Would you rather drink snail squash or eat mashed worms? Help a witch make stew? Tickle a monkey? Or maybe – if you could really be anyone or do anything in the world – would you rather just be…you?
A new collection of illustrated verses from a range of contemporary children’s poets, performers and hip-hop artists. This is the poetry collection that EYFS and KS1 classrooms have been waiting for! The poems have been selected for their suitability to read aloud and cover topics like minibeasts, pirates, animals and night time. Highly recommended.
Michael Rosen’s poetry books are a must-have in primary classrooms and this one – illustrated by Quentin Blake – has a hugely entertaining appeal in KS2. The poems zoom in on small moments from growing up, from sibling squabbles to best friends to the feeling of trying to avoid being told off by mum and dad (even when you’ve sneaked downstairs in the night to eat some chocolate cake…). Young readers may also enjoy the fact that they can see many of the poems being performed on the poet’s dedicated YouTube channel.
Mother and daughter duo Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy offer a perfect first chapter book series for emerging readers, all about a bowtie-wearing dog and his friendly driving companion Percy. In this story, the duo enter an All-Day Car Race and find themselves up against a villainous rival called Lou Ella. With a gentle but pacey story, never too much text on each page and added comic details in the illustrations, this is a winner for those not wishing to be overwhelmed by a longer read.
Find the Spy uncovers the stories of eight real-life secret agents, and the spy skills that made them great. One crawled across the rooftops of Paris, another hid secrets in her wooden leg, and there’s even a grandma-next-door who wasn’t quite what she seemed…
Shelly Laslo’s artwork is full of character, cunning and sneaky side glances that draw children into a world of invisible ink, cryptography and disguise. There are wonderfully illustrated spotting scenes to get lost in and top-secret spy skills to learn too.
Fifteen extraordinary people from around the world and through history! This is a fabulous book for children to dip into and be inspired. One of the lovely things about this collection is it mixes up household names with less familiar but equally fascinating characters. There is a focus on tenacity, hard work and original thinking, and the stories are told in a warm and appealing way. The illustrations are bright, beautiful and full of energy to carry young readers along.
Mr Creep the Crook and his family are criminals. Even his dog Growler is bad. When he escapes from jail and heads to the seaside, Mr Creep finds out that breaking the law is not such a good idea after all. This is part of the Happy Families series, which remains very popular with KS1. We also recommend Cops and Robbers and Burglar Bill by the same author.
Would you rather drink snail squash or eat mashed worms? Help a witch make stew? Tickle a monkey? Or maybe – if you could really be anyone or do anything in the world – would you rather just be…you?
Every day, John Patrick sets off along the road to school, and although he hurries, strange and improbable happenings repeatedly make him late. To make things worse, his teacher never believes his story.
You might think a book with no pictures would be boring and serious.
Except . . . here’s how this book works:
Everything written on the page has to be said by the person reading it aloud. Even if the words say BLORK . Or BLUURF .
And even if they have to say things like BLAGGITY BLAGGITY and MY HEAD IS MADE OF BLUEBERRY PIZZA!
That’s the rule. That’s the deal.
US comic writer and actor, B. J. Novak’s brilliantly irreverent and very, very silly The Book With No Pictures will delight kids and grownups alike!
A classic picture book by Janet and Alan Ahlberg, all about a class of children starting school. The story walks through the experiences of the first term of school for a group of children, exploring the different activities and equipment they come across. A gently positive story that also explains that starting school is about more than just the first day!
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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
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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