Parents often ask us which books their children should be reading. In some respects, it’s the wrong question to ask – are there any books children shouldn't be reading? – but with children’s free-time seeming ever to shrink, there is certainly merit in searching out the best.
Our first recommendation would be for parents to take children to their local bookshop, most of which have discrete children’s sections overseen by experts who are only too happy to make suggestions. Perhaps you could select 2 or 3 titles together and read the first few pages of each before buying? It is also worth having a look at recent winners of children’s literature prizes.
Below we have selected just a handful of titles that meet one of the following minimum criteria: firstly, they have been adored by one of the Keystone team; secondly, they are universally endorsed by a wide number of other reading lists; or thirdly, they have been written by a Keystone tutor! For younger children please take a look at our blog on reading lists for pre-prep school level (Reception – Year 3).
The lists below are split into the following categories:
Classic Fiction
- Burnett F, The Secret Garden
- Carroll L, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
- Dahl R, Going Solo
- Dickens C, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and others
- Forester C S, Hornblower Series
- Grahame K, The Wind in the Willows
- Hope A, Prisoner of Zenda
- Hughes T, Tom Brown’s Schooldays
- Hughes T, The Iron Man
- Kipling R, Jungle Book, Kim and others
- Lamb C and H, Tales from Shakespeare
- Lewis C S, Chronicles of Narnia
- Lofting H, Dr Dolittle
- London J, The Call of the Wild
- Montgomery LM, Anne of Green Gables
- Nesbit E, The Railway Children and others
- Orwell G, Animal Farm
- Pearce P, Tom’s Midnight Garden
- Ransome, A, Swallows and Amazons and others
- Serraillier I, The Silver Sword
- Sewell A, Black Beauty
- Stevenson R L, Treasure Island
- Tolkein J R, The Hobbit
- Twain M, Tom Sawyer
- Westall R, The Machine Gunners and The Kingdom by the Sea
- White E B, Charlotte’s Web
If you would like advice on how to encourage a love of reading, Paul Jennings’ The Reading Bug is recommended.
Others’ Classic Reading Lists
- Telegraph’s 100 Top Books for Children
- Guardian’s selection of classical titles
Contemporary Fiction
- Adams D, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
- Adams R, Watership Down
- Almond D, Skellig
- Boyce F C, Cosmic
- Boyne J, The Boy in Striped Pyjamas and Noah Barleywater
- Dahl R, Matilda, The Twits and others
- Dempster M, The Trials and Tribulations of Lily Tripitaka
- Elphinstone A (Keystone tutor!), The Dreamsnatcher
- Gaiman N, Coraline and others
- Gavin J, Coram Boy
- Haddon M, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
- Jacques B, Redwall (series)
- King C, Stig of the Dump
- Magorian M, Goodnight Mister Tom
- Morpurgo M, War Horse and others
- Pratchett T, Truckers, Diggers etc
- Pullman P, His Dark Materials
- Reid Banks L, The Indian in the Cupboard
- Riordan R, Percy Jackson series
- Sachar L, Holes
- Womack P (Keystone tutor!), The Other Book
- Womack P (Keystone tutor!), The Double Axe
If you would like advice on how to encourage a love of reading, Paul Jennings’ The Reading Bug is recommended.
Others’ Reading Lists
- Pembridge Hall, Reading Lists Year 3 – Year 6
- Sevenoaks School, Year 7 Reading List
- Eleven Plus Exams, Reading List
- The School Reading List
- Lorna Bradbury, Books for 9 year old girls who don’t like Harry Potter
- Philip Pullman and Michael Morpurgo, Recommendations of 50 books all children should read
Poetry
- E. Carle, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
- Edward Lear, Miscellaneous Poems
- H. Belloc, Jim, Cautionary Tales and other Poems
- R. L. Stevenson, Child’s Garden of Verses
- T. Hughes, The Iron Man
- W. de la Mare, Rhymes and Verses
- I. Serraillier, Beowulf
- L. Carroll, Jabberwocky and other poems
- T. B. Aldrich, Poems
- W. de la Mare, The Listeners and other poems
- R. Kipling, If and other Poems
Reluctant Readers
Illustrated or abridged works can be particularly popular with children who find reading a challenge. Often the illustrations do not compromise on the difficulty of the text, such as in the illustrated full Shakespeare plays.
- Barrington Stoke is the dyslexic publisher. They have some advice for teaching reluctant readers.
- Eagland J, Wild Song – a re-telling of The Tempest
- Gaiman N, is often cited as writing particularly popular books for dyslexics. He has some short stories for sampling here.
- Kinney J, Diary of A Wimpy Kid
- Selznick B, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a beautifully illustrated novel.
- Walliams D, recent titles
Others’ Reading Lists
- Lorna Doone article in the Telegraph with reading recommendations for reluctant boy readers.
- Tom Palmer, a good article in the Guardian making recommendations in age-order: Top 10 Books for Reluctant and Dyslexic Readers
- Yale Centre for Dyslexia, Reading List