School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 30

For transcripts, resources, show notes and contact details, see https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-30/

Part 1
Book post

• Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Our Tree by Jessica Meserve
• We are All Animals by Ben Hoare and Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Mark Ruffle
• Real-life Mysteries: Tales of Scary Beasts by Susan Martineau, illustrated by Vicky Barker
• How Not to Share a Pizza by Tracy Curren, illustrated by Lauren Beard
• I Am Strong Just Being Me by Laura Dockrill and Kip Alizadeh
• Hank Goes Honk by Maudie Powell-Tuck and Duncan Beedie
• Blue, Barry and Pancakes 2 by Dan Abdo & Jason Patterson
• Jack-Jack and the Return of the Chickens by Ben Garrod
• The Boy with Big Decisions by Helen Rutter
• The First Year by Matt Goodfellow
• Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed by Eve Wersocki Morris
• Dreamslinger by Graci Kim
• Not That Kind Of Hero by Alexia Casale
• Solo by Grainne O'Brien
• Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books to buy in May 2025

• Land of the Last Wildcat by Lui Sit
• A Flash of Neon by Sophie Cameron
• I'm Going to Make a Friend by Darren Chetty & Sandhya Prabhat
• So Devin Wore a Skirt by Shireen Lalji & Lucy Fleming
• Traumaland by Josh Silver
• Valley of the Vikings by Liz Kessler
• Evie and Maryam's Family Tree by Janeen Hayat
• Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson
• Piet Cools Off by Peter & Carina Wohlleben
• The Boy in the Tree by Lisa Thompson
• The Thrashers by Julie Soto
• Breakthrough by Omar Sharif
• Epic Cities by Sam Sedgman & Daniel Long
• The Other Girl by Emily Barr
• Get Dressed! By Katy Canales
• Epic FACTopia! By Rose Davidson
• The Glass Heart by Sally Gardner
• Letters to a Dog by Piers Torday
• SuperQuesters Mission: River Crest Rescue by Paul Ian Cross
• Out There in the Wild by James Carter, Dom Conlon & Nicola Davies
• A Killing at the Box Office by Paul Westmoreland
• The World of Maxime by Lucile de Pesloan
• Stitch Head: The Pirate's Eye by Guy Bass & Pete Williamson
• The Squid Squad by Aoife Dooley
• Little Lim and the Golden Treasure by Frann Preston-Gannon
• The Blockbusters! By Frank Cottrell-Boyce
• The Battle of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron
• The Man Who Loved Libraries by Andrew Larsen & Katty Maure
• I Dare You by Tamsin Winter
• Aliya and the Shop of Second Chances by Laila Rifaat
• All the Lost Souls by Amie Jordan

May 2025 books of the month

• Fiction: A Flash of Neon by Sophie Cameron
• Nonfiction: Volcano by Claire Saxby & Jess Racklyeft
• Picture book: I'm going to make a friend by Darren Chetty & Sandhya Prabhat

Part 2
Our recommended books for preschool

New book pitches: The Fighting Spirit by Rob Keeley, Zee Zee The Humble Bee by Michael Obiora. Molly the Moo by Paul Simpson

Part 3
Investing in Your School Library Can Boost Your School Inspection Grade!

Credits and licensing
3rd party sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 29

For transcripts, resources, show notes and contact details, see https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-29/

Part 1
Book post

• Mr Norton's New Hat by Huw Lewis Jones and Corey Egbert
• Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica by Alison Lester & Coral Tulloch
• Please Don't Read the Footnotes Please by Rob Walton, illustrated by Reena Makwana
• Meet Amber Class by Enomwoyi Damali, illustrated by Ruthine Burton
• Bad Panda: For Sale by Swapna Haddow
• Grumpfort by Jamie Hammond
• Solving Crimes Is NOT My Superpower by Nathanael Lessore, illustrated by Simran Diamond Singh
• The Magnificent Book of Trees by Tony Russell, illustrated by Val Walerczuk & Simon Treadwell
• Rebel Heart by Ally Sherrick
• School of Doom by Sarah Harrison
• Beastlands: Legend of the Crystal Caves by Jess French
• Fury, Fire and Frost by Robert Muchamore
• Missing Link by Anthony Kessel
• Normal Women Making History for 900 Years by Philippa Gregory
• Nightweaver by R. M. Gray

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books to buy in April 2025

• Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
• The Line They Drew Through Us by Hiba Noor Khan
• Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed by Eve Wersocki Morris
• Peregrine Quinn and the Mask of Chaos by Ash Bond
• The Boy with Big Decisions by Helen Rutter
• Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Not That Kind Of Hero by Alexia Casale
• The First Year by Matt Goodfellow
• The Last House in the Row by Lesley Parr
• Odd Girl Out by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid
• Fishfolk by Steven Quincey-Jones
• I Am Raven by Alastair Chisholm
• Snails of the Unexpected by Terrie Chilvers
• Light by Jess Wade & Ana Sanfelippo
• Michael Rosen's Pocket Shakespeare by Michael Rosen & Chris Riddell
• Life (As We Know It) by Ziggy Hanaor & Cristobal Schmal
• Weird Philosophy by Brandon Robshaw
• Becoming Grace by Hilary McKay
• The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood by Farhana Islam
• Hercules: Hero to Zero? By Tom Vaughan
• Matched Up by Jenny Ireland
• The Girl with the Red Boots by Alex Wheatle
• What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore
• Botticelli's Apprentice by Ursula Murray Husted
• The Mirror World by Femi Fadugba
• Rainforest by DK
• Starminster: The Month of Birthdays by Megan Hopkins
• Food for All by Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith
• Quiet Riot by Nadia Finer
• Our Tree by Jessica Meserve

April 2025 books of the month

• Fiction: Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Nonfiction: We are All Animals by Ben Hoare and Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Mark Ruffle
• Picture book: Our Tree by Jessica Meserve

Part 2
Our recommended books for reception classrooms

New book pitches: Oakley the Superhero by Roxanne Constantine; The Tilly and Harry Adventures by Ashton Moon; Danny the Ducky and Gilly the Goose by Dushka Petkovich

Part 3
Do Children Read More Than We Think?

Credits and licensing
3rd party sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 28

For transcripts, resources, show notes and contact details, see https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-28/

Part 1
Book post

• Diary Of A Future Billionaire by Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Wotto
• Surviving Vesuvius by Christopher Harrisson, illustrated by Beth Waters
• Paloma Flies Away by María J. Guarda
• I Really Really Love My Noisy Bum by Karl Newson and Duncan Beedie
• Let’s Play Rugby by Gordon D’Arcy and Paul Howard
• Detective Stanley and the Mystery at the Museum by Hannah Tunnicliffe and Erica Harrison
• The Notwitches by Gary Panton, illustrated by Dotty Sutton
• Be the Change by Robin Greenfield and Antonia Banyard
• Speedwheels 3000: The Race Against Crime by Jenny Pearson, illustrated by Katie Kear and Nick East
• School for Fireflies by Erica Gomez
• Shiver Point: Beneath the Ghostly Graves by Gabriel Dylan
• Red Flags by Sophie Jo
• Mondays are Murder by Ravena Guron

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books to buy in March 2025

• The Magnificent Book of Trees by Tony Russell
• Mr Norton's New Hat by Huw Lewis Jones & Corey Egbert
• The Bookshop Dog by Harriet Evans
• Mary Fowler: Football Legends by Kit Cross
• Noura's Crescent Moon by Zainab Khan
• Wolf in the City by Rachel Tilda Wolf
• Nightweaver by R.M. Gray
• Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai
• The Deadly Fates by Dhonielle Clayton
• Meet the Mubbles by Liz Pichon
• Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna
• Wild Magic: Legend of the Black Lion by Abiola Bello
• Dadbot by Jack Noel
• Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan
• When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain
• A Home Is A Nest by Emma Carlisle
• While We’re Young by K.L Walther
• The Greatest Stuff on Earth by Steve Tomecek
• The Appletree Animal Agency by Katya Balen
• Please Don't Read The Footnotes Please by Rob Walton
• After by Padraig Kenny
• Puloma and the Bear by Jasbinder Bilan
• See Inside AI by Alex Frith & Victoria Williams
• Encyclopedia of Birds by Jules Howard
• Away by Megan E. Freeman
• Keep Smashing It by Jodie Ounsley
• Bronte Tempestra and the Weather Witch by Bex Hogan
• Hidden Treasure by Jessie Burton
• The Beck by Anthony McGowan
• Bigg School: Scaredy Cat by Lisa Williamson
• Serial Chillers: The Witch in the Woods by Jennifer Killick

March 2025 books of the month

• Fiction: Please Don't Read the Footnotes Please by Rob Walton, illustrated by Reena Makwana
• Nonfiction: Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica by Alison Lester and Coral Tulloch
• Picture book: Mr Norton's New Hat by Huw Lewis Jones and Corey Egbert

Part 2
Our recommended books for year 1 classrooms

New book pitches:• Oakley the Superhero by Roxanne Constantine; The Tilly and Harry Adventures by Ashton Moon; Danny the Ducky and Gilly the Goose by Dushka Petkovich

Part 3
Is it time to rethink dressing up for World Book Day?

Credits and licensing
3rd party sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show