Reading
"What shall I read next?"
This is something we hear quite a bit! Our pupils love reading and we encourage them to try new genres all the time.
We have reading lists, complied by our teaching team, designed to complement our curriculum while challenging and engaging pupils - click on a book list below.
Some of our teachers have recorded themselves reading extracts of books on our Reading Lists to tempt our pupils.
So, click on the sound files below to be tempted!
The Year group by the title is an indication of the reading age,
Harry Miller's Run (Year 3)
Liam just wants to go out running with his mates - it's not long till the Junior Great North Run, and there's training to be done. But Mam needs him today, to help old Harry clear out his house. Harry knows a thing or two about running. When he was a lad, he says, he ran all the way from Newcastle to South Shields. But Harry, says Mam, that's thirteen miles! Harry grins. Different times, he says. This is the story of that day: of sweltering heat, clattering boots, briny sea air and the heavenly taste of ice cream; the day when Harry and his pals ran and ran and ran through the blazing sunlight all the way to the sea.
Just William (Year 3)
In Richmal Compton's Just William the Outlaws plan a day of non-stop adventure. The only problem is that William is meant to be babysitting. But William won't let that stop him having fun with his gang - he'll just bring the baby along! There is only one William. This tousle-headed, snub-nosed, hearty, loveable imp of mischief has been harassing his unfortunate family and delighting his hundreds of thousands of admirers since 1922.
The Worst Witch Saves The Day (Year 3)
It's the start of a new term at Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches and Mildred Hubble is determined not to be the worst witch this year. Everything starts so well. Mildred's class has a new form teacher - no more Miss Hardbroom for Mildred and her friends! But then the new teacher, Miss Granite, starts acting fishy; Mildred has a very bad hair day when a hair growth spell goes wrong and she has to put up with know-it-all Ethel Hallow being 'helpful'. To top it all, her beloved cat Tabby is having a nervous breakdown and refuses to fly.
Anna Hibiscus (Year 3)
A collection of four linked stories of family life set in modern west Africa. Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa with her mother, her father, her baby twin brothers, and lots and lots of her family. Join her as she splashes in the sea, prepares for a party, sells oranges, and hopes to see sweet, sweet snow!
Ottoline Goes to School (Year 3)
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "ottoline(5)")
Meet Ottoline and her hairy, helpful friend Mr Munroe. No secret is ever too scary for the two of them to discover together. Ottoline is off to the Alice B. Smith School for the Differently Gifted. She is rather worried that she doesn't have a special gift. Mr Munroe is worried about the ghost who is said to haunt the school halls at night. Does Ottoline discover how to be different and can they expose the spook?
The Butterfly Lion (Year 3)
A lyrical and moving tale of a young boy growing up in Africa, and his lifelong friendship with a white lion. All my life I'll think you you, I promise I will. I won't ever forget you. Bertie rescues an orphaned white lion cub from the African veld. They are inseparable until Bertie is sent to boarding school far away in England and the lion is sold to a circus. Bertie swears that one day they will see one another again, but it is the butterfly lion which ensures that their friendship will never be forgotten.
Bill's New Frock (Year 4)
Bill Simpson wakes up to find he's a girl, and worse, his mother makes him wear a frilly pink dress to school. How on earth is he going to survive a whole day like this? Everything just seems to be different for girls.
Diary of a Wimpey Kid (Year 4)
It’s a new school year, and Greg Heffley finds himself thrust into middle school, where undersized weaklings share the hallways with kids who are taller, meaner, and already shaving. The hazards of growing up before you’re ready are uniquely revealed through words and drawings as Greg records them in his diary.
Fortunately, The Milk (Year 4)
You know what it's like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad's in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he's got to do. And the most important thing is DON'T FORGET TO GET THE MILK. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back. Featuring: Professor Steg (a time-travelling dinosaur), some green globby things, the Queen of the Pirates, the famed jewel that is the Eye of Splod, some wumpires, and a perfectly normal but very important carton of milk.
The Firework Maker's Daughter (Year 4)
What Lila wants to be more than anything else in the world is ...a Firework-Maker! But firework-making is not just about being able to make Crackle-Dragons and Golden Sneezes. There is also one special secret: every Firework-Maker must make a perilous journey to face the terrifying Fire-Fiend! Not knowing that she needs special protection to survive the Fire-Fiend's flames, Lila sets off alone. Her friends, Chulak and Hamlet - the King's white elephant - race after her. But can they possibly reach her in time?
The Story of the Blue Planet (Year 4)
An eco-fable with heart and humour Brimir and Hulda are best friends, living on a beautiful blue planet where there are no grown-ups, life is wild and free, and each day is more exciting than the last. Until, one day, a rocket ship piloted by a strange-looking adult named Gleesome Goodday crashes on the beach. He promises to make life a hundred times more fun - with flying-powder, and coated skin so that noone ever has to bathe again - and even nails the sun to their sky. But Hulda and Brimir soon discover that their endless fun has consequences they could never have imagined. Could it be that Gleesome Goodday is not everything he seems? An extraordinary adventure of magic and generosity, and a beautifully simple tale of selfishness and sacrifice,
The Fastest Boy in the World (Year 4)
Eleven-year-old Solomon loves to run! His grandfather announces that he's going to take Solomon to Addis Ababa and he realizes that the Ethiopian running team will be doing a victory parade through the city that day. As Solomon follows him through the big, overwhelming streets, he learns something he cannot believe. The strict old man is a war hero who once risked his life to save a friend and has been in hiding ever since. When grandfather collapses, Solomon knows that getting help from his village is up to him. It's a twenty-mile run from the city to home, and grandfather's life hangs in the balance. Can the small bare-footed runner with the big heart do it?
Lost - The 100 Mile and Hour Dog (Year 4)
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...
Oranges In No Man's Land (Year 4)
Since her father left Lebanon to find work and her mother tragically died in a shell attack, ten-year-old Ayesha has been living in the bomb-ravaged city of Beirut with her granny and her two younger brothers. The city has been torn in half by civil war and a desolate, dangerous no man's land divides the two sides. Only militiamen and tanks dare enter this deadly zone, but when Granny falls desperately ill, Ayesha sets off on a terrifying journey to reach a doctor living in enemy territory.
Shakespeare (Year 4)
With lively graphic-novel descriptions of many of Shakespeare's most famous plays, including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello and The Tempest, and drawing on the latest biographical research, this is the perfect introduction for children to the life and works of William Shakespeare.
The Magician's Nephew (Years 4 and 5)
Book one in the classic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. On a daring quest to save a life, two friends are hurled into another world, where an evil sorceress seeks to enslave them. But then the lion Aslan's song weaves itself into the fabric of a new land, a land that will be known as Narnia. And in Narnia, all things are possible
In the Mouth of the Wolf (Year 5)
Francis and Pieter are brothers. As shadow of one war lingers, and the rumbles of another approach, the brothers argue. Francis is a fierce pacifist, while Pieter signs up to fight. What happens next will change the course of Francis’s life forever . . . and throw him into the mouth of the wolf.
The Iron Man (Year 5)
Mankind must put a stop to the dreadful destruction by the Iron Man and set a trap for him, but he cannot be kept down. Then, when a terrible monster from outer space threatens to lay waste to the planet, it is the Iron Man who finds a way to save the world.
The Selfish Giant & Other Stories (Year 5)
When the Selfish Giant decides to build a wall around his garden to prevent the children from playing in it, it becomes barren and stuck in perpertual winter. It takes a wonderful event and the heart of a young boy for him to realize the error of his ways.
Artemis Fowl (Year 5)
12 year old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.
Kensuke's Kingdom (Year 5)
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "Kensukes_Kingdom(1)")
I heard the wind above me in the sails. I remember thinking, this is silly, you haven't got your safety harness on, you haven't got your lifejacket on. You shouldn't be doing this ...I was in the cold of the sea before I could even open my mouth to scream. Washed up on an island in the Pacific, Michael struggles to survive on his own. With no food and no water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, there is a plate beside him of fish, of fruit, and a bowl of fresh water. He is not alone ...
The Eagle of the Ninth (Year 5)
The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of northern Britain - and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared and their eagle standard was lost. It's a mystery that's never been solved, until now ...Marcus has to find out what happened to his father, who led the legion. So he sets out into the unknown, on a quest so dangerous that nobody expects him to return.
Classic Poetry (Year 5)
Walker Illustrated Classics is a new series which brings together some of the best-loved stories ever told, illustrated by some of today's finest artists. These exquisitely designed books, with their magnificent words and glorious pictures, are a pleasure to read - and re-read. The classics have never looked so good! Over eighty of the most memorable poems written in the English language, from William Blake's The Tyger to Lewis Carroll's Jabberwocky .
Alice in Wonderland (Year 5)
It's a warm summer's afternoon when young Alice first tumbles down the rabbit hole and into the adventures in Wonderland that have kept readers spellbound for more than 150 years. Collected here are Lewis Carroll's two classics - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass - in which Alice encounters the laconic Cheshire Cat, the anxious White Rabbit and the terrifying Red Queen, as well as a host of other outlandish and charming characters.
The Secret Garden (Year 5)
People never like me and I never like people, Mary thought.' When Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody says she is the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It is true, too. Mary is pale, spoilt and quite contrary. But she is also horribly lonely. Then one day she hears about a garden in the grounds of the Manor that has been kept locked and hidden for years. And when a friendly robin helps Mary find the key, she discovers the most magical place anyone could imagine.
The Secret of Platform 13 (Year 5)
Under Platform 13 at King's Cross Station there is a secret door that leads to a magical island ...It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle, who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (Year 5)
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "wolves(29)")
1832 - a period of English History that never happened. Good King James III is on the throne and the country is ravaged by wolves which have migrated through the newly-opened Channel Tunnel. When Sylvia and Bonnie (both orphans) fall into the hands of evil Miss Slighcarp, they must use all their wits to escape unscathed - for the governess is more cruel and merciless than the wolves that surround the great house of Willoughby Chase.
The Sword in The Stone (Year 5)
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "9780007263493(5)")
The extraordinary story of a boy called Wart - ignored by everyone except his tutor, Merlyn - who goes on to become King Arthur. When Merlyn the magician comes to tutor Sir Ector's sons Kay and the Wart, schoolwork suddenly becomes much more fun. After all, who wouldn't enjoy being turned into a fish, or a badger, or a snake? But Merlyn has very particular plans for the Wart.
Little Women (Year 5)
The four March sisters - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy - live in financial hardship in New England with their mother, while their father has been drafted to fight in the Civil War. The girls embark on a series of adventures and endure a number of unexpected misfortunes - experiences that allow their personalities to emerge: Meg sensible and outgoing, Jo literary and boyish, Beth musical and shy, and Amy artistic and selfish - but the bonds holding together the March family remain unbroken.
The Girl Who Walked On Air (Year 5)
Louie, who was abandoned at Chipchase's Travelling Circus as a baby, dreams of becoming a 'Showstopper', but Mr Chipchase keeps her hidden, tucked away in the ticket booth. No Death-Defying Stunts for her. But Louie has been secretly practising her act - tightrope-walking - and dreams of being the Girl Who Walked on Air ...she just needs to be given the chance to shine. And the circus needs her too - Wellbeloved's rival show is stealing their crowds. They need a Showstopper. Desperate, Mr Chipchase reluctantly lets Louie perform. She is a sensation, and gets an offer from the sinister Mr Wellbeloved himself to perform ...over Niagara Falls. But nothing is quite as it seems and soon Louie's bravery is tested not just on the highwire but in confronting her past and the shady characters in the world of the circus.
Swallows and Amazons (Year 5)
The ultimate children's classic - long summer days filled with adventure. John, Susan, Titty and Roger sail their boat, Swallow, to a deserted island for a summer camping trip. Exploring and playing sailors is an adventure in itself but the island holds more excitement in store. Two fierce Amazon pirates, Nancy and Peggy, challenge them to war and a summer of battles and alliances ensues.
The Sleeper and the Spindle (Year 5)
A thrillingly reimagined fairy tale from the truly magical combination of author Neil Gaiman and illustrator Chris Riddell - weaving together a sort-of Snow White and an almost Sleeping Beauty with a thread of dark magic, which will hold readers spellbound from start to finish. On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future - and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems.
The Granny Project (Year 5)
What does he mean? What's going on? Are you two thinking of putting Granny into a Home? Thinking is finished,' Natasha told him. 'It is decided. The four children, Ivan, Sophie, Tanya and Nicholas, can't believe it. Their parents are planning to put their grandmother into a Home. She's a bit of a dotty old lady - sometimes demanding, often annoying - but as much a part of their lives as their shambly house or the whirring of the washing machine. So they decide to take action. They begin 'The Granny Project', with immediate and sensational results...
Matilda (Year 5)
Matilda Wormwood's father thinks she's a little scab. Matilda's mother spends all afternoon playing bingo. And Matilda's headmistress Miss Trunchbull? Well, she's the worst of all. She is a big bully, who thinks all her pupils are rotten and locks them in the dreaded Chokey. As for Matilda, she's an extraordinary little girl with a magical mind - and now she's had enough. So all these grown-ups had better watch out, because Matilda is going to teach them a lesson they'll never forget.
The Sleeping Army (Year 5)
Freya is an ordinary girl living in modern Britain, but with a twist: people still worship the Viking gods. One evening, stuck with her dad on his night shift at the British Museum, she is drawn to the Lewis Chessmen and Heimdall's Horn. Unable to resist, she blows the horn, waking three chess pieces from their enchantment; the slaves Roskva and Alfi, and Snot the Berserk. They are all summoned to Asgard, land of the Viking gods, and told they must go on a perilous journey to restore the gods to youth. If Freya refuses she will be turned into an ivory chess piece but, if she accepts her destiny and fails, the same terrible fate awaits her.
Amazon Adventure (Year 5)
'No one has ever come out alive'. Hal and Roger Hunt crash-land into the middle of a pioneering expedition to the unmapped regions of the greatest jungle on earth: the Amazon. And when their mission to explore the uncharted territory of the Pastaza River goes off course ...it's the survival of the fittest.
Charmed Life (Year 5)
Glorious new rejacket of a Diana Wynne Jones classic award-winning favourite, featuring Chrestomanci - now a book with extra bits! Everybody says that Gwendolyn Chant is a gifted witch with astonishing powers, so it suits her enormously when she is taken to live in Chrestomanci Castle. Her brother Eric (better known as Cat) is not so keen, for he has no talent for magic at all. However, life with the great enchanter is not what either of them expects and sparks begin to fly!
Stormbreaker (Year 5 and 6)
The first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series. In the first book in the number one bestselling Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz, fourteen-year-old Alex is forcibly recruited into MI6. Armed with secret gadgets, he is sent to investigate Herod Sayle, a man who is offering state-of-the-art Stormbreaker computers to every school in the country. But the teenage spy soon finds himself in mortal danger.
The Hobbit (Year 5 and 6)
The Hobbit is the unforgettable story of Bilbo, a peace-loving hobbit, who embarks on a strange and magical adventure. A timeless classic. Bilbo Baggins enjoys a quiet and contented life, with no desire to travel far from the comforts of home; then one day the wizard Gandalf and a band of dwarves arrive unexpectedly and enlist his services - as a burglar - on a dangerous expedition to raid the treasure-hoard of Smaug the dragon. Bilbo's life is never to be the same again.
Wonder (Year 6)
Auggie Pullman was born with a severe facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school.
Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, Auggie wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past his extraordinary face. Wonder begins from Auggie's point of view, but soon switches to include the perspectives of his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These voices converge to portray a community as it struggles with differences, and challenges readers, both young and old, to wonder about the true nature of empathy, compassion, acceptance, friendship, and—ultimately—kindness. Auggie is a hero for the ages, one who proves that you can’t blend in when you were born to stand out.
Once (Year 6)
Felix has been living in an orphanage for three years and eight months when the men in armbands arrive to burn the books.
Going on the run in search of his parents, Felix soon learns that Poland in 1942 is not a safe place for Jewish boys. But can his gift for storytelling keep him one step ahead of the Nazis and help him find his parents?
After all, everybody deserves to have something good in their life at least once.
The Unforgotten Coat (Year 6)
This is a stunning magical story of a summer of friendship with darker undertones of refugees. Two refugee brothers from Mongolia are determined to fit in with their Liverpool schoolmates, but bring so much of Mongolia to Bootle that their new friend and guide, Julie, is hard-pressed to know truth from fantasy as she recollects a wonderful friendship that was abruptly ended when Chingis and his family were forced to return to Mongolia.
Reading Lists
Below are suggested booklists for each year group that have been compiled by our teaching team and are designed to complement our curriculum while challenging and engaging pupils.
More information about these books can be found on the English pages under the Curriculum tab for each Year Group.
Year 3
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "Year 3 book poster(2)")
Year 4
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "Year 4 poster(2)")
Year 5
.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&scale=LIMIT_MAXSIZE "Year 5 book poster(2)")
Year 6
