Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Reluctant Readers Lower KS2

Dog lost in space? Grown an extra head and don’t know why? Pocket money stolen by a green blob? You need the Space Detectives!

Connor and Ethan are spending their summer holidays aboard the world’s first orbiting city, Starville (basically Beverley Hills in space!). The amazing space station is bursting with celebrities and the mega-rich. But Connor and Ethan are too busy selling ice cream to see the sights.

However, neither of our heroes can resist a mystery and when they discover the space station is hurtling on a collision course with the moon (eep!) they know they need to step in. This is a case for the SPACE DETECTIVES!

Can Connor and Ethan find the culprit and save Starville from its impending doom?

Graphic novel
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The Dog Man books form a wildly popular children’s book series written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey. The series features a half-dog, half-human police officer who fights crime and saves the day in the city.

Written in a graphic novel format with comic-style illustrations and speech bubbles, these books are popular with children aged 6-9. The series has become known for hooking children into reading through visual humour and wacky storylines. Each story in the Dog Man series is told through several short chapters, and the books can be read in any order.

Readers who enjoy Dog Man might also like to explore our Branching Out list of more books like Dog Man.

Hilda can never sit still for long without setting off on another adventure. She can’t resist exploring her enchanting worlda place where trolls walk, crows speak, and mountains move. The magic and folklore of the wild, windswept North come alive in this book about an adventurous little girl and her habit of befriending anything, no matter how curious it might seem. While on an expedition to illustrate the magical creatures of the mountains around her home, Hilda spots a mountain troll. As the blue-haired explorer sits and sketches, she slowly starts to nod off. By the time she wakes up, the troll has totally disappeared and, even worse, Hilda is lost in a snowstorm. On her way home, Hilda befriends a lonely wooden man, and narrowly avoids getting squashed by a lost giant. This brand new paperback edition of Hilda and the Troll offers a fresh chance to read the very first outing in Luke Pearson’s ever-popular series of magical Hilda adventures. This brand new paperback edition offers a fresh chance to read the first outing of Luke Pearson’s magical Hilda adventures.

There is something about Jeremy Strong books, they have a particular appeal, being both entertaining and slightly wacky. This book is in that same mould and in addition, the format is super child friendly, being both small in size but very inviting and looking like a ‘proper chapter book’!

Nellie Choc-Ice is a well-travelled penguin, who also happens to be slightly accident-prone and just wants to find her way home. Nellie is a very endearing and entertaining character and the illustrations should get a special mention here. They capture the essence of the story brilliantly and bring the whole book to life.

For its target age of 5-8 year-olds, it works perfectly as an early chapter book; not taking too long to plough through, but instead giving the text in manageable bites with colour illustrations and an easy-to-read font. This is part of a Barrington Stoke set of Little Gems books, designed specifically for young readers starting out reading independently.

This award-nominated series features Jeannie, aged 7-and-three-quarters, and her mischevious Nana, who gets up to all sorts of mishaps. This book features three hilarious short stories about Nana’s madcap adventures, accompanied by stylish illustrations in neon pinks and greens.

Flo loves gaming but gets more than she bargains for when she meddles with one of her mum’s technological inventions and finds herself sucked into a video game. Can she use all of her gaming know-how to get herself and her friend Max out in one piece? A great choice of illustrated chapter book that will appeal to reluctant readers in KS2.

If you’re looking for a good read with lots of laughs, then The Accidental Rock Star fits the bill perfectly.

The story follows Ollie, Hector and their wacky family band on their journey to stardom and back again. Ollie and Hector dream of being rock stars, but unfortunately they have very little musical talent.

One day, as they are making their own music video in Ollie’s room, a twist of fate (in the form of Ollie’s vengeful big sister and a crazy cat) shoots them to overnight success. Before they know it, they become the biggest stars in the world – even though it was actually Ollie’s pet cat Nigel who is responsible for their music going viral.

Will they be able to stay on top, or will the truth come out? Can friendship and family survive in the face of fame and fortune? This is a laugh-a-minute tale by Tom McLaughlin and one that would be much enjoyed as a class read in lower KS2.

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