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50 Best Books for Y3 (Ages 7-8)

We’ve selected 50 top recommended books for Year 3 (children aged seven and eight). Find the best books to level up your Y3 reading collections with our carefully selected list of storytime chapter books, independent reads, funny stories, picturebooks, poetry collections, graphic novels, non-fiction texts and more. There’s something for all tastes, but keep an eye out for ninja cats, adventuring polar bears, intrepid explorers and the odd exploding dragon poo here and there, too…

We understand that choosing the right books for children can be a daunting task, which is why we have curated a list of high-quality and engaging books that are especially suited for Year 3 children. Our selection of books includes themes such as adventure, friendship, animals, mystery, and lots of laugh-out-loud favourites too.

As well as taking into account which books are currently the most popular with Y3 children, our team of experts at BooksForTopics loves to put each book through its paces. Each title on our booklist has been chosen based on its age-appropriateness, quality of writing, engaging illustrations and ability to spark children’s imagination and creativity. Our booklists have been carefully compiled by experts in children’s literature, and we have taken care to ensure that they reflect the diversity of voices and experiences that make up our society as well as making sure the books we feature include ones that hook in different types of readers.

So, if you are looking for recommended reads to capture the attention of your Year 3 children, our specially selected reading list has got you covered with books that have been matched to the age, developmental stage and interest level of children in Year 3.

As well as the Y3 booklist below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster and downloadable checklist for you, and schools can purchase full sets of the books via Peters.

Scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.

50 Best Books for Y3 (Ages 7-8)

We’ve selected 50 top recommended books for Year 3 (children aged seven and eight). Find the best books to level up your Y3 reading collections with our carefully selected list of storytime chapter books, independent reads, funny stories, picturebooks, poetry collections, graphic novels, non-fiction texts and more. There’s something for all tastes, but keep an eye out for ninja cats, adventuring polar bears, intrepid explorers and the odd exploding dragon poo here and there, too…

As well as taking into account which reading trends are currently the most popular with Year 3 children, our team of experts at BooksForTopics loves to put each book through its paces. Each title on our booklist has been chosen based on its age-appropriateness, quality of writing, engaging illustrations and ability to spark children’s imagination and creativity. Our booklists have been carefully compiled by experts in children’s literature, and we have taken care to ensure that we feature include a variety of characters, themes and styles that hook in different types of readers.

This booklist includes popular Year 3 stories such as The Boy Who Grew Dragons, Charlotte’s Web and Varjak Paw, as well as the most popular read-it-yourself choices like Dog Man and The 13-Storey Tree House. We also included some lesser-known storytime delights that we recommend for Y3, like The Wild Robot, the wildlife rescue story Red Panda Rescue and the exquisitely illustrated story of one mouse’s voyage to the moon in Armstrong.

So, if you are looking for recommended reads to capture the attention of your Year 3 children, our specially selected reading list has got you covered with books that have been matched to the age, developmental stage and interest level of children in Year 3.

As well as the Y3 booklist below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster and downloadable checklist for you, and schools can purchase full sets of the books via Peters.

Scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.

Chapter book

Hold on to your broomstick for magical mayhem with Jill Murphy’s much-loved classic The Worst Witch- the original story of life at a magical boarding school.

Mildred Hubble is a trainee at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but she’s making an awful mess of it.

She keeps getting her spells wrong and crashing her broomstick. And when she turns Ethel, the teacher’s pet into her worst enemy, chaos ensues…

Non-fiction

Discover the insects of the world!

Earth’s creepy crawlies may be small but they are far from boring! Learn how they contribute to life on the planet, where they live, what they eat, how their bodies work, and what makes them so special.

This beautifully illustrated bug book for kids for ages 7-9 years old is packed with:

– Fascinating information about bugs that supports and goes beyond the curriculum
– Stories and facts to convey the amazing world of creepy-crawlies
– Factual and informative, with detailed illustrations and photographs of insects, spiders, molluscs, and more
– Compelling text written by insect expert, author, and television presenter, Jess French
– Stunning photographs of individual creatures, from beetles to butterflies

Take a magical journey through the forest floor, down into the deepest caves, and even across the open ocean. The Book of Brilliant Bugs , written by insect expert Jess French takes children on an expedition into the bug kingdom. The insect book is filled with fascinating facts about these little animals, how bugs pass on messages, compete for food, seek true love, and fill the air with buzzing wings. It also shows us how bugs help look after our planet and how we can help them.

Young animal enthusiasts can spot and learn all the main bug groups. From worms, snails, millipedes and centipedes, spiders and scorpions, woodlice, bees, and even bugs that glow! This educational natural science book will encourage children to love and appreciate science and nature.

Chapter book

Princess Florizella may live in a classic fairy-tale world, but she’s no ordinary princess…

In Philippa Gregory’s The Princess Rules, rebellious Prince Florizella broke all the rules and embarked on some daring adventures across the Land of the Seven Kingdoms.

With beautiful illustrations from Chris Chatterton, the Princess Rules series make a perfect gift for little princes and princesses who don’t want to obey conventional rules.

Mr Bunny is back… and this time he’s running for mayor. Coop Town needs some urgent repairs-and Mr Bunny is promising to make it great again. At first, the chicken electorate is wowed by Mr Bunny’s promises of new chocolate houses, new chocolate parks, new chocolate swimming pools-as well as his bold claim that chocolate will repel hungry foxes. But what will happen when the truth comes home to roost?

Chapter book

Do you like exploring, animals and adventure? Then join The Adventure Club this summer!

A brand new illustrated series for younger readers about animals and adventure from much-loved author Jess Butterworth – writer of classic adventure stories in vibrantly described settings.

Tilly has no plans for the summer holidays and is dreading months of boredom — that is until she becomes part of The Adventure Club and wins a place to go track and monitor endangered red pandas in Nepal!

In the Himalayas, she meets other members of the club, rides on yaks, plants a bamboo forest and even spots the secretive red panda.

But then the red panda Tilly and her team has been monitoring disappears. Will Tilly be able to help find it, or will her first ever adventure end in disaster?

Packed full of illustrations and set as Tilly’s own diary, this new series is perfect for young readers who are beginning to read on their own.

Non-fiction

Set your spirit of adventure free with this lavishly illustrated trip around the world , which brings together more than 100 activities and challenges from every corner of the globe to inspire adventurers of any age.

Whether you’re visiting the penguins of Antarctica, joining the Carnival in Brazil or taking a canoe safari down the Zambezi River, this book will take young travellers on whole host of fascinating adventures across the continents.

Each section begins with an infographic map of the region it explores , followed by richly detailed two-page spreads featuring its most fascinating locations . You’ll get to go to sleep under the Northern Lights, meet millions of monarch butterflies in the boreal forests of Mexico’s volcanic mountains, shower with an elephant in Chiang Mai and go snorkelling in the Great Barrier Reef, among many other amazing adventures.

This book celebrates the great diversity of our planet : with every turn of the page, you’ll come across different animals, people and sights unique to each of the locations. Look out for two adventurers in every scene as you travel through the book. Discover with them hundreds of things to spot and learn about .

Interesting facts and figures pepper the scenes. Did you know that London’s Big Ben clock bell weighs as much as a small elephant? Or that more than one-third of the world’s commercial supply of pineapples comes from Hawaii? A ‘Can you find?’ page at the back challenges you to explore the pages even deeper by locating the pictured people, animals and things.

With epic adventures from the four corners of the globe and discoveries to be made on your own doorstep, this book will inspire you to set off on your own journey of discovery.

Chapter book

At Zoe’s Rescue Zoo only the cutest, cuddliest animals need apply!

Zoe loves living at her uncle’s rescue zoo because there’s always something exciting going on. And Zoe also has an amazing secret… She can actually TALK to the animals!

Zoe is thrilled to welcome a new animal to the rescue zoo – an adorable tiger cub! The talkative cub loves to make friends but his stories are keeping the other animals awake all night. Can Zoe come up with a sleepover solution that makes everyone happy?

Another fantastic title in the perfect series for young animal lovers, beautifully illustrated throughout by Sophy Williams.

Non-fiction

This exciting non-fiction picture book introduces young readers to the fascinating (and cutting-edge) science of the very, very small.

Everything is made from something – but the way we make things, from the materials we use to the science and technology involved, is changing fast. Nano offers a fascinating narrative introduction to this cutting-edge area of STEM, better known by the name “nanotechnology”.

With words by Dr Jess Wade – a highly skilled physicist and trailblazing campaigner for diversity in STEM fields – and beautiful, dynamic pictures by award-winning artist Melissa Castrillon, this is the perfect book for budding young scientists and engineers.

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