Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books

Topic: Y6 50 Recommended Reads

Non-fiction

I want to show you how you can be a champion in almost anything you put your mind to.

Marcus Rashford MBE is famous worldwide for his skills both on and off the pitch – but before he was a Manchester United and England footballer, and long before he started his inspiring campaign to end child food poverty, he was just an ordinary kid from Wythenshawe, South Manchester. Now the nation’s favourite footballer wants to show YOU how to achieve your dreams, in this positive and inspiring guide for life.

Written with journalist Carl Anka, You Are a Champion is packed full of stories from Marcus’s own life, brilliant advice and top-tips from performance psychologist Katie Warriner. It will show you how to be the very BEST that you can be.

It shows kids how to:
– Be comfortable with who you are – you can’t be a champion until you’re happy being you!
– Dream big
– Practise like a champion
– Get out of your comfort zone and learn from your mistakes
– Navigate adversity in a positive way
– Find your team
– Use your voice and stand up for others
– Never stop learning

With an afterword by Tim S. Grover.

Chapter book

It’s tough fitting in when you’re born to stick out!
From the moment Stick Boy and his family move to Little Town, there is way more to worry about than being the new kid. There’s a mysterious plot involving Baron Ben’s new Mega Mall, pop star Jonny Vidwire and the highly suspicious HomeBots that are infiltrating every home in town. Can Stick Boy and his friends uncover the evil plan behind it all before it’s too late?

Chapter book

It’s basically the worst school detention ever. When classmates (but not mate-mates) Hallie, Angelo, Gustav and Naira are forced to come to school on a SATURDAY, they think things can’t get much worse. But they’re wrong. Things are about to get seriously scary.

What has dragged their teacher underground? Why do the creepy caretakers keeping humming the tune to Itsy Bitsy Spider? And what horrors lurk in the shadows, getting stronger and meaner every minute . . .? Cut off from help and in danger each time they touch the ground, the gang’s only hope is to work together. But it’s no coincidence that they’re all there on detention. Someone has been watching and plotting and is out for revenge . . .

Poetry

I’m going to make this city green,
a deep, shining green,
right here where I lie
I’ll make this city green.

Look out for the tree that saved a town; dip your toe in the Milky Way; sing the City Seed Song; play in Kitty Cat Street – and then come home to Belonging Street.

Poems about nature and protecting our planet mingle with puzzle poems, riddles, family life and belonging, in this magical and warm-hearted new collection from an acclaimed poet and performer in schools and at festivals across the UK.

Non-fiction

A stunningly illustrated tribute for train lovers of all ages, Locomotion celebrates the ingenuity of trains past, present and future.

Non-fiction

Discover all the weird and wonderful things that go on inside your body with Adam Kay. Do you ever think about your body and how it all works? The human body is extraordinary and fascinating and, well . . . pretty weird. Yours is weird, mine is weird, your maths teacher’s is even weirder.

This book is going to tell you what’s actually going on in there, and answer the really important questions, like:

Are bogeys safe to eat? Look, if your nose is going to all that effort of creating a snack, the least we can do is check out its nutritional value.

And how much of your life will you spend on the toilet? About a year – so bring a good book.

So sit back, relax, put on some rubber gloves, and let a doctor take you on a tour of your insides.

Chapter book

The hugely-anticipated, brand-new fairytale adventure from Sophie Anderson, the bestselling author of The House with Chicken Legs.

The Island of Morovia is shaped like a broken heart. The humans live on one side of the island, and the alkonosts – the bird-people – live on the other. But it wasn’t always this way…

Linnet wishes she could sing magic. But magic is forbidden and she has been banished with her father to the Mournful Swamp. She misses her old life, and dreams of reuniting with her friends.

When her father is captured for taking a precious jewel, Linnet must set out on a treacherous journey. Travelling through alligator pools and sinking sands with new friends, she learns how to be brave, and discovers something even more powerful than singing magic. Something that could save her father, and heal the broken heart of her island once more…

With themes of grief, trust, love, and that we have more in common than that which divides us, this is a heartfelt book filled with adventure and stunning storytelling from bestselling Sophie Anderson.

Non-fiction

What links shipwrecks, Egyptian treasure, and fossilized Viking poo? They’ve all been discovered by archaeologists!

Dig inot the world of archaeology in this book by YouTuber Stefan Milosavljevich. Read about incredible finds such as the terracotta army that hid underground for 2,000 years and the mysterious Ice Age temple made from mammoth bones.

Along the way see if you have what it takes to be an archaeologist and meet the pioneering women and men who have brought the past back to life.

Chapter book

When they first arrived, they came quietly and stealthily as if they tip-toed into the world when we were all looking the other way.

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block. From his window, he feels like he can see the whole world stretching out beneath him.

His mum doesn’t really like looking outside – but it’s going outside that she hates. She prefers to sleep all day inside their tower, where it’s safe.

Except it isn’t any more. Strange plants have started to take over and tower blocks are falling down around them.
Now Ade and his mum are trapped and there’s no way out…

Chapter book

Enter the Wundrous world of Morrigan Crow and Nevermoor – the start of a fantastical children’s series. Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she’s blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks – and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor. It’s then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city’s most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart – an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests – or she’ll have to leave the city and confront her deadly fate once and for all. Perfect for fans of the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials, this series takes readers into an extraordinary world, setting hope and imagination alive.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

review

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

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Curriculum links (if relevant)

Any other comments

Any other comments