Reviews & Recommendations

Key Stage 1 Fiction Key Stage 2 Fiction Age 11+ Fiction Top Ten Book Lists Book Reviews

Available to download below are the latest Best of Children's Fiction documents.

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Best of Children's Fiction 2004

299KB

Best of Children's Fiction 2003

765KB

The file format and the size of the document is indicated, along with any necessary relevance to curriculum subjects, although it should be assumed that most information and resources found here are completely relevant to English and literacy.

KS1 Fiction

Little Bo Peep's Library Book

Clown, Bear & Rabbit

KS2 Fiction

Toad Rage by Morris Gleitzman

A good read to anyone over the age of 8.

Also available in audio cassette format read by the author.

Tom's Private War by Robert Leeson

The year is 1939 and Tom has to cope with gas masks, blackouts & evacuees.

Fine evocation of the period and the way war affects ordinary people.

Vinegar Street by Philip Ridley

Poppy Picklesticks loves music. Mandy Nylon moves into Vinegar Street and becomes a menace.

Poppy overcomes Mandy's evil by casting a spell over the street with her music.

Funny and exciting by turns, a real page turner.

Age 11+ Fiction

Paulina by Lesley Howarth

A family do a house swap, but don't know there's a ghost.

The story is told by Rebecca who discovers the ghost, Paulina.

Recommended by the reading group at Ripon Grammar School.

Hangman by Julia Jarman

Realistic descriptions of being bullied & what can happen to the bullies.

Recommended by the reading group at Ripon Grammar School.

Top Ten Book Lists

If you would like to make a list of your favourite books, and have it published here for other children to see what you think is worth reading, please e-mail it to the address below, and don't forget to include your name, age and school.

Top Ten Book Lists

Boy, aged 9 Boy, aged 6 Boy, aged 7 Boy, aged 5 Girl, aged 8 Mother

The following Top Ten Book List is by a 9 year old boy, who is an avid reader of books, magazines and comics.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling
2.	Heir of Mystery Phillip Ardagh
3.	Feather Boy Nicky Singer
4.	Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince JK Rowling
5.	Flanimals Ricky Gervais
6.	More Flanimals Ricky Gervais
7.	Fantastic Mr Fox JK Rowling
8.	Charlie And the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
9.	Dominic's Discovery Gervase Phinn
10.	Horrible Histories: Awesome Egyptians Terry Deary

This Top Ten Book List is by a 6 year old boy, who reads to himself and enjoys comedy.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	More Flanimals Ricky Gervais
2.	Flanimals Ricky Gervais
3.	David Gets In Trouble David Shannon
4.	Cops and Robbers Allan and Janet Ahlberg
5.	Horrid Henry's Wicked Ways Francesca Simon
6.	Charlie And The Great Glass Elevator Roald Dahl
7.	Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
8.	The Omnibombulator Dick King Smith
9.	Captain Underpants and the Wrath of the Wicked Wedgie Woman Dav Pilkey
10.	George Speaks Dick King Smith

This list is by a 7 year old boy, who has been reading to himself for about a year.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling
2.	Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban JK Rowling
3.	Stig of the Dump Clive King
4.	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
5.	The Biggest Joke Book in the World Published by Parragon
6.	The Sneetches Dr. Seuss
7.	The Man Raymond Briggs
8.	On Beyond Zebra Dr. Seuss
9.	Five Fall Into Adventure Enid Blyton
10.	There's An Awful Lot Of Wierdos In My Neighbourhood Colin McNaughton

This list is by a 5 year old boy, who reads aloud to himself, and has books read to him.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	The Fastest Cars From Around The World Jonathan Wood
2.	Little Miss Stubborn Roger Hargreaves
3.	Horton Hears a Who! Dr. Seuss
4.	The Story of Oddieworld Grant Slatter & Alex Hallatt
5.	The Sneetches Dr. Seuss
6.	Stig of the Dump Clive King
7.	Frog and the Stranger Max Velthuijs
8.	Rumplestiltskin Published by Ladybird
9.	First Maths Book Published by Dorling Kindersley
10.	Thunderbirds FAB Cross-Sections Graham Bleathman

The following list is by 8 year old Bethany who reads to herself every day.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	The Story of Tracy Beaker Jacqueline Wilson
2.	The Dare Game Jacqueline Wilson
3.	Double Act Jacqueline Wilson
4.	Sleepovers Jacqueline Wilson
5.	Stig of the Dump Clive King
6.	Fairy Treasure Gwyneth Rees
7.	The Witches Roald Dahl
8.	A Bear Called Paddington Michael Bond
9.	Tales of Betsy May Enid Blyton
10.	A Series of Unfortunate Events Lemony Snickett

This list is by the mother of children who read, and have books read to them.

	Title and Author	The Top Three
1.	Charlie And The Chocolate Factory Roald Dahl
2.	The Magic Faraway Tree Enid Blyton
3.	The Hobbit JRR Tolkien
4.	Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire JK Rowling
5.	The BFG Roald Dahl
6.	Feather Boy Nicky Singer
7.	Stig of the Dump Clive King
8.	The Cat In The Hat Dr. Seuss
9.	Mr Happy Roger Hargreaves
10.	The Sneetches Dr. Seuss

Book Reviews

'Double Act' by Jacqueline Wilson

reviewed by Bethany Young (8)

'Double Act' stars two children who are twins, but they are completely different. The girls live with their Dad and Grandma because their mum had died, and their Dad has a new girlfriend. The twins absolutely hate her. They always moan about who held them first - they hope it was Mum.

One day their Dad went to a car-boot sale to sell and buy some books. He gets back very late and the girls are very worried.

Dad's girlfriend comes for dinner and Dad is late. The girls start to cry and worry about what might have happened to him, but luckily he was only late. He had brought lots of books, and in the end the girls start to like Dad's new girlfriend.

I liked Double Act because it was extremely funny. At one point the girls Ruby and Garnet tell you about when they were little and how Garnet wet herself on stage during the Christmas play.

I also liked the bit were they started writing in one of Dad's account books. At one point they tell you that their dad was once late out and how worried Garnet was.

Ruby pretended not to be bothered, but she was!

'James and the Giant Peach' by Roald Dahl

reviewed by George Wood (7)

James and the Giant Peach is a really good book because James meets some insects as big as him travelling on a really yummy peach. The insects meet some bad enemies like the cloud men and the metal sharks. The centipede is actually PROUD that he is a pest! That makes me laugh.

I have seen the video of James and the Giant Peach and I have got the book at home. I did the review about this book, because I am reading all the Roald Dahl’s at the minute and this is the one I am reading now. I have read the magazines and that was what got me into Roald Dahl. I think people who are age six or over should read these books because they make you feel curious of what is going to happen next.

'The Ersatz Elevator' - A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 6 by Lemony Snicket

reviewed by Toby Wood (9)

'The Ersatz Elevator' is my favourite book at the moment. It is the sixth book in a series of twelve and I think it is for ages eight to ten.

There are two words that I would describe it by, and they are eventful and funny. It makes me feel happy, sad and excited to find out what is going to happen next. It is good to have three clever children in a situation like the orphaned Baudelaires, who live in different places in each book. Sunny talks in a language most people do not understand and loves biting hard things. Klaus, is about my age and loves reading, like me. Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, is always inventing useful things.

In this book, a man is trying to steal their fortune and they have got two friends in trouble with a fortune of their own. There is a secret code that keeps appearing and changing, like V. F. D., which means different things in each book. I like it because it has an elevator tunnel with no elevator in it and this is a hideout for Olaf (the criminal). At the end, one of the characters turns out to be an impostor, but I won’t spoil it by telling you who. I think all young book readers should read this series, because they would like it and want to read it again.

Please help us to expand this section by writing and e-mailing book reviews which you would like to see published on eRiding to the address below.

Ann M. Walker
Schools Library Service Manager,
Council Offices,
Skirlaugh,
East Riding of Yorkshire.
Tel: (01482) 392725
Fax: (01482) 392710
E-mail: annm.walker@eastriding.gov.uk