By Year Group
Here are some suggestions of excellent books from Herts for Learning for the children to read. They are listed under the year group that the subject matter and level of difficulty are most suitable for. We do look at some these texts in school.
Year 6
Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden
Tom’s Midnight Garden – Phillipa Pearce
A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
The Silver Sword – Ian Serrailier
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Joan Aiken
The London Eye Mystery – Siobhan Dowd
Room 13 – Robert Swindells
Coraline – Neil Gaiman
Holes – Louis Sacher
Pax – Sara Penny-Packe
The Weirdstone of Brisingamen – Alan Garner
Marianne Dreams – Catherine Storr
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
Northern Lights – Philip Pullman
The Children of Green Knowe – Lucy M Boston
Boy – Roald Dahl
The Railway Children – E Nesbit
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo
The Girl of Ink and Stars – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Garbage King – Elizabeth Laird
Year 5/6
Danny, Champion of the world – Roald Dahl
The Bag of Bones – Vivian French
Wolf Brother – Michelle Paver
Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorican
The Lottie Project – Jacqueline Wilson
Aquila – Andrew Norriss
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – C S Lewis
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – J K Rowling
Eye of the Wolf – Daniel Pennac
The Doomspell – Cliff McNish
A.N.T.I.D.O.T.E/Cloudbusting – Malorie Blackman
The Wreck of the Zanzibar – Michael Morpurgo
The Messenger Bird – Ruth Easton
Street Child – Berlie Docherty
Phantom Tollbooth – Norton Juster
The Giver – Lois Lowry
Peter Pan in Scarlett – Geraldine McCaughrean
Millions – Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Beowulf – Kevin Crossley-Holland
Little House on the Prairie – Laura Ingalls-Wilder
Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo
Wolf Brother – Michelle Paver
Inventions of Hugo Cabret/Wonderstruck – Brian Selznick
Mary Poppins- L H Travers
Firebird – Saviour Pirotta
Year 4/5
The Firework Maker’s Daughter - Phillip Pullman
The Ice Palace - Robert Swindells
The Fastest Boy in the World – Elizabeth Laird
Frindle – Andrew Clements
Why the Whales Came – Michael Morpurgo
Varjak Paw – S. F. Said
Wolf Brother – Michelle Paver
It was a Dark and Stormy Night - Janet Ahlberg
Double Act – Jacqueline Wilson
Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz
Stig of the Dump – Clive King
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis
Charlotte’s Web – E.B.White
Matt’s Millions – Andrew Norris
The Saga of Erik the Viking – Terry Jones
The Minpins – Roald Dahl
Noah Barleywater Runs Away – John Boyne
Peter Pan in Scarlett – Geraldine McCaughrean
The Secret History of Tom Trueheart – Ian Beck
The Magician’s Elephant – Kate diCamillo
Arthur: The Seeing Stone – Kevin Crossley-Holland
Beowulf – K Crossley-Holland
Platform 13 – Eva Ibbotson
The Boy in the Tower – Polly Ho-Yen
Year 3/4
I’ll Take you to Mrs Cole - Nigel Gray
The Owl who was afraid of the dark – Jill Tomlinson
Jim and the Baked Beanstalk – Colin Simpson
The Hodgeheg - Dick King Smith
Flat Stanley - Jeff Brown
Lob – Linda Newbury
The Worst Witch – Jill Murphy
The Pirate Cruncher – John Duddle
Fantastic Mr Fox - Roald Dahl
Charlie Small - Charlie Small
Bill’s New Frock – Anne Fine
Mr Badger – Lee Hobbs
The Raft – Jim Lamarchet
The 100 Dresses – Eleanor Estes
East O the Sun and West O the Moon - PJ Lynch
Grandpa’s Indian Summer - Jamila Gavin
Malkin Moonlight – Emma Cox
Ottoline and the Yellow Cat – Chris Riddell (series)
The Butterfly Lion - Michael Morpurgo
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – Kate DiCamillo
Cloud Tea Monkeys – Mal Peet
How to train your dragon – Cressida Cowell
The Paperbag Prince – Colin Thompson
Stig of the dump – Clive King
Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters – John Steptoe