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year 6 recommended reads 2024 50 best books

Year 6: 50 Recommended Reads

​50 Best Books for Year 6 (Children Aged 10-11)

Newly Updated – April 2024

Welcome to BooksForTopics’ recommended reading list for Year 6. If you’re looking for a list of the best books for children in Year 6, you’ve come to the right place. Our team of experts has selected a list of the 50 best books for children aged 10-11. We’ve tried to include something for all tastes – so look out for off-the-map kingdoms, thunder lizards, clocks that strike thirteen and the scariest school trip ever…

With a mix of classic and contemporary titles, our selection of recommended reads is designed to provide children with a diverse range of literature that will encourage them to become lifelong readers. Our list includes popular Y6 books such as Skandar and the Unicorn Thief, Murder Most Unladylike and Artemis Fowl as well as lesser-known treasures that are equally delightful, like Emmy Levels Up and Running Out of Time.

Our panel of reading experts, primary teachers and librarians helps us to read and review our books to select the best titles to recommend to each year group. Along with evaluating the current popularity of books, we carefully assess each title on the merit of its age-appropriateness, quality of writing and illustrations, and ability to stimulate imagination, critical thinking and creativity.

This list of recommended books for Year 6 children is curated to match their developmental stage and cater to their interests, as they grow through their final year of primary school and prepare for the step up to secondary. There is also a downloadable checklist and a printable poster, and schools can purchase full sets of the 50 books through Peters.
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Browse the Y6 booklist below or scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.

Tom's Midnight Garden

Tom’s Midnight Garden

Chapter book

When Tom is sent to stay at his aunt and uncle’s house for the summer, he resigns himself to endless weeks of boredom. As he lies awake in his bed he hears the grandfather clock downstairs strike . . .eleven . . . twelve . . . thirteen . . .

Thirteen! Tom races down the stairs and out the back door, into a garden everyone told him wasn’t there. In this enchanted thirteenth hour, the garden comes alive – but Tom is never sure whether the children he meets there are real or ghosts.

Show Us Who You Are

Chapter book

The second book from the author of A Kind Of Spark, with Neurodivergent characters you’ll root for and a moving friendship at its heart.

When Cora’s brother drags her along to his boss’s house, she doesn’t expect to strike up a friendship with Adrien, son of the intimidating CEO of Pomegranate Technologies. As she becomes part of Adrien’s life, she is also drawn into the mysterious projects at Pomegranate.

At first, she’s intrigued by them – Pomegranate is using AI to recreate real people in hologram form. As she digs deeper, however, she uncovers darker secrets…

Cora knows she must unravel their plans, but can she fight to make her voice heard, whilst never losing sight of herself?

Goddess: 50 Goddesses, Spirits, Saints and Other Female Figures Who Have Shaped Belief

Tales of powerful female figures have been told since the beginning of time and this collection brings together 50 stories from around the world. There are loving creators, wise leaders, fearsome warriors, gentle healers and mystical protectors, and they can each inspire you to find strength within yourself . . .

Beautifully written by cultural historian and broadcaster, Dr Janina Ramirez, and stunningly illustrated by Sarah Walsh, this amazing book contains goddesses, guides, spirits, saints, witches, demons and many more female figures that have played an important role in shaping belief today. Based on original sources and with photographs from the British Museum collection, this incredible introduction to goddesses throughout history will entertain, engage and empower readers everywhere.

Divided into thematic chapters, but connected by the power of the female, there are important stories of creation and love, action-packed stories of war and death, and heroic stories of great adventure and strength. Each gorgeously illustrated spread is a celebration of girl power in its many forms.

Funky Chickens

Poetry

Enter the crazy world of rap poet Benjamin Zephaniah!
A reissue of the wonderfully irreverent collection of poetry for young people, touching on anything from vegetables to the Queen and from sewage to the sun. There’s plenty of humour as well as poems on racism, pollution and the murder of a cat.

When the Sky Falls

Chapter book

1941. War is raging. And one angry boy has been sent to the city, where bombers rule the skies. There, Joseph will live with Mrs F, a gruff woman with no fondness for children. Her only loves are the rundown zoo she owns and its mighty silverback gorilla, Adonis. As the weeks pass, bonds deepen and secrets are revealed, but if the bombers set Adonis rampaging free, will either of them be able to end the life of the one thing they truly love?

Inspired by a true story.

The Invasion of Crooked Oak

Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly

Stranger Things meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers in this fast-paced, horror adventure with an ecological twist.

Something sinister is happening in Crooked Oak.

Ever since the fracking site closed, Nancy’s parents have been acting weird. Their eyes are blank, they won’t eat – it’s like they’re no longer themselves. And now the symptoms are affecting others as well.

Nancy and her friends Pete and Krish are determined to find out what’s going on. But the deeper they dig, the scarier the mystery gets. A dark presence is spreading its tendrils across Crooked Oak. Can they stop it before it takes over the whole town?

My Brother is a Superhero

Chapter book

Luke is a comic-mad eleven-year old who shares a treehouse with his geeky older brother, Zack. Luke’ s only mistake is to go for a wee right at the wrong time. While he’s gone, an alien gives his undeserving, never-read-a-comic-in-his-life brother superpowers and then tells him to save the universe. Luke is massively annoyed about this, but when Zack is kidnapped by his arch-nemesis, Luke and his friends have only five days to find him and save the world…

Books don’t come much funnier than these! Packed with heart and soul, this series is perfect for fans of David Baddiel and David Walliams.

My Brother Is a Superhero was the winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016.

Mega Robo Bros Power Up

Graphic Novel

This amazing book republishes MEGA ROBO BROS, fully remastered and adapted into a new chunky format, with lots of extra bonus content!

BROTHERS. ROBOTS. SUPERHEROES.

ALEX AND FREDDY are two normal bickering brothers – who also happen to be SUPER-POWERED ROBOTS! They’re off on school trips, going to the theme park, and annoying each other in the playground.

But when ROBOT ATTACKS take place over London, it’s time for the boys to step up! Will they be able to foil the plans of the EVIL ROBOT 23?

Love That Dog

Poetry

A story told entirely through narrative verse. Slowly Jack learns the pleasures of writing poetry as Miss Stretchberry encourages him to tell his own story through verse. What emerges is a moving and memorable verse novel about a boy and his dog and his growing passion for poetry.

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