Reading with your child is the most useful, productive, powerful and enjoyable activity to do at home that will not only help them achieve at school, but also strengthen your relationship. That’s why we left weekly homework behind some years ago; we want to make sure EVERY child (and grown-up) at Coleham Primary School LOVES reading as much as their teachers do!
Reading with your child is a lot more than just hearing them read their school books – here are some ideas to help you and your child develop a love of reading:
Please do contact your child’s teacher or the reading team if you would like any more advice about sharing reading with your child.
The Reading Team
We LOVE reading at Coleham! Below is a list of 100 books we think every child should have a read of before they leave Coleham Primary School. The list is not exhaustive, nor exclusive – there are LOADS of excellent books that didn’t quite make it on to the list. However, it is a good range of different types of books for all children (and parents!) to enjoy.
All traditional fairy tales, including: |
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1 |
The Magic Porridge Pot |
2 |
The Gingerbread Man |
3 |
Jack & The Beanstalk |
4 |
Little Red Riding Hood |
5 |
Three Little Pigs – Traditional |
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Well-Loved Classic Picture Books: |
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6 |
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle |
7 |
Funnybones – Allan & Janet Ahlberg |
8 |
Where The Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak |
9 |
The Tiger Who Came To Tea – Judith Kerr |
10 |
Not Now, Bernard! – David McKee |
11 |
Owl Babies – Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson |
12 |
Peace at Last – Jill Murphy |
13 |
Whatever Next! – Jill Murphy |
14 |
On The Way Home – Jill Murphy |
15 |
The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch – Ronda & David Armitage |
16 |
The Jolly Postman – Allan & Janet Ahlberg |
17 |
Dogger – Shirley Hughes |
18 |
The Forest Child – Richard Edwards |
19 |
Voices In The Park – Anthony Browne |
20 |
Zoo – Anthony Browne |
21 |
The Tunnel – Anthony Browne |
22 |
The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson |
23 |
Room On The Broom – Julia Donaldson |
24 |
Fungus The Bogeyman – Raymond Briggs |
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Contemporary Picture Books: |
|
25 |
Emily Brown And The Thing – Cressida Cowell |
26 |
The Selfish Crocodile – Faustin Charles |
27 |
The Wolf’s Story – Toby Forward |
28 |
Oi Frog! series – Kes Gray & Jim Field |
29 |
The Crocodile Who Didn’t Like Water – Gemma Merino |
30 |
Lost And Found – Oliver Jeffers |
31 |
The Day The Crayons Quit – Oliver Jeffers |
32 |
Open Very Carefully – Nick Bromley & Nicola O’Byrne |
33 |
I want My Hat Back – Jon Klaasen |
34 |
We Found A Hat – Jon Klassen |
35 |
This Is Not My Hat – Jon Klaasen |
36 |
Tuesday – David Wiesner |
37 |
On Sudden Hill – Linda Sarah |
38 |
Granddad’s Island – Benji Davies |
39 |
Weasels – Elis Dolan |
40 |
Rabbits – Shaun Tan |
41 |
Window – Jeannie Baker (a book with no words) |
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Narratives for Younger Children (KS1 – Lower KS2) |
|
42 |
Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown |
43 |
Mango & Bambang – Polly Faber & Clara Vulliamy |
44 |
Pugs Of The Frozen North – Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntyre |
45 |
The Twits – Roald Dahl |
46 |
Fantastic Mr Fox – Roald Dahl |
47 |
George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl |
48 |
James And The Giant Peach – Roald Dahl |
49 |
The BFG – Roald Dahl |
50 |
The Last Polar Bears – Harry Horse |
51 |
The Owl Who Was Afraid Of The Dark – Jill Tomlinson |
52 |
The Little Prince – Antoine De Saint-Exupery & Irene Testot-Ferry |
53 |
The Iron Man – Ted Hughes |
54 |
How The Whale Became – Ted Hughes |
55 |
Just-So Stories – Rudyard Kipling |
56 |
Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White |
57 |
The Wind In The Willows – Kenneth Grahame |
58 |
The Firework Maker’s Daughter – Philip Pullman |
59 |
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling |
60 |
The Odyssey - Homer |
61 |
Mr Gum (series) – Andy Stanton |
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Narratives for Older Children (Lower KS2 – Upper KS2) |
|
62 |
Robin Hood – Traditional |
63 |
The Labours Of Hercules – Ancient Greek Myth |
64 |
Tales From 1001 Nights – Traditional Arabian |
65 |
Kensuki’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo |
66 |
Odd And The Frost Giants – Neil Gaiman |
67 |
The Graveyard Book – Neil Gaiman |
68 |
The Animals Of Farthing Wood – Colin Dann |
69 |
The Witches – Roald Dahl |
70 |
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien |
71 |
Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian |
72 |
Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden |
73 |
Watership Down – Richard Adams |
74 |
Wonder – R.J. Palacio |
75 |
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson |
76 |
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins |
77 |
Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling |
78 |
The Call Of The Wild – Jack London |
79 |
Holes – Louis Sachar |
80 |
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea – Jules Verne |
81 |
The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe – C.S. Lewis |
82 |
The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne |
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Poetry: |
|
83 |
Michael Rosen’s A-Z Of Children’s Poetry – Michael Rosen |
84 |
Please, Mrs Butler! – Allan Ahlberg |
85 |
Gargling With Jelly – Brian Patten |
86 |
The Highwayman – Alfred Noyes |
87 |
The Rattlebag – Seamus Heaney |
88 |
Revolting Rhymes – Roald Dahl |
89 |
Dirty Beasts – Roald Dahl |
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Shakespeare: |
|
90 |
The Tempest |
91 |
Macbeth |
92 |
Julius Caesar |
93 |
Henry V |
94 |
Romeo & Juliet |
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Biography: |
|
95 |
The Diary Of Anne Frank – Anne Frnk |
96 |
Star Stuff: Carl Sagan & The mysteries Of The Universe – Stephanie Roth Sisson |
97 |
Boy – Roald Dahl |
98 |
Little People, Big Dreams (series) – Various Authors |
99 |
On A Beam Of Light: A Story Of Albert Einstein – Jennifer Berne |
100 |
Who Says Women Can’t Be Doctors? The Story Of Elizabeth Blackwell – Tanya Lee Stone |