Southborough Church of England Primary School
Southborough Church of England Primary School
Top Books
Top Books
If your child is reluctant to read, sometimes it is just a matter of finding the right book to capture their interest – be it football or magic, or books crammed with facts that they can dip in and out of, rather than fiction. If your child already enjoys reading, sometimes it’s hard to know in which direction to point them for their next book as there are so many books available. This page of Top Books should help everyone. Have a look at the list of some of the top titles and authors, and look at the book reviews produced by children at Southborough where books are recommended by children for children.
Book Reviews
If your child has really enjoyed a book, we would love you to encourage them to write a short review of it (guidelines and templates below). They can give a copy to their class teacher or send it by email to bookreviews@Southborough.kent.sch.uk. By writing a review of the book they have just read, your child can help someone else decide whether they would like to read it too – and they may be chosen as Southborough School’s ‘Reviewer of the Month’.
How to write a Book Review
1. What is the name of the book and who wrote it? Start with the name of the book and the person who wrote it (the author).
2. What is the book about? Is it fiction or non-fiction? Describe what the book is about, or outline the story (the plot); in other words, describe the main things that happen in the story. Think about the beginning and the end of the story and what happens in the middle to link the first and the final scenes.
3. Where and when does the story take place? This is the setting of the story, for example ‘where’ – does most of the story take place in England, or in another country (real or imaginary), or in a school or a museum or on a farm? ‘When’ - is the story set in the present or the future, or a long time ago?
4. Who are the main characters? Describe one or two of the characters in the story - perhaps the funniest, the kindest, or the most evil? How did the character make you feel? What is their role in the story?
5. Describe your favourite part of the book. What are the best bits of the book? Was there a particular piece of action you really enjoyed, or a really funny part, or perhaps a scary part?
6. Do you recommend this book? Did you choose to read this book whenever you had a spare moment? Did you read it rather than playing computer games or watching TV? Or maybe you found some of the plot a bit slow and boring? Perhaps you read the first chapter then gave up? Give your rating out of 5 stars.
Recommended Reading
The suggested age ranges below are intended as a very rough guide. It doesn’t matter if your child prefers to read books outside of the suggested age range; what matters is that it is the right reading level for them.
Use the ’Five-Finger Rule’ to check. First get your child to read one page of a book they want to try. Hold up a finger every time they see a word they can’t read or don’t know the meaning of:
0-1 fingers = the book is too easy
2-3 fingers = just right
4 fingers = okay to try
5+ fingers = too hard.
| Ages 6 - 8 (Years 1 - 3) |
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The Enchanted Wood – Enid Blyton Five on a Treasure Island – Enid Blyton A Bear Called Paddington – Michael Bond The Milly-Molly-Mandy Storybook – Joyce Lankester Brisley Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown Clarice Bean, That’s Me – Lauren Child Princess Smartypants – Babette Cole That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown – Cressida Cowell The BFG – Roald Dahl The Story of Babar – Jean De Brunhoff My Naughty Little Sister – Dorothy Edwards Asterix the Gaul – René Goscinny Amazing Grace – Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binch The Abominables – Eva Ibbotson Finn Family Moomintroll – Tove Jansson The Queen’s Nose – Dick King-Smith The Sheep-Pig – Dick King-Smith Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren Winnie-the-Pooh – A A Milne The Worst Witch – Jill Murphy Football Academy series – Tom Palmer The True Story of the Three Little Pigs– Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith A Boy and a Bear in a Boat – Dave Shelton Horrid Henry – Francesca Simon & Tony Ross The Arrival – Shaun Tan Charlotte’s Web – E B White Little House in the Big Woods – Laura Ingalls Wilder Mister Magnolia – Quentin Blake |
| Ages 9+ (Years 4 - 6) |
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The Wolves of Willoughby Chase – Joan Aiken Skellig – David Almond Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer Millions – Frank Cottrell Boyce The Witches – Roald Dahl Matilda – Roald Dahl & Quentin Blake Flour Babies – Anne Fine Once – Morris Gleitzman The Adventures of Tintin – Hergé Young Bond: Silverfin – Charlie Higson Journey to the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson Stig of the Dump – Clive King Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C S Lewis Goodnight Mister Tom – Michelle Magorian Private Peaceful – Michael Morpurgo Pinocchio – Michael Morpurgo A Monster Calls – Patrick Ness The Borrowers – Mary Norton Keeper – Mal Peet Over the Line – Tom Palmer Truckers – Terry Pratchett South Sea Adventure – Willard Price Swallows and Amazons – Arthur Ransome Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J K Rowling Holes – Louis Sachar The Little Prince – Antoine de Saint-Exupery Five Children on the Western Front – Kate Saunders Dead Man’s Cove – Lauren St John Ballet Shoes – Noel Streatfeild The Hobbit – J R R Tolkien Demon Dentist/Mr Stink/Awful Auntie/Billionaire Boy/Gangsta Granny – David Walliams The Story of Tracy Beaker – Jacqueline Wilson |
| Ages 11/12+ (Year 6 plus) |
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Watership Down – Richard Adams Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman Forever – Judy Blume Junk – Melvin Burgess Looking for JJ – Anne Cassidy The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman Maggot Moon – Sally Gardner The Owl Service – Alan Garner Coram Boy – Jamila Gavin The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time – Mark Haddon Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz The Kite Rider – Geraldine McCaughrean The Knife of Never Letting Go – Patrick Ness Northern Lights – Philip Pullman The Ruby in the Smoke – Philip Pullman Witch Child – Celia Rees Mortal Engines – Philip Reeve Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Louise How I Live Now – Meg Rosoff Revolver – Marcus Sedgwick I Capture the Castle – Dodie Smith The Fellowship of the Ring – J R R Tolkien |