Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books

We Are Definitely Human

Picturebook

Children love feeling that they know more than the hapless storyteller and We Are Definitely Not Human gives plenty of scope for that!

Three aliens crash-land in Mr Li’s field and are keen to insist how very ‘human’ they are. The story itself is told through pared-back, simple language, giving just enough information for the children to then look at the pictures and infer what was really going on.

This a firm favourite with EYFS and KS1 pupils and teachers, who love the vibrant colour scheme and use of neon pink and blue to pick out the aliens, especially during the night-time scenes.

Whilst the story is about three aliens who crash-land in Mr Li’s field – who does what any kind human would do and helps them to fix their “car” – I fell immediately in love with the dog, who is the best side-eyed, suspicious hound I’ve ever seen! A message about kindness to people who are not like you is clear and warmly given. Readers can also have lots of fun creating voices for the aliens’ not-quite-human speech.

Lost by Ele Fountain

Ele Fountain

Chapter book

The powerful story of two siblings trying to survive extreme poverty by the multi-award-winning, Waterstones Children’s Book Prize-shortlisted author of Boy 87

Lola’s life is about to become unrecognisable. So is Lola.

Everything used to be comfortable. She lived in a big house with her family, where her biggest problems were arguing with her little brother or being told she couldn’t have a new phone. But as one disaster follows another, the threads of her home and family begin to unravel.

Cut off from everything she has known before, Lola must find a new way to survive.

Now, an ordinary girl must become extraordinary.

When Life Gives You Mangoes

Kereen Getten

Chapter book

When Life Gives You Mangoes is set in the Jamaica of Kereen Getten’s childhood; as such the book is evocatively full of sunshine, lush vegetation, and laid back freedom to roam through long summer days.

Clara, the protagonist, is touchingly honest, feisty and wild, but can’t abide being near water. As the story goes on, we realise that something happened last summer that Clara cannot or will not remember. In trying to push everyone away, including her patient and wise father, she runs straight into the arms of her uncle, an exile from the village about whom rumours roam and mistrust hangs.

The book deals with Clara’s amnesia and anxiety with gentleness and kindness, and it’s a great story for exploring mental health and the ways in which we protect ourselves from trauma. In the end it is Clara’s uncle who helps her come to terms with her past, and this beautiful twist leads both to Clara’s healing, and the restoration of her uncle to the village community.

I really enjoyed the themes of redemption and forgiveness, friendship, community and kindness that run through this story, and the taste of another place and culture that it gives the reader. For all these reasons, it’s definitely earns its place on a KS3 library bookshelf!

The Mystery of the Missing Mum

Frances Moloney

Chapter book

I knew STRAIGHTAWAY that something was WRONG on Monday morning when Mum didn’t wake me up for school.

With his grandma snoring in the kitchen and his older sister spending hours getting ready for school, it’s up to Jake to discover where his missing mum might be.

Life at home wasn’t perfect, but he can’t understand why she would simply run off like this. And why doesn’t anyone else seem to care?

A heartfelt, funny and unique ode to perfectly imperfect families.

From the Mixed up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler

E.L Konigsburg

Chapter book

Ten year old Claudia is funny, smart and sophisticated, and when she decides to run away, it is not to the boring old countryside, but to the razzle dazzle of New York City. Here, she and her brother Jamie camp out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, pound the city streets, use the typewriter outside the Olivetti store on Fifth Avenue, eat lunch at the Automat, and visit New York Public Library to solve a mystery surrounding one of the museum’s exhibits. There is something special about New York that has inspired many children’s writers to capture the spirit of the city in their books. I love them all, but because of Claudia, this is the one I love most.

Queen of Freedom: Defending Jamaica

Catherine Johnson

Chapter book

1720. Blue Mountains, windward Jamaica. In the sweltering heat Captain Shettlewood leads a troop of British soldiers through the thick trees towards the river. They are hunting slaves who have escaped from the brutal plantations. Their mission: to find them, and kill them.

But up ahead, hidden among the rocks above the water, a group of men with cutlasses and muskets wait patiently for the instructions of their leader. Queen Nanny is a ‘wise woman’ with a reputation for ancient obeah magic, and a guerilla fighter with a genius for organisation. So the battle for Jamaica begins, the First Maroon War, in which the maroons – escaped slaves – will make a final, do-or-die stand against the slavers and soldiers of Empire.

The Tunnels Below

Nadine Wild-Palmer

Chapter book

On her twelfth birthday Cecilia goes out with her parents and sister to celebrate with a visit to a museum. On their way Cecilia drops the marble that her sister gave her as a present, and running to pick it up she is taken away on an empty underground train into a dark and deep tunnel. The fun family outing becomes a much more serious mission when Cecilia finds that she and her marble have a very important role to play in freeing the inhabitants of the tunnels from the tyrannical rule of the Corvus.

A truly inventive, clever and magical story about the power of friendship and the importance of self-belief by debut novelist Nadine Wild-Palmer.

The Swish of the Curtain

Pamela Brown

Chapter book

An absolutely gorgeous, old-fashioned book that has inspired many of our greatest actors! I loved reading this as a child and I love reading it now and it gives children such agency, and takes their dreams seriously. I love the creativity of the Blue Door Theatre Company, and all the different roles they play on and off stage.

Amazingly, Pamela Brown started writing this book when she was only fourteen years old, and it was published by the time she was sixteen! She used her earnings to train at drama school, and eventually became an actress.

In the story, a group of children decide to turn a dilapidated old building into a theatre and put on a show. They write all their own scripts, compose their own songs, arrange the choreography and design the costumes. Dame Maggie Smith said ‘I wanted to act before I read this book, and afterwards there was no stopping me.’

Boy 87

Ele Fountain

Chapter book

A short but harrowing account of how one boy makes the journey to freedom and ultimately safety. Eye opening to anyone who is new to the subject and a must share in classrooms, this is the kind of book that you will find quick to read but slow to forget.

Boy 87 delivers a stark portrayal of a young refugee’s perilous journey through unembellished, first-person narrative. The narrative demands mature engagement, making it a good choice for exploring complex themes like migration and empathy with Key Stage 3 students.

The story is thought-provoking and offers a raw glimpse into displacement. Mature readers able to engage with the book’s themes will also pick up on the sense of empowerment offered through the book. Boy 87 encourages critical thinking about human rights and global citizenship.

Ideal for Year 8, this book’s concise format, relevant themes and relatable protagonist make a quick and powerful impact.