Rainbow Grey is a funny, smart and creative tale, sprinkled with weather-related characters and places. The characters are not human, but still remain highly relatable; the main characters had friendship issues to deal with, like any children their age, and it’s important for children to be able to recognise things that they might be going through in their own lives in a book. Likewise, the nod to dyslexia when Ray describes letters as being jumbled on the page and later on, when reading from coloured paper was referred to, would resonate with a lot of children…
We have selected a list of storytime favourites for Year 3 and Year 4 (ages 7-9), which includes books that are particularly well suited for being read out loud. From the best class readers to favourite bedtime stories, browse our list of brilliant books for capturing the magic storytelling with Lower KS2.
The Incredible Journey meets The Mouse and His Child, an enchanting tale that begs to be read aloud.
The magical story of the adventures of a lost toy rabbit from a New York Times bestselling author, twice winner of the Newbery Medal. Abilene loves her blue china rabbit, but Edward Tulane is extremely vain and only loves himself. On a voyage from New York to London, Edward falls overboard and from there finds himself on an amazing journey. He travels with tramps, works as a scarecrow, comforts a dying child … and finally learns what it is to truly love.
This animal adventure story has become a children’s literary classic. The animals living in Farthing Wood come under threat when bulldozers come to destroy their natural habitat. They must work together to survive the dangerous journey to a nature reserve, making friends and enemies along the way. A good text to support the topics of food chains and habitats.
The Train to Impossible Places is a whizz-pop-bang of an adventure story that will make readers young and old want to jump on board!
From the moment the Impossible Postal Express crashes unexpectedly through Suzy’s living room, the plot hurtles on at a hundred miles an hour as it twists its way through imaginative realms. The postal workers on the magical train whisk Suzy along with them on their mission to deliver top-secret packages to impossible places, encountering villains, heroes and everything in between along the way. The story is also brought to life by Flavia Sorrentino’s eye-catching illustrations that perfectly capture the spirit of adventure in the narrative.
Super imaginative, action-packed and filled with exciting new worlds and fantastical characters, this book has all the ingredients to be a massive hit. Full steam ahead to the sequel!
An exciting fantasy story set in an animal world. From the moment the Bard arrives on one Bramblemas Eve in the very first pages, beginning to tell his interpretation of the fable of Podkin One-Ear, it is clear that Kieran Larwood’s story of adventure and magic among the world of rabbits is a winner. His delightful and bewitching use of language and appropriately complex narrative make for a fantastic read.
The story is anchored around the title character Podkin, but his role in the tale is equally supported by his older, and oftentimes wiser, sister Paz who makes for a great female role model among other characters in the tale. Despite being rabbits, each character is very relatable and they all have human characteristics. There are enough twists and turns along the way to make even older readers question Podkin and his two siblings’ next moves in their quest to keep their magic dagger, one of the twelve gifts from the Goddess, safe from the evil Gorm and their vicious leader.
Podkin One-Ear is an adventure tale that draws the reader in immediately from the get-go.
The Cloud Horse Chronicles is a new fantasy series by much-loved author-illustrator Chris Riddell.
The first in the series, Guardians of Magic, sets the scene and follows the adventures of Zam, Phoebe and Bathsheba, three children who come across bespoke gifts crafted from the magical wood of the Forever Tree. Each of the three children belongs to a different town within the kingdom of Thrynne, which is brilliantly brought to life throughout the book with Chris Riddell’s incredibly detailed sketches and illustrated maps.
Magic is under threat in the kingdom of Thrynne and anybody tapping into the ancient magic of the Forever Tree is immediately in danger. Powerful villains keep magic at bay in each town in order to pursue their own selfish agendas. A king rat called Tiberius-Tiberius terrorises Zam’s home of Troutwine. A power-hungry Clockmaker with an army of mechanical tin-men rules Phoebe’s town of Nightingale. Euphemia Goldencurls, a professional Princess wishing to keep alive the lucrative business of slaying giants, manipulates the townsfolk of Bathsheba’s tree-house town of Beam. In between the three towns stands the Great Wood – said to be full of fantastical forest creatures – and the boulder-filled landscape of the Tumbledowns, which is home to creatures who are outcasts and misfits.
Destined to fight back and keep the Forever Tree’s magic alive, the three children leave their homes and, armed with their magical objects (a runcible spoon that creates living gingerbread creatures, a cello that speaks and dreams and a glowing worpel sword), they come together to fight the villains who wrongly threaten the tree’s sacred magic for their own dark desires. With help from the beautiful cloud horses, who live in the forever tree and grant wishes, the children evade danger and use their courage and wit to embark upon a unique magical quest.
The generous illustrations make this middle-grade fantasy really special, with character sketches, maps and building cross-sections that both delight and inform. Riddell’s distinctive pencil-sketch style provides spectacular detail that gives his magical world credibility and layers of interest. Dotted throughout the story’s narrative and pictures are familiar story characters – the Pied Piper, Puss-in-Boots, porridge-loving bears, an Owl-and-Pussycat duo and an old woman who lives in a shoe casually cameo alongside a cast of more original magical folk. The show-stopping page is a full-colour illustration of the towering giant Olaf Cloudscapper, which folds out to impress the sense of his enormity compared to the human characters.
Guardians of Magic is an enjoyable start to what promises to be a brilliant fantasy series and I am looking forward to seeing how the stories build in the next instalments.
When Erica Perkins wakes up on the morning of her tenth birthday, the last thing she expects is to find a very confused elephant sitting on her doorstep. So begins an unlikely friendship.
But can a small girl and a rather large elephant learn to live together in a tiny terraced house?
And when the dastardly owner of the local zoo plots to steal the elephant, will Erica be able to outsmart him?
Illustrated with heartwarming and engaging line drawings. Sylvia’s writing has a wonderfully classic feel while the offbeat humour makes it contemporary and fresh.
The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog by Jeremy Strong has become a children’s classic!
From The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog to karate princesses and hot cross bottoms, there’s a Jeremy Strong story to suit every child’s sense of humour. Jeremy’s readers range from 7 to teen, perfect for fans of Roald Dahl and Morris Gleitzman.
Streaker is a mixed-up kind of dog…with quite a bit of Ferrari and a large chunk of whirlwind.
Streaker is no ordinary dog. She’s a rocket on four legs with a woof attached, and Trevor has got until the end of the holidays to train her. If he fails, he’ll lose his bet with horrible Charlie Smugg, and something very, very yucky involving frogspawn will happen…
A classic children’s book from beloved author Dick King Smith.
There’s something magical and original about this story, in which a girl called Harmony comes to own a magical 50-pence piece that will grant seven wishes. An exciting adventure ensues, with highs and lows that will make the reader feel truly invested in the story, as Harmony has to make choices about what to spend her wishes on, and some of them have unforeseen consequences that make the phrase ‘Be careful what you wish for’ ring true.
Readers root for Harmony, who is likeable and relatable, as she deals with the frustrations of family life and learns to stand on her own two feet in facing the aftermath of her independent choices. Harmony’s magic coin helps her to think about appreciating the things that are dear to her and slowing down to consider the consequences of her decisions – both good lessons to learn as children grow up.
We love this charming animal story, which explores themes of family and responsibility with a sprinkling of thrilling magic realism.
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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
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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