School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 45

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-45/

Part 1
Book post

• Bang!: Join the adventures of a boy and his grandad! by Sam Usher
• I Saw a Tree by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field
• How to Scare Blue Monster by Petr Horáček
• The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbours by Chloe Savage
• Who Said Boo? by Jeanne Willis, illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald
• A Smile by Raoul Follereau, illustrated by Hoda Hadadi
• Frankenkitty by Maudie Powell-Tuck, illustrated by Mini Grey
• Rapunzel is a Lettuce: Poems to Grow With by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Shirley Hottier
• Behind the Scenes by Hannah Cockayne, illustrated by Åsa Gilland
• Ghost and Toast: Slice to Meet You! by Phil Corbett
• Grimwood: The Fast and the Furriest by Nadia Shireen
• Olivia Shivers: Spooky Special Agent by Derek Keilty, illustrated by Louis Ghibault
• Earth Ever After by Elin Manon
• How to Do (Almost) Everything by Becky Baines, illustrated by Laurie Avon
• Dead Yard: Deep Trouble by P.J. Killburn, illustrated by Markia Jenai
• When the Birds Wake Up by Jessica Ellis, illustrated by Sophie Burrows
• Cleopatra’s Amulet by Lindsay Galvin
• The Wildcat and the Gathering Storm by Lui Sit, illustrated by David Dean
• The Courage to Be Yourself by Fumitake Koga
• Hawk & Sparrow by Ayana Gray
• A Witch’s Guide to Love and Deception by Aamna Qureshi
• Are You Still Watching by Kelechi Okafor
• Anger Is Only a Shadow by Elizabeth Acevedo

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books in September 2026

• How to Understand and Apply AI by Sam Hutchinson, illustrated by Ste Johnson
• Mirabelle and the Potions Fair by Harriet Muncaster
• Moth the Veggie Vampire by Dotty Sutton
• The Notted Island by Katherine Child
• Game of Pets by Aaron Blabey
• Girl with a Sabretooth Tiger by Jasbinder Bilan
• The Sky We Share by Laura Knowles, illustrated by Mariana Ruiz Johnson
• Poop Stars by Emer Stamp, illustrated by Monika Filipina
• Dawn Horse by Grahame Baker-Smith
• The Moonlight Dragon by Liz Flanagan
• The Raven's Gift by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illustrated by Tom de Freston
• Filthy by Lucy Cuthew
• The Age of Fury by John Stephens
• Swim, Little Otter by Tom McCaughren and Erika McGann
• The Soulmate Bakery by Safa Ahmed
• Building 903 by Lois Lowry
• The Grand Bug Hotel by Ziggy Hanaor, illustrated by Ollie Silvester
• Dungeon Runners: Forest Frenzy by Kieran Larwood
• I Wonder If I'm Growing by Raffi, illustrated by Jon Klassen
• Aberfan: A Family Story by Jack Lewis
• Hometown by Shaun Tan
• The Christmas Book by Katherine Woodfine, illustrated by Lizzy Stewart
• SPYGLASS: Coldfinger by David Solomons
• Fear Files: A Trick of the Light by Christopher Edge
• A Scrap of Moss and Magick by Helen Parry
• Big Thoughts: Catch and Release Your Worries by Laura Dockrill
• Where Snow Angels Go by Maggie O'Farrell
• The Paper Girl by Caryl Lewis
• Yearning Difficulties by Elle McNicoll
• One Last Scare by Bill Wood
• Follow Me Moon by Colleen Larmour

September 2026 books of the month

• Fiction: Yearning Difficulties by Elle McNicoll
• Nonfiction: Mountain, Boulder, Pebble, Sand by Rebecca Van Slyke
• Picture book: Desert Flowers by Jairo Buitrago

Part 2

K-Pop books for children and teens

New book pitches: Reading Laughing Learning series by Thomas Heinrichs, Leo and the Dragon of Sound by Stephanie Thomas & Bibble Bobble Wibble Wobble by Terence Begnor

Part 3
Should Every School Be Legally Required to Have a Library?

Credits & licensing
Sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 44

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-44/

Part 1
Book post

• The First Works of Shakespeare by Adam Thompson
• Beacons of Light by Gemma Koomen
• Hell to Pay by Lora Beth Johnson
• Ziggy the Caterpillar's Zigzag Adventure by Beatrice Simpkiss
• Small Stanley's Big List of Scary Stuff by Angie Morgan
• The Sound of a Smile by Louise Greig and David Litchfield
• Duck Delivers . . . Cake! by Tom Tinn-Disbury
• Captain Sunshine by Alex Milway
• Cats! Cats! Cats! by Susan Martineau, illustrated by Vicky Barker
• The Wood Where Stories Sing by Andy Shepherd, illustrated by Ellie Snowdon
• They Sent a Cat to Saturn by Valerie Bloom, illustrated by Ken Wilson-Max
• Weather, Camera, Action! by Liam Dutton and Giordano Poloni
• Diary of a Number One Superfan by Pamela Butchart, illustrated by Gemma Correll
• The Summer My Wishes Came True by Radhika Sanghani
• The Silver Dwarf by Victor Kloss
• The Horse Dreamer by Holly Surplice
• How to Steal the Future by Christopher Edge
• Elfie’s Spellbook by Christophe Arleston and Audrey Alwett, illustrated by Mini Ludvin, translated by Anam Zafar
• Evie in Venice by Bruna De Luca
• Augusta Pine Does Not Exist by Emily Lloyd-Jones
• Local Gods by Melinda Salisbury
• Blood of Gods and Girls by Katja Kaine
• Where Lost Girls Go by Kody Keplinger
• Heledd's Song by Fiona Collins
• Thornbird by E. Kennedy

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books in August 2026

• A House Made of Books by Frankie Gritton
• The Handbook of Forgotten Skills... Outdoors by Iron Tazz
• Myths of Japan by Masako Carey
• Body by DK
• I Am Going To Jump This Log by Stephanie Stansbie
• Elementals: Peo Saves the Trees by Love Ssega
• We Became Wild by H. D. Carver
• Thorn by A.F. Harrold
• War by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin
• Aviarium by Dominic Couzens, illustrated by Teagan White
• Then We’ll Be Happy by Alan Carrigan
• The Waking Wood by Alexi Francis
• Princess (Apparently) by Siren Knight
• My Bayeux Tapestry by Olivier Latyk
• Neverlast by Sue H. Cunningham
• The Flying Machine of Dreams by Kate Wakeling
• Bison Rule, OK! by Sarah Ziman
• The Green Child by Hollie Hughes
• The Sign of the Raven by Pippa Dunn
• A History of the City by Leo Hollis
• No Tune Ned by Oliver Lendon
• The Weirdest Thing of All by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Ed Vere
• The Neverfear by Katherine Rundell
• Cut Him Out in Little Stars by Lucy Strange
• Jamaal Target: PHANTOM Agent by Isaac Hamilton-McKenzie
• Traitors’ Nest by Frances Hardinge
• All the Queens’ Curses by Alyssa Hollingsworth
• Natural Selection by Clare Edge
• Revolution! by Dr Joan Lennon
• Into the Dark: Adventures of Night-time Animals by Saskia Gwinn
• Spindlewood by Freddie Kölsch

August 2026 books of the month

• Fiction: Traitors' Nest by Frances Hardinge
• Nonfiction: Aviarium by Teagan White and Dominic Couzens
• Picture book: The Waking Wood by Alexi Francis

Part 2

Books to read during school detentions

New book pitches: Reading Laughing Learning series by Thomas Heinrichs, Leo and the Dragon of Sound by Stephanie Thomas & Bibble Bobble Wibble Wobble by Terence Begnor

Part 3
Reading for Pleasure should be reading without surveillance, monitoring, or comparison

Credits & licensing
Sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 43

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-43/

Part 1
Book post

• Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller by Amelia Tait
• Pop-Up Dinosaurium by Chris Wormell
• Bart is Different by Barroux
• Biguana: And His Best Friend Pinto by Michael Parkin
• Again! said Rabbit by Marjoke Henrichs
• Max and the Haircut by Samareh Azardi
• The Blue Tomato by Amber Aü
• Are You Looking At Me? by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Enrico Lorenzi
• The Old Man and the Penguin by Julie Abery and Pierre Pratt
• Superheroes in the Park by Ian Eagleton and Hayley Wells
• Food For All by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith
• The Fawn Who Chased The Sun by Joanna McInerney, Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Thi Kim Lien
• G.O.A.T.: The Greatest of All Time! by Karelle Tobias, illustrated by Harry Briggs
• Tales of the Cobb Street Commandos by Tony Bradman
• Wildheart by Bec Manser
• The Othernauts by Clare Pollard
• Wishbound by Clemency Brown
• Honey, I Ate the Kids by Kerry Hyndman and Mike Hills
• Transcendent: Forgotten Earth by Patrick Gallagher
• Bone Head: Guardian of the Underworld by Jamie Gregory
• Strike by Mitch Johnson
• The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi by Ester Gaya, illustrated by Katie Scott
• Six Weeks by Matt Goodfellow
• A Flood of Memories by Nadia Mikail
• Winners and Liars by Aleema Omotoni
• Libertad by Cassandra James
• The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni
• Fake Out Make Out by Kate Williams

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books in July 2026

• The First Works of Shakespeare by Adam Thompson
• The Summer My Wishes Came True by Radhika Sanghani
• How to Lose Yourself Completely by Peter Bognanni
• Othello by William Shakespeare
• How to Steal the Future by Christopher Edge
• Captain Sunshine by Alex Milway
• Evie in Venice by Bruna De Luca
• Blood of Gods and Girls by Katja Kaine
• Beacons of Light by Gemma Koomen
• Thornbird by E. Kennedy
• Ziggy the Caterpillar’s Zigzag Adventure by Beatrice Simpkiss
• They Sent a Cat to Saturn by Valerie Bloom
• Ray by Marianna Coppo
• Where Lost Girls Go by Kody Keplinger
• Us and Them by James Carter
• Eternally Yours by Anika Hussain
• The Sound of a Smile by Louise Greig
• When I Was a Wolf by Liz Flanagan
• Outlaws by E. L. Norry
• And Now We Run by Nicola Penfold
• Elfie's Spellbook by Christophe Arleston & Audrey Alwett
• Heledd's Song by Fiona Collins
• Mysterious Things by Andy J. Pizza & Sophie Miller
• A Day Off School by Oliver Jeffers
• Murder at the Mansion by Paul Westmoreland
• Step Inside Homes Through History by Goldie Hawk
• Zero Override by Steve Blackman
• Hell to Pay by Lora Beth Johnson
• My Big Fat Smelly Poo Diary 5: The Phantom Pooper by Jim Smith
• Diary of a Number One Superfan by Pamela Butchart
• Weather, Camera, Action! by Liam Dutton

July 2026 books of the month

• Fiction: Hell to Pay by Lora Beth Johnson
• Nonfiction: Beacons of Light by Gemma Koomen
• Picture book: The First Works of Shakespeare by Adam Thompson

Part 2
Books for teenage boys who don’t like reading

New book pitches: Reading Laughing Learning series by Thomas Heinrichs, Leo and the Dragon of Sound by Stephanie Thomas & Bibble Bobble Wibble Wobble by Terence Begnor

Part 3
What happens when children spend the book budget?

Credits & licensing
Sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show