Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Football World Cup

Think you know everything about the Three Lions and the Lionesses?

Have you heard of . . .
*The naughty pitch-invading dog that stole the show at the 1962 World Cup?
*The English amateurs who achieved Olympic Gold?
*The spy who snuck into training?
*The Lost Lionesses who made it big in Mexico?
*The infamous World Cup handball that sealed England’s fate?

The beautiful game has always reigned supreme in England. These incredible and sometimes ridiculous stories may give you some idea of why. From penalty pain to unbelievable comebacks, discover some of the best true tales of our beloved national teams.

Compiled by bestselling author Matt Oldfield, this is the third book in the award-winning Unbelievable Football series and the perfect gift for young football fans everywhere.

Now includes the story of when the Lionesses came roaring back at Euro 2022.

As the football World Cup approaches, we are delighted to host a guest post from best selling author Tom Palmer.

In this guest booklist, Tom discusses his top 10 recommendations for World Cup themed books to inspire reading among young football fans.

Reading for pleasure often begins with what the reader is passionate about. For many people that is football. And, with a World Cup this year, this is a great time to engage football fans with reading through the extraordinary wealth of fiction and non-fiction for kids. Available from bookshops and libraries, here’s a list of ten books with World Cup potential.

Set during this year’s World Cup in Russia, a Syrian refugee living in the UK discovers her rescue cat can predict England’s football scores. But can Gus handle his fame?

The ultimate football series featuring girls as the main players. Short well-written novels with 12 in the series for the more voracious readers, be they girls or boys.

Famous for their very own TV series, there are six books featuring Jamie, tracking him from his early days to playing in the World Cup.

A book from the popular Match magazine where children can fill in predictions, match reports and more. Writing for pleasure as well as reading for pleasure.

From the hugely popular series of readable football biographies for children, this book traces six of the biggest players’ journeys to the finals, including Kane, Messi and Ronaldo. Check out the other 30 books in the series too.

Updated every four years, this is the best history of the tournament in the English language. For older or very confident readers.

F2 are a pair of popular YouTubers. Their books cover some of the skills they teach children online, encouraging both reading and physical activity. Can’t be bad!

Chapter book

The ultimate football novel for older readers. Mixes World Cup football with global issues and high-stakes drama

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

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

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments