Book Recommendations

[MummyIsMyFavouriteName]

So I am starting my first year of teaching in September in a Year 5 class. I'm very excited about this and am already beginning to think about my classroom, specifically my reading corner. One of my biggest passions as a child was reading and, even now, I love reading children's books so loving reading is something I want to encourage in the children.

I want to have a recommended reads section for the children. As they are Y5, they'll obviously be 9/10. Can anyone recommend any books that their child/children loved to read at that age, even if they are grown up now, please? I want to be able to introduce the children to books they may not have heard of so even if the book isn't well known now, please still tell me.

Thank you for any help.

At the school where I volunteer, I know that Mrs Frisby and the Rats of Niamh(?) by Robert O'Brien, The Firework Maker's Daughter by Philip Pullman and Sarah Plain and Tall by a lady whose surname begins with M are on the recommended lists for Years 4 and 5. There are obviously a lot more, but those are the ones I remember. I also know Year 4 have done Charlotte's Web as a class reader, and Year 5 Street Child by Berlie Doherty.

If the children are allowed to choose for themselves, the popular choices are books by Jacqueline Wilson, Lemony Snickett books, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and a series of graphic novel type Tintin books.

Lemony Snickett
Mr Gum
David Walliams
Roald Dahl
Philip Pullman
Frank Cotrell Boyce
Cressida Cowell
Morris Gleitzmann
Jacqueline Wilson
Eoin Colfer
Dick King Smith
Michael Morpurgo

The list is endless. Don't forget some interesting non-fiction, poetry and picture books for older readers. Comic swaps are a great idea or just a box of comics for the children to read too.
Make sure the collection is well edited, get rid of tatty, damaged items and keep it that way. Less is more! Have some front facing display, author or book of the week, get the kids involved in the choosing then order the books and have an unpacking session where you introduce the books, read the blurbs, look at the covers etc.
Contact your Schools Library Service if your LA still has one!

For older, able children I sometimes recommend what I call "Value Added" books, that is they have an aspect in addition to just reading a story.

The best one is Arthur Ransome's "Coot Club" set on the Norfolk Broads in 1930. All the places in the book are actual locations, and can be found on the Ordnance Survey 2-1/2inch map of the Broads. All the villages, rivers, lakes, pubs and windmill pumping stations can be seen on the map. Apart from some railways being closed, and there now being more main roads, little has changed. It also gives interesting insights to the social history of the '30s: the children want to contact friends in a nearby village, and say if they post a letter in the morning, it will get there by the second post in the afternoon! When they buy provisions at a riverside shop, the shop-boy carries the goods down to their boat for them.

Another book in a 'real' place, is "Watership Down". The rabbits' home threatened by development is actually on the outskirts of Newbury, in Berkshire. There are several web sites about the locations, and even guided tours sometimes to places featured in the book.

Great suggestions. Thank you.

I home ed my daughter year 9 and we have a yearly reading challenge.

This year we have

Old Possums Book of Practical Cats -T.S Elliott
The Boggart - Susan Cooper
Woof - Allen Ahlberg
The Firework Makers Daughter - Philip Pullman
Nancy Drew - Carolyn Keene
The Adventures of Mrs Pepperpot - Alf Proggen
The Magicians Nephew - C.S Lewis
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone - J.K Rowling
Tom's Midnight Garden - Philippa Pearce
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
The Phantom Tollbooth - Norton Juster
Anne of Green Gables - L.M Montgomery
Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
The Indian in the Cupboard - Lynne Reid Banks
The Children of Green Knowe - Lucy Boston
The Snow Spider - Jenny Nimmo
The Finders - Nigel Hinton
King of the Shadows - Susan Cooper
A Voyage of Discovery 1 - Francois Place
The Skellig - David Almond
The Moomins books - Tove Janson

She also reads a lot of graphic novels - The Hobbit - Shakespeare's plays - The Amulet - Roller Girl and many others. Graphic novels are fabulous and should definately have a place.

My DD is year 5. She has adored ruby redfort series by lauren child this year as have 3 of her friends. She also has enjoyed Emerald Atlas series by John Stephens. If you are in or near a grammar school area look at recommend 11+ reading lists, recommendation is children read more classics to build vocab.

DD is going into year 5 and is a voracious reader. Stuff she likes:
Harry Potter
Percy Jackson
Ruby Redfort
Truckers/Diggers/Wings by Terry Pratchett
The Tiffany Aching Terry Pratchett books
David Walliams
Roald Dahl
The 39 Clues series
Noel Streatfeild stuff - White Boots, Ballet Shoes etc
Marianne Dreams
Snow Spider trilogy
Demon Headmaster
5 children and it (and series)
Just So stories
Wizard of Oz
Mary Poppins
How to Train Your Dragon

I'd second the graphic novels - I have a really good reader, and she loves them. The Shakespeare graphic novels have an easy read version as well as the original text, and it makes and interesting 'compare and contrast' reading the two together.

Also, do make sure that your faster / more advanced readers don't run out of options - it's been a problem on occasion for my DC when the reading corner wasn't refreshed often enough and they ended up having to re-read things that they hadn't liked much the first time, through lack of new stuff.

My DS about to go into yr5 has just discovered the Warrior Cats series and absolutely loves them. But he also loves reading fact books too.

I think classics of children's literature that's pre 1990 or so are worth investigating, in addition to current best sellers such as JK Rowling, Dahl, David Walliams and the Wimpy kid etc.

Yes I agree re the Swallows and Amazons and value added concept. Fantastic series!

Suggestions for more advanced readers who want something a bit different:

Pony in the luggage - Gunnel Linde - Hilarious, sadly out of print but worth read if you can get a second hand copy on Amazon.
Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series
Alan Garner's Owl Service series
Lloyd Alexander - The Chronicles of Prydain series
Little house on the Prairie series
Black Beauty
Little Women
Tom Sawyer
Huckleberry Finn
Secret Garden and anything else by Frances Hodgson Burnet
Anything by E Nesbit (Railway Children, Treasure Seekers, Five children and it etc)
Carbonel series - Barbara Sleigh
Madeleine L'Engle books - Wrinkle in Time and many others
Charlotte Sometimes - Penelope Farmer
Judy Blume (do pre read for teen themes but Jacqueline Wilson also falls into this category so watch out for age- inappropriate themes),
Joan Aiken, Leon Garfield, Rosemary Sutcliffe are also worth checkking out - 70s era books iirc.

www.amazon.co.uk/Olympias-Clue-Lucy-Evans-InstaExplorer/dp/1508706042?ie=UTF8&creativeASIN=1508706042&linkCode=w00&linkId=6WEZLMYDHK3YY4US&ref_=as_sl_pc_ss_til&tag=jumpmag-21These are some lovely books for that age group.
They're good in that they're modern (Lucy has a smartphone) and include some Greek and Welsh and have references to local landmarks and culture, so educational as well as interesting!