Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Reluctant Readers Upper KS2

A Day in the Life of a Poo, A Gnu and You

Non-fiction

If you’ve ever wanted to know what a panda does all day long, how your heart manages to shift all that blood around your body or what makes a rainbow shine, you’ve come to the right book.

A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You features the answers to all of these questions and many more, all told in a super-fun comic book format in three awesome sections: Human Body, Animal Kingdom and Earth and Science. A Day in the Life… is packed with facts, laughs and amazing illustrations you can dive into all day long.

Meet your grumpy liver that has to do practically EVERYTHING; your trusty hands that are very, well, handy; the spiky porcupines ready to charge; lonely Mars rovers abandoned on the Red Planet; raging tornadoes ready to rip through the pages of the book and bubbly volcanoes ready to blow.

All entries are told in the fun, friendly and informative style of Mike Barfield, and are brought to life by the colour-explosion of Jess Bradley’s awesome illustrations.

The Babysitter’s Club: Kristy’s Great Idea

Ann M. Martin & Raina Telgemeier

Graphic novel

Kristy, Mary Anne, Claudia, and Stacey are best friends and founding members of THE BABYSITTERS CLUB. Whatever comes up – cranky toddlers, huge dogs, scary neighbors, prank calls – you can count on them to save the day.

Babysitting isn’t always easy though, and neither is dealing with strict parents, new families, fashion emergencies, and mysterious secrets. But no matter what, the BSC have what they need most: friendship.

Raina Telgemeier, using the signature style featured in her acclaimed graphic novels Smile and Sisters, perfectly captures all the drama and humor of the original novel!

Smile

Raina Telgemeier

Graphic novel

A pre-teen graphic novel from a series of graphic novel memoirs about growing up, puberty, navigating peer relationships, tackling school and finding self-confidence.

In this book, American twelve-year-old Raina has a momentary accident that causes injury to her teeth and leads to years of dental treatment. The story follows the ups and downs of her experience of braces, headgear, dental surgery and fake teeth – all at a time of life when self-consciousness is high and a rush of embarrassment comes easily, especially about personal appearance.

Readers will feel empathy with Raina, but will also draw courage from her journey and see that true friendships run deeper than surface appearance.

Tragedy at Sea

David Long & Stefano Tambellini

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

On 10 April 1912, RMS Titanic set sail from Southampton on her maiden voyage to New York. This “Ship of Dreams” was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner in the world. It was claimed she was unsinkable. But four days later, when the ship struck an iceberg, the loss of Titanic and over 1,500 passengers would become one of the most infamous maritime disasters in history.

In this fact-filled retelling of its construction and doomed maiden voyage, David Long brings Titanic’s tragic tale to life.

Own Goal: Football Mad

Michael Broad & Paul Stewart

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

2-1 with minutes to go: Dale Juniors are about to win the schools’ cup final – until Scott foots the ball into his own team’s goal. But letting down the team is the least of Scott’s problems. After the match, someone leaves him a nasty message on the wall – and the suspect? His best mate Danny. It’s all going downhill from here. The drama of football and friendship take to the pitch in this action-packed sporting novel from top-selling author Paul Stewart. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+.

Rock Bottom

Mark Beech & Ross Montgomery

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Nick is truly, madly in love with Jessie Stone. And she doesn’t even know his name. In a ploy to win her heart, he plans to star alongside her in the school production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. But when he’s cast as the foolish Bottom instead of the romantic lead, his whole world comes crashing down. Enter Robyn, school mischief-maker, who has some crafty tricks up her sleeve. With her help Nick is sure he can get Jessie to notice him just as long as his grand plans don’t go up in smoke … A laugh-out-loud comical caper of friendship, true love and a completely disastrous school Shakespeare production from bestselling author Ross Montgomery. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+.

Mo, Lottie and the Junkers

Jennifer Killick

Chapter book

Mo Appleby’s ordered life is turned upside down when he and his mum move in with his new stepdad and stepsisters, Lottie and Sadie. The home he left behind is just across the street, and there’s something not quite right about the new occupant. Other strange new people keep popping into his life, too: a bonkers lollipop man and a boy called Jax, who seems to understand Mo better than anyone else, especially Lottie. Who are the weird new people in their town? Do they have any involvement in the disappearance of Mo’s dad many years ago? And why does the ice cream taste so good? Lottie is determined to find out exactly what’s going on, even if it makes Mo mad, and even if it leads them both into serious danger…

My Babysitter is a Robot

Catalina Echeverri & Dave Cousins

Chapter book

The first in a brilliantly funny series about a robot babysitter and the mayhem he causes. When Grandma creates a robot babysitter for twins Jake and Jess, chaos ensues!
Robin is embarrassing, clumsy and, worst of all, programmed to make them do their homework. They’re also pretty sure he thinks their dog is a baby. The twins decide they have to do something before everyone realizes that Robin is a robot. But getting rid of their new babysitter will mean putting aside their sibling squabbles and working together, which might be an even bigger challenge…

The Day the Screens Went Blank

Danny Wallace & Gemma Correll

Chapter book

Can you imagine a world with no screens? Don’t miss the hilarious new ‘what-if’ adventure from bestselling author, comedian, and presenter Danny Wallace, with illustrations throughout from Gemma Correll.

When ten-year-old Stella wakes up to discover a world full of BLANK screens, her family, town, and in fact the whole world seems to have been thrown into chaos. And what about poor Grandma who is stranded at the other end of the country?

Cue a rollicking madcap road trip, full of driving disasters and family fallouts, as they set off on a rescue mission. And along the way Stella and her family discover that being away from screens might not be the WORST THING EVER, and even though they might not be able to rely on technology anymore, they can rely on each other instead.

Iguana Boy Saves the World With a Triple Cheese Pizza

James Bishop & Rikin Parekh

Chapter book

Dylan has wanted a superpower for as long as he can remember, especially since his brother and sister have got really cool ones.

But when his wish finally comes true, Dylan is mightily disappointed. For Dylan has become … Iguana Boy. He can talk to Iguanas – a superpower which he thinks is rubbish.

And when supervillain Celina Shufflebottom kidnaps all the superheroes in London, Dylan must work out how to use his new team of chatty iguanas to save the day. He’s going to have to think outside the box, (the pizza box) , if he’s going to become the hero he’s always dreamed of and make Iguana Boy the cool superhero he always wanted to be.

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