
New Books Added: Younger graphic novels, illustrated early readers, accessible chapter books and themes of neurodiversity and community
This year’s lists include recently published children’s titles, with Jenny Pearson’s Shrapnel Boys, Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s The Blockbusters!, Patrice Lawrence’s People Like Stars and Serena Patel’s Pia’s Pet Club making the lists for the first time.
The lists offer a balance of text types and genres matched to each primary school age group, recognising that different children are drawn to different formats as ‘pleasure’ reads. This year, younger colour-illustrated graphic novels make up a larger percentage of the collections than ever before, acknowledging their growing popularity among the youngest primary school children. Bunny vs Monkey sits alongside titles for even younger audiences, like Chante Timothy’s Supa Nova, Mark Bradley’s Bumble and Snug, and Liz Pichon’s Meet the Mubbles.
Barrington Stoke’s accessible and dyslexia-friendly short reads make up 21 of the listed titles across the year groups.
Poetry, classic books, funny books and non-fiction also feature on each list, including Michael Rosen’s Out of This World, Lollies winner Grimwood, children’s classic Tom’s Midnight Garden and Hiba Noor Khan’s science-themed non-fiction title How to Spaghettify Your Dog.
Free printable resources
We’re also excited to share newly updated posters and checklists to download, an increase of printable book-based resource sheets or planning packs (found on the individual book pages) and printable bookmarks.
Schools can share the posters on their websites or print them to display and share with their community, and they also have the option to order the packs now from our partners at Peters.
Quick links:
Browse the booklists
The primary recommended read booklists are curated with a huge amount of care and attention, and schools know that they can trust us to only recommend the most classroom-suitable and top-quality, engaging books for each age group.
Here are the quick links to the lists:
- 50 Best Books for Preschool (ages 3-4)
- 50 Best Books for Reception (ages 4-5)
- 50 Best Books for Year 1 (ages 5-6)
- 50 Best Books for Year 2 (ages 6-7)
- 50 Best Books for Year 3 (ages 7-8)
- 50 Best Books for Year 4 (ages 8-9)
- 50 Best Books for Year 5 (ages 9-10)
- 50 Best Books for Year 6 (ages 10-11)
Purchasing book pack options
We know that schools love the option of purchasing book packs of the recommended reads from Peters. Over the last year, we’ve been working with our partners at Peters to offer more versatility to schools to suit different needs and budgets.
The Peters team has stocked up on thousands of copies of the books from our updated booklists, and they have been busy putting together packs for school orders. They handle all school book pack orders on our behalf, including managing school accounts and invoices, stocking new books, packing, shipping, and even creating posters and checklists. Schools can easily order the books from Peters, and they will receive a fantastic 20% discount on the packs as well.
Check out the wider range of purchasing options for schools this year:
- Year Group Recommended Reads Book Packs – 50 Recommended Reads for each year group
- Primary 50 Recommended Reads – one pack with a selection of 50 recommended reads books from across the primary age range
- Key Stage 2 Recommended Reads – one pack with a selection of 30 recommended reads for junior schools (Years 3-6)
- Key Stage 1 Recommended Reads – one pack with a selection of 20 recommended reads for infant schools (Reception and KS1)
- New Additions Packs – Packs with the newly added titles for each year group, for schools wanting to top up their year group collections
To browse the newly updated Year Group lists, click here.
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Where next?
> Visit our Reading for Pleasure Hub
> Browse our Topic Booklists
> See our Books of the Month.
>View our Year Group booklists