Reading List for children in Year 5, Year 6 and Year 7 (Age 9 to 11)
Children studying for the 11 plus exams are at a key point in their school reading journey. They are starting to develop the independence and autonomy to seek out their own reading books and decide how to incorporate reading into their daily routine. By this point, ideally, we would want our children to have caught the ‘reading bug’ and enjoy reading a wide range of different texts as well as knowing where and how to search for new titles. At this age, we also recommend daily independent reading for 30 minutes and of course this is always helped with the use of audiobooks or being read to aloud.
It is also important when studying for 11plus exams to have a sensible balance between different genres as well as making sure good quality literature is included on a regular basis. It is helpful to have book lists to refer to that help with this and of course school or home librarians are well placed to also offer guidance on this. Often, older texts (that are out of copyright protection) are used in the eleven plus exams and we have also seen a wider use of poetry in recent years. This is another reason to ensure that children are reading across a diverse range of books at this stage.
We have split the following book list into various sections to enable it to be as user friendly as possible:
War Stories:
Frank, A. The Diary of Anne Frank
Holm, A. I am David
Serallier, I. The Silver Sword
French, J. Hitler’s Daughter
Bawden, N. Carrie’s War
Swindells, R. Blitzed
Morpurgo,M. Warhorse
Booth, M. POW
Filipovic, Z. Zlata’s Diary
Rhue, M. The Wave
Boyne, J. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas
Murder Mystery and Detective Stories:
Lawrence,C. The Roman Mysteries
Leonard, M.G. The Highland Falcon Thief
Horowitz,A. The Falcon’s Malteser
Keene, C. Nancy Drew
Christie, A. And Then There Were None
Funke, C. The Thief Lord
Kaster, E. Emil and the Detectives
Shaw, D. Cirque de Freak
Dashner, J. The Maze Runner
Dowd, S. The London Eye Mystery
Howell, A.M. The House of 100 Clocks
Golding, J. The Diamonds of Drury Lane, etc
Christie, A. Murder on the Orient Express etc.
Conan Doyle, A. Sherlock Holmes
Stewart, T. L. The Mysterious Benedict Society
Fantasy & Science Fiction:
Gibbons, A. Shadow of The Minotaur
Lowry, L. The Giver
McKenzie, R. The Nowhere Emporium
Rees, C. Witch Child
Blackman, M. Hacker
Ende, M. The Neverending Story
Pullman, P. His Dark Materials
Horowitz, A. Stormbreaker
Almond, D. Skellig
Ibbotson, E. The Secret of Platform 13
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter
Wyndhma, J. The Day of the Triffids
Gibbons, A. The Shadow of the Minotaur etc.
McKenzie, S. The Medusa Project series
Nicholson, W. The Windsinger, etc.
Nix, G. Mr Monday etc
O’Hearn, K. Shadow of the Dragon
Oppel, K. Airborn
Paver, M . Wolf Brother etc
Pullman, P. Northern Lights
Scarrow, A . Time Riders
Serraillier, I. The Silver Sword
Shearer, A. Bootleg
Shipton, P. The Pig Scrolls
Singer, N. Feather Boy
Sparkes, A. Frozen in Time
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit
WynneJones, D. The Enchanted Glass
Adams, D. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Beddor, F. The Looking Glass Wars series
Bowler, T. Bloodchild
Brooks, K. Martyn Pig
Card, O.S. Ender’s Game
Coleman, M. The Cure
Nix, G. Sabriel
Pratchett, T. Truckers, Diggers etc
Verne, J. Round the World in Eighty Days
Wallace, K. Raspberries on the Yangtze
Westall, R. The Kingdom by the Sea
Wooding, C. Storm Thief
Wynne-Jones, T. A Thief in the House of Memory
Books about Animals:
Sewell, A. Black Beauty
Jacques, B. Redwall
Byars, B. The Midnight Fox
White, E.B. Charlotte’s Web
Bagnold, E. National Velvet
Durrell, G. My Family and Other Animals
Adams, R. Watership Down
Corder, Z. Lionboy
Zephaniah, B. Refugee Boy
Doherty, B. Dear Nobody
Peltzer, D. A Child Called It
Books with a Female Protagonist:
Pullman, P. Northern Lights
Rarook, N. The Girl who Stole an Elephant
Hargrave, K.M. The Girl of Ink and Stars
Lapinkski, L.D. The Strange World’s Travel Agency
Ibbotson, E. Journey to the River Sea
Constable, C. Wolf Princess
Bawden, N. Carrie’s War
Schaap, A. Lampie
Blackman, M Noughts and Crosses
Reluctant Readers at 11 Plus
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.
Kinney J, Diary of A Wimpy Kid
Selznick B, The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a beautifully illustrated novel.
Walliams D, recent titles
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
Poetry:
Various, Favourite Poems:101 Children’s Classics
Noyes, A. The Highwayman
Esiri, A. Shakespeare for Every Day of The Year
Lear, E. The Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear
Nova, K. Rhythm and Poetry
Duffy, C.A. New and Collected Poems for Children
Adventure Stories:
Geras, A. Troy
Hatt, J. The Adventurers
Ryan,C. Survival – Alpha Force1
Forester, C.S Hornblower
Sacher, L. Holes
Ibbotson,E. Journey to the River Sea
Gavin, J Coram Boy
Morpurgo, M Kensuke’s Kingdom
Faulkner, J.M. Moonfleet
Stevenson, R.L. Treasure Island
Sutcliffe, R. Beowulf, Dragonslayer
Sparkes, A. Frozen in Time
Bowler, T. Storm Catchers
Chamings, M. Time Switch
Colfer, E. The Wish List
Corder, Z. Halo
Crossley-Holland, K. Arthur and the Seeing Stone etc.
Dahl, R. Going Solo
Doyle, R. Wilderness
Ellis, D. The Breadwinner collection
Enzensberger, H. The Number Devil
Fletcher, C. Stone Heart, etc
Forester, C. S. Hornblower series
Harris, R. Will Shakespeare & the Pirate’s Fire
Jarman, J. Ghost Writer
Keaney, B. Nathaniel Wolfe & the Bodysnatchers
Kerr, P. B. Children of the Lamp series
Laird, E. Crusade
MacPhail, C.Nemesis
Mitchison, A. Mission Telemark
Mowll, J. Operation Red Jericho
Narayan, N. The Kit Salter adventure series
Nimmo, J. Midnight for Charlie Bone series
Ransome, A. Swallows and Amazons
Reeve, P. A Web of Air, Mortal Engines
Riordan, R. Percy Jackson series
Sachar, L. Holes,The Cardturner
Updale, E. Montmorency series
(Various) My Story series
Walden, M. H.I.V.E series
Westall, R. The Machine Gunners
Womack, P. The Other Book
Curley, M. The Named
Dunmore, H. Ingo etc
Ellis, D. The Prison Runner
Forde, C. Fat Boy Swim
Gaiman, N. Coroline
Gardner, S. I Coriander etc.
Grindley, S. Spilled Water etc.
Harris, J. Runemarks
Hearn, J. Rowan the Strange
Hearn, L. Across the Nightingale Floor
Hinton, N. Time Bomb
Hughes, T. Tom Brown’s Schooldays
Johnston, T. Bone by Bone by Bone
Kelley, T. The Thing with Finn
Lynch, J. The Highest Tide
MacPhail, C. Wheels
McCaughrean, G. Stop the Train
Naidoo, B. Burn my Heart
Rhue, M. The Wave
Riordan, J. The Sniper
Stevenson, R. L. Kidnapped
Swindells, R. Abomination
Valentine, J. Finding Violet Park
Stroud, J. The Bartimaeus Trilogy
Swindells, R. Shrapnel
Download our 11 Plus Reading List
Tutors for the 11 Plus and Pre-tests
Each year Keystone supports many students preparing for the 11 Plus. The 11 Plus tutors we represent are experienced in the intricacies of the 11 Plus exams and how they differ between schools' assessments. We would normally recommend that preparation begins around 12 – 18 months before the exams.
For more details on how Keystone can help with 11 Plus preparation, please call the office for a chat with one of our client managers, or contact us via our request a tutor form.
Further reading on the 11 Plus
- Guide to the 11 Plus Exams
- Early Preparation for the 11 Plus
- 11 Plus Past Papers and Sample Tests
- 11 Plus Vocabulary List
- Keystone Webinar: Preparing for the 11 Plus and Computerised Pre-tests