A selection of high quality children’s literature.
The list is organised in a rough order of difficulty, with the books at the bottom for very
confident and advanced readers.
Joshua Doder – ‘A Dog Called Grk’. First in a staggeringly good adventure series.
Erich Kastner – ‘Emile and the Detectives’. Translated from German.
Lemony Snicket – ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’. Another fantastic adventure series.
J.K. Rowling – ‘Harry Potter’. Don’t be put off by the fame.
Pseudonymous Bosch (!) – ‘If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late’. I can’t remember if this is the first or
second in this action packed series.
Edith Pattou – ‘North Child’. Utterly, utterly beautiful and unusual tale of adventure and fantasy
Zizou Corder- ‘Lion Boy’. A kidnapping, a boy who can speak to cats; a gripping tale.
Arthur Ransom – ‘Swallows and Amazons’. May feel slightly dated but still gripping and, if enjoyed,
there are lots more fantastic books in the series.
Joshua Mowll – ‘Operation Red Jericho’. First in a great action-adventure trilogy.
John Stephens – ‘The Emerald Atlas’. This is very new, the first of a trilogy, I was very impressed.
Fantasy-adventure.
Alan Garner, ‘The Moon of Gomrath’. Fantasy, a bit Lord of the Rings, is a fantasy story
Charmian Hussey – ‘The Valley of Secrets’. Perfect for anyone who’s been to Cornwall and loved its
magic and mystery.
Lauren St John – ‘Dead Man’s Cove’ . A wonderfully gripping adventure story and the first in a series:
Laura Marlin Mystery
David Wiseman – ‘The Fate of Jeremy Visick’. Used by many schools as a Year 6 study text, this is
superbly written.
Terry Pratchett – ‘Truckers’. First of a superb fantasy trilogy.
Susan Cooper – ‘The Dark is Rising’. Haunting, classic fantasy. Staggeringly good.
Sally Gardner – ‘I, Coriander’. An incredibly vivid take on London immediately following the civil war.
Beautiful book, wonderful heroine. Some teen themes.
Paul Dowswell – ‘Powder Monkey’. Fierce and packed full of piratical adventure. Not for the feint
hearted.
Jamila Gavin – ‘Coram Boy’. Has some teen themes (pregnancy, murder)
David Almond – ‘Skellig’. Desperately sad and uplifting at the same time. A masterpiece.
Phillip Pullman ‘Northern Lights’. The first of possibly the greatest children’s trilogy ever! Some slight
teen themes and an unusual view of Christianity.
Here is a long list of other recommended titles
Relationships and Family
David Almond – Skellig, The Fire Eaters, Heaven Eyes
Nina Bawden – The Peppermint Pig
Malorie Blackman – Pig Heart Boy
Betsy Byars – The Eighteenth Emergency
Frank Cottrell Boyce – The Unforgotten Coat
Richmal Crompton – Just William
Alan Durant ed. – Sports Stories
Anne Fine – Flour Babies; Eating Things on Sticks
Morris Gleitzman – Two Weeks with the Queen
Paul Jennings – Undone!
Ally Kennen – Sparks
Jack Langdon – White Fang
Jan Mark – Thunder and Lightnings
Michael Morpurgo – Why the Whales Came
Bill Naughton – The Goalkeeper’s Revenge and Other Stories
Philippa Pearce – Tom’s Midnight Garden
Annabel Pitcher – My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece
Robert Swindells - Abomination
Oscar Wilde – The Selfish Giant & the Happy Prince
Thriller, Horror and Adventure
Theresa Breslin – Whispers in the Graveyard
Neil Gaiman – The Graveyard Book
Charlie Higson – Silverfin
Anthony Horovitz – Groosham Grange
Eva Ibbotson – One Dog and his Boy
Josh Lacety – The Island of Thieves
Michael Morpurgo – Kensuke’s Kingdom
Andy Mullligan - Ribblestrop
Michelle Paver – Wolf Brother
Philippa Pearce – Who’s Afraid? and Other Stories
Willard Price – Underwater Adventure
Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Darren Shan – The Vampire Assistant Series
Paul Shipton – Bug Muldoon and the Garden Of Fear
Fantasy and Science Fiction
J.M. Barrie – Peter Pan
Lewis Carroll – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
John Christopher – The Tripods series
Eion Colfer – Artemis Fowl
Susan Cooper – The Dark Is Rising
Catherine Fisher – The Relic Master
Cornelia Funke – Inkheart
Alan Garner – Elidor
Kenneth Grahame – The Wind in the Willows
Brian Jacques – Redwall
Terry Jones – The Saga of Erik the Viking
C.S. Lewis – The Last Battle
Penelope Lively – The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Geraldine McCaughrean – The Odyssey
William Nicholson – The Wind Singer
Jenny Nimmo – The Snow Spider
Christopher Paolini – Eragorn
Mal Peet - Keeper
Terry Pratchett – The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents
Philip Pullman – Northern Lights
J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
Lemony Snicket – A series of Unfortunate Events: the Bad Beginning
Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell – The Curse of the Gloamglozer
Rosemary Sutcliff – Beowulf
Historical and Political
Nina Bawden – Carrie’s War
John Bayne – The Boy in Striped Pyjamas
Kevin Crossley-Holland – Arthur: The Seeing Stone
Peter Dickinson – The Kin
Ann Fine – The Tulip Touch
Leon Garfield – Jack Diamond
Alan Gibbons – The Shadow of the Minotaur
Judith Kerr – When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
Roger Lancelyn Green – The Tale of Troy
Michael Morpurgo – Friend or Foe
Michelle Magorian – Goodnight Mr. Tom
Ian Serraillier – The Silver Sword
Paul Shipton – The Pig Scrolls
Sandi Toksvig – Hitler’s Canary
Elizabeth Updale – Montmorency
Jill Paton Walsh – The Dolphin Crossing
Robert Westall – The Machine Gunners
Non-Fiction
Nick Arnold – Horrible Science series
John Farman – The Very Bloody History of Britain
Richard Platt and Chris Riddell – Castle Diary
Kjartan Poskitt – Murderous Maths
Mr William Shakespeare’s Plays – Marcia Williams
Authors’ boys generally like:
Louis Sacher
Darren Shan
Charlie Higson
Robert Muchmore – towards the end of Year 6