NEW! Year Group Recommended Reads 2026-2027 booklists launched!
Today (2nd June 2026), the BooksForTopics team has launched the 2026-2027 Year Group Booklists, containing 50 Recommended Reads for each primary year group.
Trusted 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.
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. The curation also balances diverse perspectives, characters and themes, as well as reflecting publishing trends and children’s interests.
A Key Tool for Children’s Reading
Coinciding with our ten-year anniversary and the National Year of Reading, the 2026-2027 Recommended Reads collection serves as a trusted roadmap for teachers and parents navigating the ever-evolving landscape of children’s literature, used by thousands of schools to inform reading choices.
The 2026-2027 lists act as a crucial tool. Selected and reviewed with the help of a Review Panel of teachers, librarians and education experts, the collection ensures primary classrooms have access to books that match the exact age, stage, and interests of today’s children.
2026-2027 Highlights
- Bridging The Digital Divide: This year’s selection leans into themes of AI, gaming and big tech, reflecting the interests of modern readers. Featuring tech-centric adventures like Alastair Chisholm’s Blitzers, James Fox’s Boy vs Reality, Sam Gayton’s poetry collection Press Start to Play, Serena Patel’s Game Over!, and the demystifying non-fiction of Craig Steele’s From AI to Wi-Fi, the lists provide an interest-driven bridge between page and digital world.
- Balanced Curation: Each of the eight lists (from Preschool to Year 6) provides a balanced mix of 50 titles. This includes a careful blend of classics like Tom’s Midnight Garden and Not Now, Bernard alongside contemporary staples like Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures and Matt Goodfellow’s The Final Year, as well as newly published titles such as David Solomons’ The Ministry of Manners, Rachel Bright’s The Turtle Who Turned the Tide, Tony Bradman’s Tales of the Cobb Street Commandos and Rashmi Sirdeshpande’s Super Uma.
- Visual Storytelling: Reflecting a dominant trend in children’s publishing, the 2026-27 lists see a higher number of graphic novels and highly illustrated fiction than previous collections. From Jamie Smart’s Bunny vs Monkey and Neill Cameron’s Donut Squad, a notable number of graphic novels were submitted for consideration this year. Also notable is the increase in early illustrated chapter books for younger readers, including the latest in the Adventuremice series (Of Mice and Mummies) and the 10th Anniversary edition of Isadora Moon Has a Birthday!
- Celebrating Independent Publishing: While industry giants like Penguin, Walker Books, and Bonnier lead the lists, the collection champions the innovation of smaller publishers, who were also invited to submit titles without an entry fee to level the playing field. Notable representatives include Otter-Barry Books, Mama Makes, Lantana, Child’s Play International, Scallywag Press and Alanna Max.
- Eco-Literacy and Nature Restoration: With over 30 titles dedicated to nature conservation and the environment, this year’s list reflects a surge in eco-literacy and empowering messages that move beyond simply ‘be green’. Notable books like Lulu Meets the Bees, The Great Pollination Investigation and The Big Green move beyond simple conservation to explore rewilding and children’s active agency in protecting the planet.
- Themes for Modern Classrooms: Additional key themes across the 2026-2027 selection include neurodiversity, home and community, emotional resilience and hidden historical narratives, such as Charlotte Philby’s The Secret Lives of Women Spies and Bali Rai’s Escape from Amritsar.
Expert Curation to Tackle the Reading Crisis
The BooksForTopics Recommended Reads are widely used by schools looking to build reading-for-pleasure cultures, and this year’s selection arrives to coincide with both the midpoint of the National Year of Reading and the month of BooksForTopics’ ten-year anniversary.
By providing a balanced diet of literature, the lists help teachers ensure that every child, from the most reluctant to the most voracious reader, finds something that resonates.
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.
Schools and parents 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.
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
- 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