Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

Tom Palmer creates a compelling historical story set in the Fells of the Lake District during World War II.

Dealing with issues such as PTSD and desertion, this book could have been a very difficult read, and yet it never strays into that. Almost instantly, the reader cares about Tarn, the main character and what life was like in the North during the War. The story also captures the hardships of farming communities as well as the suspicions and fears of the time.

Palmer always researches his stories meticulously, and this shows. Barrington Stoke books might be an accessible read, but this is not less of a story or indeed less of anything. The simplicity of the text makes it all the more impressive that this story is a compelling and interesting read that is hard to put down.

It is a book full of kindness and shows village life in the past clearly for us city dwellers. Above all, it is a book about humanity and what it means to be part of a war and a village.

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

A young Sikh footballer reaches out across the generational divide to help a lonely old man in an uplifting story from acclaimed author Bali Rai.

Bobby Bains loves football. He also loves helping other people. As a Sikh, it’s part of his religion. While helping his mum at the community food bank, Bobby meets an old man called Trevor, who seems lonely.

Bobby thinks Trevor would get on well with his nana-ji, his grandad. Both love football and reggae music. But Nana-ji and Trevor have dodgy old knees and can’t run like they used to. So, Bobby hatches a plan to get them playing. They could use the exercise and perhaps Trevor won’t feel so lonely any more.

Will Bobby’s plan work? It’s a big ask, but, after all, if you don’t shoot, you don’t score!

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

Skye and Harry discover Gran isn’t quite as strict as Dad makes out in this funny family story from multi-award-winning author Anne Fine.

Skye and Harry are dreading going to visit their gran, as Dad says she was so strict when he was young. He had to do lots of chores, wasn’t allowed much screen time and only had sweet treats on a Sunday! But when they arrive, Gran is much more chilled out than they were expecting. She lets them relax in the garden and play on their games consoles. On their way home, Harry wants to confront his dad, but Skye sees an opportunity.

Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

The importance and meaning of home is explored in this thought-provoking new novella from Carnegie Medal winning author Katya Balen.

Juno’s furious about being sent to stay with her grandfather for the summer. She’ll miss all the fun she and her friends had planned for the holidays. She’ll also miss her mum, but it’s her mum’s fault for leaving anyway.

Then Juno discovers a long-forgotten little family in her grandfather’s attic. As she works to carefully craft a new home for them, can she learn to forgive her mum and understand her reasons for going away?

Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

When wild animals stray into the park and get into difficulties, Hassan and his mum are there to help in two heartwarming tales from animal-story maestro Helen Peters.

Dapple the fawn gets carried away exploring the park near the woods where he lives with his mother, Fern. But when Fern comes to find him, she gets tangled in a wire. Can Dapple find someone to help set her free?

Olive the otter loves playing in the river near her home. But when she disobeys her mother and strays out after a rainstorm, Olive gets washed far downstream and lands on the bank in a city park. How will she ever find her way home?

Luckily for Dapple and Olive, Hassan and his mum, a wildlife ranger, live close to the park and can help both little animals back to safety.

Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.

Tia and her mum start an adventurous new life on Gull Haven Island, finding lots of animals who need their help along the way.

Tia’s mum has a new job as the vet on Gull Haven Island and there are a lot of animals who need her help.

When she’s called away to help a sickly cow on a nearby island and gets trapped there in a storm, Tia has to step up and care for the animals staying in the surgery. It’s a big responsibility and then she has to deal with a mysterious creature that washes up on the shore after the storm.

Their new life on the Haven Islands is clearly going to be full of adventures!

Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

Tia and her mum start an adventurous new life on Gull Haven Island, finding lots of animals who need their help along the way.

Tia’s mum has a new job as the vet on Gull Haven Island and there are a lot of animals who need her help.

When she’s called away to help a sickly cow on a nearby island and gets trapped there in a storm, Tia has to step up and care for the animals staying in the surgery. It’s a big responsibility and then she has to deal with a mysterious creature that washes up on the shore after the storm.

Their new life on the Haven Islands is clearly going to be full of adventures!

Particularly suitable for readers aged 7+ with a reading age of 7.

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
resources-availabledyslexia-friendly

Climate catastrophe leaves the people of Earth fighting for oxygen in this gripping dystopian thriller from bestselling sci-fi author Alastair Chisholm.

Sparrow lives in the world after the Reek. The atmosphere is toxically polluted, and Axel Brodie, the tech billionaire behind Zephyr Industries, is cashing in as the only supplier of clean air.

Sparrow is struggling to help her family survive until her brilliant inventor friend, Miriam Fenn, comes up with a new form of technology that could break Zephyr’s stranglehold on the air supply. But men like Brodie are hard to defeat, and he will do everything in his power to stop Miriam and Sparrow. Who will triumph in this battle to breathe?

Chapter bookDyslexia-friendly
resources-availabledyslexia-friendly

Acclaimed author Laura Dockrill sows seeds of hope and community at the flower market in this heartfelt, lyrical tale of family life and change.

Blossom has grown up surrounded by the beautiful plants and flowers from her family’s market stall. The stall was started by her grandparents, Tutu and Pops, and passed on to Blossom’s parents after their death. It’s a magical place where customers come to find flowers for all occasions: from celebrating love to offering comfort in times of sorrow. But now the stall is at risk, with tension rising as Blossom’s parents argue about the future. Can Blossom call on the lessons she learned from Tutu and find a way to cope with the dramatic changes that are happening around her. Can she save the flower stall?

‘What was it like to be an Ancient Roman’ is clearly written and easy to read. In 10 quick-to-read chapters, this short book describes many facets of Roman life – including the gory parts. Topics include how the empire began, life in towns, entertainment, life in the countryside, rulers and armies, religion, inventions and the end of the empire. The final chapter speaks about the huge impact Romans had on the world and the legacy they have left behind.

This would be great as a class read when learning about the Roman Empire in lower KS2, but equally could be used by pupils for individual research. The dyslexia-friendly format from Barrington Stoke is wonderfully accessible and each chapter would be a great basis for reading comprehension lessons.

An absolutely great short chapter book, highly recommended.

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