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

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 42

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-42/

Part 1
Book post

• A Sister Like You by Sarah Hagger-Holt
• Nature is the Answer by Chris Packham
• Koroba: The Case of the Missing Kolo by Àlàbá Ònájìn
• A Holiday for Bear by Duncan Beedie
• Ug Want Hug by Nancy Leschnikoff
• Seahorse Is Furious by Morag Hood
• Marcie and Giraffe by Kim Gregory
• I'm going to make a friend by Darren Chetty and Sandhya Prabhat
• The Ice-Cream Crocodile by Mariesa Dulak and Rebecca Cobb
• Go Go Dodo! by Huw Lewis Jones, illustrated by Fred Blunt
• Princess Pete by Zoey Allen and Frenci Sanna
• King School by Alexis Deacon
• Mirabelle and the Enchanted Sea Globe by Harriet Muncaster
• Superquesters Mission: Desert Danger by Paul Ian Cross, illustrated by Katarina Gasko
• All in the Mind by Gill Arbuthnott and Lauren Humphrey
• World of Sport by Lawrence Alexander and Violeta Noy
• Ben Nuttall's Footy Factory by Ben Nuttall
• Rise of the Goblin Queen by Francesco Bedini, illustrated by Stefano Tambellini
• Dragonflare by Jamie Hammond
• The Genie Game by Jordan Ifueko
• The Ministry of Manners by David Solomons
• Dragonborn 2: The Twilight Child by Struan Murray
• Max and Ella, Stuck Together by Kristina Rahim
• Like a Brother by Nathanael Lessore
• Your Murder Next by Ravena Guron
• The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst
• Storm Bringer by Tig Wallace
• Seyoon and Dean, Unscripted by Sujin Witherspoon

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

• The Children of Wolf Rock by Natasha Farrant
• Wildheart by Bec Manser
• Six Weeks by Matt Goodfellow
• Strike by Mitch Johnson
• Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni
• Bone Head: Guardian of the Underworld by Jamie Gregory
• The Game Changers by Helen Rutter
• How To Train Your Dragon School: Fight of the Flamestrike by Cressida Cowell
• Transcendent: Forgotten Earth by Patrick Gallagher
• Dave, Don't Give Up! by Olaf Falafel
• The Othernauts: A Laugh-Out-Loud Ancient Greek Adventure for Kids! by Clare Pollard
• A Flood of Memories by Nadia Mikail
• The Blue Tomato by Amber Au
• Marvolution by Claire Asher
• She's a Knockout by Britney Brouwer
• Coterie of Liars by Kate Weston
• Winners and Liars by Aleema Omotoni
• Tales of the Cobb Street Commandos by Tony Bradman
• I Knew You Were Trouble by J L Simmonds
• Libertad by Cassandra James
• Again! said Rabbit by Marjoke Henrichs
• A Holiday for Bear by Duncan Beedie
• What a Night! by Guilherme Karsten
• Survive in Time: The Roman Empire by Dave Rear
• Death Before Detention by Alison Weatherby
• Just Another Dead Boy by Kelly McCaughrain
• I, Rock by Eoin McLaughlin
• The Silver Kingdom by Radiya Hafiza
• The Boy, the Father, and the Bear by Per Gustavsson
• The Old Man and the Penguin by Julie Abery

June 2026 books of the month

• Fiction: Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller by Amelia Tait
• Nonfiction: Pop-Up Dinosaurium by Chris Wormell
• Picture book: Bart is Different by Barroux

Part 2
Books to support International Transgender Day of Visibility

New book pitches: A Poem A Day by Tara Ali, Dyrne Hill by Chris Dewar & Bibble Bobble Wibble Wobble by Terence Begnor

Part 3
How to ensure reading can be unlocked by things children and teens already love

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

Support the show