Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic...
Romans
Romans
Journeys
& Transport
Naughty Bus
Jan and Jerry Oke
This is a photo book that has become very popular in Early Years and KS1 and is a real favourite at booksfortopics HQ! It follows the story of a boy's adventures with his toy bus, told through the voice of the bus itself. If you are looking for something a little bit different for your topic, we highly recommend this one!
All Kinds of Cars
Carl Johanson
A feast for the eyes and the imagination, this enjoyable book contains pictures of all sorts of wheeled vehicles, from the practical to the absurd. The fantastical creations include a car designed for transporting clouds, a worm-shaped car and a marmalade-on-toast car. This is a lovely book for getting children thinking and talking about design and purpose as well as a stimulus for imagining all sorts of new modes of transport. Look out for the other book in the same series, All Kinds of Planes (available here).
All Aboard for the Bobo Road
Stephen Davies & Christopher Corr
A delightfully vibrant picture book that is perfect for EYFS and KS1. Set in Burkina Faso, this is the story of children Fatimo and Galo as they take a minibus journey to Bobo with their dad, who drives. Along the way passengers hop on and off with all sorts of wonderful luggage as the bus passes by colourful houses and wonderful wildlife.
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Emma Jane's Aeroplane
Katie Haworth & Daniel Rieley
Emma Jane takes a journey around the world in her aeroplane. She flies past impressive cities like Paris, Venice and New York, taking in the sites from above. But when her plane gets into trouble, can her animal friends find a way to help? The illustrations are highly appealing, the fun rhyming text is great for joining in with and it is important to see female pilots like Emma Jane represented in children's stories.
The Hundred Decker Bus
Mike Smith
This is a really fun story popular with reception and KS1 classes. When the bus driver takes a different route one day, there are too many passengers to fit on the bus and the only solution is to add more and more decks. There is also a big fold-out page at the end showing the enormous bus. We like the author's blog link with some ideas for activities, too.
Cycle City
Alison Farrell
A wonderful celebration of bicycles of all kinds! Etta the Elephant is taking a trip to her Aunt Ellen's house and passes through bicycle-filled Cycle City, filled with bikes of all shapes and sizes, and then gets to witness a brilliant bicycle parade. This is an engaging picture book with so many details to spot in the illustrations and a very good stimulus for generating discussion and descriptive writing.
The Runaway Train
Benedict Blathwayt
When Duffy Driver leaves the brakes off, the Little Red Train sets off down the track without him! Duffy tries everything he can think of to catch up with the train, with a little help from a tractor, some horses, a boat and a helicopter! An enjoyable story to read over and over again.
Five Go Off To Camp (Famous Five)
Enid Blyton
This is part of 'The Famous Five' adventure series by the classic children's author Enid Blyton. It tells the story of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog as they investigate spooky trains that seem to vanish into thin air. As they follow the tracks, they discover a secret underground train service. This is a fun story to read aloud and one that is full of Blyton-style mystery and adventure.
On The Train (Shine a Light)
Carron Brown & Bee Johnson
This engaging information book invites readers to interact by shining a torch through each page to reveal hidden details in the pictures, such as coal burning inside the train engine or underground trains beneath the street. The pictures, hidden images and text work together to create a perfectly interactive information book that will delight its readers. We highly recommend this for any transport topic, but remember to supply a torch too!
William Bee's Wonderful World of Tractors and Farm Machines
William Bee
This is an appealing non-fiction text that is popular in KS1. Each page contains detailed and engaging illustrations of different types of farm machines and small chunks of text, drawing attention to different parts of the mechanisms and the way in which each vehicle is cleverly designed for different purposes. Look out for the other books in this popular series too, like William Bee's Wonderful World of Trains, Boats and Planes (available here) and William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks (available here).
Amelia Earhart (Little People, Big Dreams)
Isabel Sanchez Vegara & Maria Diamantes
Part of the Little People, Big Dreams series, this book provides a simple biography of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly a plane all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, from her early childhood to her first flying lesson and on to her world famous career as a pilot.
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Mr Gumpy's Motor Car John Birningham This classic picture book, by the popular author John Birningham, is a story about sharing and helping others. The simple storyline follows a repeated structure and is accompanied by detailed illustrations. A great read for younger classes. Buy on Amazon Naughty Bus Jan and Jerry Oke This is a photo book that has become very popular in Early Years and KS1 and is a real favourite at booksfortopics HQ! It follows the story of a boy's adventures with his toy bus, told through the voice of the bus itself. If you are looking for something a little bit different for your topic, we highly recommend this one! Buy on Amazon Mrs Armitage on Wheels Quentin Blake This hilarious story tells the tale of Mrs Armitage and her dog, Breakspear. Instead of enjoying a simple bicycle ride, the eccentric Mrs Armitage is constantly looking for ways of upgrading her bike. Soon it barely resembles a bicycle at all! A big hit with KS1. Buy on Amazon All Kinds of Cars Carl Johanson A feast for the eyes and the imagination, this enjoyable book contains pictures of all sorts of wheeled vehicles, from the practical to the absurd. The fantastical creations include a car designed for transporting clouds, a worm-shaped car and a marmalade-on-toast car. This is a lovely book for getting children thinking and talking about design and purpose as well as a stimulus for imagining all sorts of new modes of transport. Look out for the other book in the same series, All Kinds of Planes (available here). Buy on Amazon All Aboard for the Bobo Road Stephen Davies & Christopher Corr A delightfully vibrant picture book that is perfect for EYFS and KS1. Set in Burkina Faso, this is the story of children Fatimo and Galo as they take a minibus journey to Bobo with their dad, who drives. Along the way passengers hop on and off with all sorts of wonderful luggage as the bus passes by colourful houses and wonderful wildlife. Also features on: Africa Topic Buy on Amazon Emma Jane's Aeroplane Katie Haworth & Daniel Rieley Emma Jane takes a journey around the world in her aeroplane. She flies past impressive cities like Paris, Venice and New York, taking in the sites from above. But when her plane gets into trouble, can her animal friends find a way to help? The illustrations are highly appealing, the fun rhyming text is great for joining in with and it is important to see female pilots like Emma Jane represented in children's stories. Buy on Amazon Journey Aaron Becker This is a beautiful, award-winning wordless picture book. It follows the journey of a young girl who draws a magic door in her bedroom and travels through fantasy worlds by boat, balloon and magic carpet. Highly recommended for pupils across the whole primary range. Buy on Amazon The Hundred Decker Bus Mike Smith This is a really fun story popular with reception and KS1 classes. When the bus driver takes a different route one day, there are too many passengers to fit on the bus and the only solution is to add more and more decks. There is also a big fold-out page at the end showing the enormous bus. We like the author's blog link with some ideas for activities, too. Buy on Amazon Cycle City Alison Farrell A wonderful celebration of bicycles of all kinds! Etta the Elephant is taking a trip to her Aunt Ellen's house and passes through bicycle-filled Cycle City, filled with bikes of all shapes and sizes, and then gets to witness a brilliant bicycle parade. This is an engaging picture book with so many details to spot in the illustrations and a very good stimulus for generating discussion and descriptive writing. Buy on Amazon The Runaway Train Benedict Blathwayt When Duffy Driver leaves the brakes off, the Little Red Train sets off down the track without him! Duffy tries everything he can think of to catch up with the train, with a little help from a tractor, some horses, a boat and a helicopter! An enjoyable story to read over and over again. Buy on Amazon Five Go Off To Camp (Famous Five) Enid Blyton This is part of 'The Famous Five' adventure series by the classic children's author Enid Blyton. It tells the story of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and Timmy the dog as they investigate spooky trains that seem to vanish into thin air. As they follow the tracks, they discover a secret underground train service. This is a fun story to read aloud and one that is full of Blyton-style mystery and adventure. Buy on Amazon Lost and Found Oliver Jeffers This is the endearing story of a boy and the journey he undertakes to return a lost penguin back to its home. This simple story with beautiful illustrations has also been made into an animated movie. Buy on Amazon On The Train (Shine a Light) Carron Brown & Bee Johnson This engaging information book invites readers to interact by shining a torch through each page to reveal hidden details in the pictures, such as coal burning inside the train engine or underground trains beneath the street. The pictures, hidden images and text work together to create a perfectly interactive information book that will delight its readers. We highly recommend this for any transport topic, but remember to supply a torch too! Buy on Amazon William Bee's Wonderful World of Tractors and Farm Machines William Bee This is an appealing non-fiction text that is popular in KS1. Each page contains detailed and engaging illustrations of different types of farm machines and small chunks of text, drawing attention to different parts of the mechanisms and the way in which each vehicle is cleverly designed for different purposes. Look out for the other books in this popular series too, like William Bee's Wonderful World of Trains, Boats and Planes (available here) and William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks (available here). Buy on Amazon Amelia Earhart (Little People, Big Dreams) Isabel Sanchez Vegara & Maria Diamantes Part of the Little People, Big Dreams series, this book provides a simple biography of Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly a plane all the way across the Atlantic Ocean, from her early childhood to her first flying lesson and on to her world famous career as a pilot. Buy on Amazon My First Book of Transport Collins This simple non-fiction text contains clear text and colourful photographs. It introduces the conventional features of information texts including captions, a glossary and an index.