Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Topic: Reading for Pleasure

Picturebook

Claire Cashmore, MBE and Paralympic gold medallist, was born without a left forearm – but she never let being different stand in the way of her big dreams. Splash is based on Claire’s real-life experience: this gold-medal-winning swimmer really was scared of water … until one day, everything changed!

These are Claire’s big sisters.
They call her Bear and ruffle her hair.
And whatever Claire’s sisters can do,
Claire can do too …

But there is one thing Claire won’t do …The water in the swimming pool makes her feel squirmy inside. Follow her sisters? No thank you! Not today?

Can Claire conquer her fears? Can she set foot in the water – and what will happen if she does?

Chapter book

A relatable, inclusive story about families, unlikely friendships and girl power.

Ola! I’m Jasmina Santos-Campbell (but you can call me Jaz). You’ve probably heard of me and my football team the Bramrock Stars before. No? Well, you will soon because we’re almost famous!

Forming the Stars was my genius idea – you see I need to prove to Mae (that’s my mum!) that I’m a football star so she’ll want to come back home.

The idea was the easy part, though. Now I’ve got a team of seven very different girls and we need to work together, to be taken seriously as footballers.

We are the DREAM TEAM and we’re going to show the world that girls CAN play football!

Picturebook

Sometimes your face doesn’t show how you are feeling.

Pablo wants to go to his cousin Lorna’s house, but his mum sees the expression on his face and thinks that he doesn’t want to go!

Pablo is autistic and he sees the world in a different way. Together with his friends, the Book Animals, he comes up with a way to let people know what he is thinking!

Picturebook

Jon Roberts’ debut work for children is a sensitive portrayal of life as a child with Autism, narrated by 4-year old Kya, who guides readers through her likes and dislikes and all the nuances of her character. Utilising colourful text and illustration and inspired by his experiences of raising his own daughter with the condition, it is an ideal tool for encouraging an understanding of Autism for both children and their families.

Abigail has ADHD and can’t concentrate, but one teacher knows just how to get her engaged.

Abigail is frustrated. She can’t focus on writing and fools around instead. She is sent to the cooling down room. After that is music class, and she can’t make any of the instruments work! Just when things are about to go wrong again, the teacher discovers exactly what to do to engage this little girl, and Abigail ends up finding a special voice of her very own.

Picturebook

Mum and baby are home alone when – DING DONG! – Auntie and then Uncle and Nannie and Gran-Gran and the cousins come to visit. And they all want to hug and kiss and squeeze and eat the baby right up … because everybody loves the baby SO MUCH!

A special 25th anniversary edition of a multiple award-winning story, So Much is a celebration of family life. Helen Oxenbury’s characteristically warm, funny illustrations, paired with Trish Cooke’s rhythmic, cumulative story capture the joy of being a baby in a large extended family – a baby who knows that he is absolutely, utterly adored.

With a foreword and gorgeous golden foil on the cover and spine, this edition is one to share and treasure.

Picturebook

As the seasons turn, Maisie rides her bull in and out of Dada’s tall tales. Her Mama wears linen and plays the viola. Her Dada wears kente cloth and plays the marimba.They come from different places, but they hug her in the same way. And most of all, they love her just the same. A joyful celebration of a mixed-race family and the love that binds us all together.

Picturebook

Nimesh is walking home from school. Except…there happens to be a shark in the corridor. And a dragon in the library! And why would crossing the road lead to the North Pole? A fun-filled story about a little boy with a BIG imagination, Nimesh the adventurer will surely make even the dullest journey a dazzling adventure.

Picturebook

With breathtaking illustrations and informative text, Golden Domes and Silver Lanterns magnificently captures the world of Islam, celebrating its beauty and traditions for even the youngest readers. From a red prayer rug to a blue hijab, readers will learn about a different color of the Muslim world on each spread with a young Muslim girl and her family as a guide. Sure to inspire questions and observations about world religions and cultures, it is equally at home in a classroom reading circle as it is being read to a child on a parent’s lap.

Picturebook

Haroun, the cat, likes nothing better than to spend his days sleeping in the sunlit courtyards of Damascus. But one thing always ruins his sleep: jasmine! Haroun can’t stand the sweet-scented flowers. Their pollen sends him into fits of sneezes! So one day, Haroun hatches a plan to fix the problem. But little does he know that in doing so he deeply angers the Jasmine Spirit who plans her revenge in her own crafty and hilarious way. A beautifully illustrated and enormously entertaining story by award-winning Syrian author/illustrator, Nadine Kaadan, that sheds a welcome light onto Syria’s long and proud cultural heritage in a period of history marred by war.

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