Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Topic: Reading for Pleasure

The Weather Weaver

Chapter book

What if you could befriend a cloud? What weather would you choose? What if the weather matched itself to your mood, whether you wanted it to, or not?

11-year-old Stella has returned home to Shetland to spend the summer with her Grandpa, but it’s nothing like she remembers. Grandpa is lost in his grief for Gran, the island is bleak and Stella feels trapped, until she encounters an old woman, Tamar, who can spin rainbows and call hurricanes.

With the help of Nimbus, a feisty young storm cloud, Stella begins to learn the craft of weather weaving. But when her cloud brain-fogs Grandpa and The Haken (a sea witch) starts to close in, she realises that magic comes with big responsibilities. It will take all her heart and courage to face the coming storm…

THE WEATHER WEAVER is essentially a Moana tale for Shetland; a coming of age story, intertwined with island myths and hidden magic. At its heart, the novel tackles the following themes: independence, the meaning of home, and the fallibility of grown-ups.

The Incredible Record Smashers

Chapter book

A record-smashing, feel-good adventure packed with heart, humour and Guinness World Records from Costa Award-shortlisted JENNY PEARSON, and Kid Normal illustrator Erica Salcedo

Lucy is a fixer of broken things. But there’s one thing she can’t fix and that’s her unhappy mum. Until she comes up with an INCREDIBLE plan. Along with her best friend, Sandesh, Lucy is going to SMASH a world record.

Because she’s convinced that starry Paul Castellini – Record Smashers TV host and singing legend – is the answer to her mum’s problems. But breaking a world RECORD when watermelons, kumquats, two baddies and a 30 cm shatter-resistant school ruler are involved isn’t quite as easy as Lucy thought. Can she learn that sometimes happiness doesn’t come with a plan?

A Turtle’s View of the Ocean Blue

Non-fiction

Dive into this stunning guide that explores the underwater world, its wildlife, the challenges it’s facing and how you can help to protect it.

Join your sea turtle guide as you navigate every inch of our oceans, from the sunlit surface to the deepest, darkest depths.

This beautiful book will help you explore the five oceans on our planet, meeting the creatures who live there and finding out just how their incredible surroundings work. From tides and currents, to migrations and conservation, see our oceans in action and learn how you can help to save them. This is a great follow-up to the very successful A Cat’s Guide to the Night Sky , as it introduces young readers to our oceans, the underwater wildlife and the natural phenomena that take place as well as discussing the challenges we’re currently facing and what we can do to help save our big blue world. The book contains a glossary and is suitable for children aged 6+.

Written by expert author Catherine Barr, who previously worked as the Greenpeace Sea Turtle campaigner, and with gorgeous artwork from celebrated illustrator Brendan Kearney, this is a must-have for all young readers.

Otherland

Chapter book

Otherland is a dangerous magical underworld – a place where appearances can be deceiving and anything can happen. A world of gods, vampires, and fairies. It’s also… horrible.

When life-long friends Myra and Rohan discover that Rohan’s baby sister Shilpa has been stolen and taken to Otherland, the only way to rescue her is by taking part in a deadly game – three impossible challenges set by the Fairy Queen of Otherland. Win the game, and Rohan and Myra can go home with Shilpa – but lose, and they’ll be trapped in Otherland forever…

A darkly funny, action-packed fantasy adventure, perfect for fans of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, Malamander, and The Land of Roar, from the author of the highly-acclaimed Dragon in the Library series.

The Astonishing Future of Alex Nobody

Chapter book

Have you ever thought what it might be like if you were famous in the future? A brilliant adventure for fans of Ross Welford – a story about friendship, courage and embracing our talents even when they make us stand out.

On the day Alex was born, crowds surrounded the hospital. On her first day of school, people spied from the gates. And recently, strangers came to watch her perform in her school play … as the llama.

But why? Alex has always been a nobody.

Then a mysterious boy named Jasper starts at school and he alone seems to know the answer. But before he can tell Alex, he disappears … into the future. Can Alex brave traveling into the future to discover what’s happened to him and to unravel the secret of her own astonishing destiny … before time runs out?

Children of the Quicksands

Chapter book

In a remote Nigerian village, thirteen-year-old Simi is desperate to uncover a family secret…

WINNER OF THE 2019 TIMES/CHICKEN HOUSE CHILDREN’S FICTION COMPETITION

City girl Simi is sent to stay with her long-lost grandmother in a remote Nigerian village. There’s no TV, internet or phone. Not a single human-made sound can be heard at night, just the noise of birds and animals rustling in the dark forest outside.

Her witchlike grandmother dispenses advice and herbal medicine to the village, but she’s tight lipped about their family history. Something must have happened, but what?

Determined to find out, Simi disobeys her grandmother and goes exploring. Caught in the sinking red quicksand of a forbidden lake, her fantastical journey begins …

A richly imagined magical fantasy adventure set in West Africa by a prize-winning new voice in children’s writing.

Introduces readers to Yoruba myths and legends whilst showcasing the wealth of culture, traditions, adventure, fun, joy, celebrations, music, pride and love found in Nigeria.

Beautifully explores themes of grief and belonging.

Efua is the winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2018.

How I Saved the World in a Week

Chapter book

A brilliantly imagined new 8+ adventure about resilience, family and hope. From the bestselling and Waterstones Children’s Book Prize shortlisted author of BOY IN THE TOWER. Perfect for fans of Ross Welford, Lisa Thompson and Onjali Rauf.

Rule number one: Always be prepared . . .

Billy’s mum isn’t like other mums. All she wants is to teach him the Rules of Survival – how to make fire, build shelter and find food . She likes to test Billy on the rules until one day she goes too far, and Billy is sent to live with a dad he barely knows.

Then the world changes forever as people begin to be infected with a mysterious virus that turns their skin grey. As chaos breaks out, Billy has to flee the city. Suddenly he realises that this is what his mum was preparing him for – not just to save his family, but to save the whole world.

Life of Riley: Beginner’s Luck

Chapter book

Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Award

A hilarious middle-grade novel about one boy’s quest to get rid of a ridiculous amount of bad luck! After a traumatic run-in with the fortune teller from a visiting funfair – thanks to an unfortunately-timed sneeze – Riley finds himself CURSED.

Life as he knows it quickly becomes a catalogue of disasters – from wetting himself onstage during the school show, accidentally supergluing himself to his classmates and ruining the school football team’s sponsorship deal, to flooding his house and losing class 4’s pet rabbit – Riley knows the bad luck is out to get him.

Enter new kid: Brad Chicago. He’s super-cool, well-groomed and stylish, with an excellent stationery collection. And for some reason he wants to be Riley’s friend. Can Riley get rid of the curse before Brad discovers he’s a walking disaster?

Laugh-out-loud funny, warm-hearted and anarchic in a way that readers will love.

Brought to life with Aleksei Bitskoff’s lively, humorous illustrations.

Perfect for fans of Kid Normal, David Solomons’ My Brother is a Superhero and David Baddiel.

Award-winning author Simon James Green is best known for his funny books for teens. This is his first book for middle-grade readers.

Delightfully Different Fairy Tales

Short story collection

A treasury of fairy tales with a difference – feminist, sparky and set in different decades of the 20th century, with funky clothes and recognisable settings. A stunning collaboration between the brilliant illustrator David Roberts and his talented writer sister Lynn.

This special collection includes:

– a feminist Sleeping Beauty, set in the 1950s (and 2950s), in a story populated entirely with women and girls (no princes needed here!)
– a 1970s Rapunzel whose friend plays in a rock band
– a 1920s-set Cinderella with flapper girls and a fashion-conscious fairy godmother.

These are all deliciously, delightfully different takes on the fairy tales we all know.

My Shadow is Pink

Picturebook

My Shadow is Pink is a beautifully written rhyming story that touches on the subjects of gender identity, self acceptance, equality and diversity.

Inspired by the author’s own little boy, ‘Shadow’s’ main character likes princesses, fairies and things ‘not for boys’…he soon learns (through the support of his dad) that everyone has a shadow that they sometimes feel they need to hide. This is an important book for a new generation of children (and adults alike) which exemplifies the concepts of unconditional love, respect and positive parenting.

What's new on BooksForTopics?

Join our Mailing List

For the latest news on primary books and our booklists, as well as a chance to win in on one of our regular giveaways, sign up to our mailing list!

Subscribe
BooksForTopics
Email: [email protected]
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tiktok

Booklists by Topic

Booklists by Age

More About Us

Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, BooksForTopics earns from qualifying purchases.

As an affiliate partner of Bookshop.Org and Peters, BooksForTopics may earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to learn more.

Website designed by Speckled Frog

© BooksForTopics 2015-2024

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