No catches, no fine print just unconditional book love and reading recommendations for your students and children.
You can create your own school's page, develop tailored reading lists to share with peers and parents...all helping encourage reading for pleasure in your children.
Find out moreAre you a fan of Reading Scheme books? Check out all of our Reading Scheme book selections, read reviews, download extracts and you can order the book too!
Independent Reading Gold 9 | Pip is shunned by the other penguins because his large wings are not normal. They reject all his offers of help and turn him away to face winter alone. But from the top of his hill he can see danger approaching in the form of a hungry seal. Racing to warn the others, Pip trips, falls, flaps his wings and flies. He frightens off the surprised seal and the other penguins realise they have been unkind. They point out their own flaws and recognise “we are all different” but “we are all penguins”. A lovely positive message of acceptance and inclusion in this attractive story, part of the Reading Champion series designed for independent reading. The carefully written text has been levelled at Book Band Gold 9. Readers working at this level in class will be able to read this engaging story independently and with growing confidence. Guidance notes at the end will support parents and carers to help their child reflect on the story and build on class discussion at this level of different kinds of sentences. A fun story order puzzle will encourage children to re-tell the story in their own words and to understand the sequencing of events in this enjoyable and stimulating story that is bound to provoke much discussion about the injustice of the treatment of poor, brave, Pip!
Reading Planet - Level 7: Fiction (Saturn) | Life has not been kind to orphaned Jane Eyre. Treated harshly by her Aunt Reed and bullied by her spoiled cousins, Jane is glad to be sent to Lowood School to receive an education. Finally, she can be free of her uncaring family and learn how to make her own way in the world. Years of studying pass, until finally, Jane takes on her first job as a governess to a young girl in the remote Thornfield Hall. Jane tries to convince herself that the strange noises she hears in the night are just the creakings of an old house ... but soon a deeper mystery begins to unfold, and long hidden family secrets will soon be revealed.
Reading Planet KS2 - - Level 6: Jupiter/Blue band | Leap into the fascinating world of Artificial Intelligence, in which cars drive themselves, robots become footballing champions, and tiny nanobots track down and kill diseases within the body! Learn what 'artificial intelligence' actually is and how it can be used to help humans now and in the future. Are you ready to find out more about this brave new world?
Level 5 - National Geographic Kids Reader | Newly adapted to British English and the Key Stage 2 Curriculum and benefitting, as do all the National Geographic Kids excellent series of readers, from their archive of superlative photography, this Face to Face series gives a fascinating insight into the skills, techniques and routines of the wild-life photographers who capture such wonderful images. Brian Skerry here shares treasured family moments as his 11-year old daughter is befriended by a manatee calf and the reader can share his genuine respect and interest in these gentle and increasingly vulnerable sea mammals. A carefully balanced account shows how manatees have in some cases gained from human developments such as power stations providing the warm water and expanding their habitable areas as well as the obvious dangers caused by pollution and increasing numbers of boats. The reader learns about their worldwide distribution and conservation issues as well as fascinating facts about their, place in myth, legend, history and biology. They are, in fact, most closely related to elephants! At Level 5 the text contains some complex, technical language and varied sentence structures suitable for a confident, independent readers, but the image quality, design and layout will engage readers and support understanding. Research skills are also facilitated with the help of all the correct information text features such as contents page, and excellent index and glossary.
Book Band: Dark Red Ideal for ages 10+ | Catherine Johnson writes terrific historical novels, and this story of the adventures of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas is more thrilling by far than most fiction. Thomas-Alexandre was the father of writer Alexandre Dumas and believed to have provided the inspiration for his classic, The Three Musketeers. We follow him through his childhood, a mixed-race child growing up in Haiti, sold into slavery as a teenager by his aristocrat father to pay off gambling debts; bought back and trained in swordsmanship, before joining the Dragoons. Johnson brings him vividly to life, a man driven by a passion for equality and liberty, and ready to fight for it. In the excellent new Bloomsbury Readers series, this story is written specifically to help children grow reading confidence and understanding. A separate ‘Reading Zone’ section at the end suggests activities to do while and after reading, and includes a quiz to test your knowledge. .
Reading Planet KS2 - Level 7: Saturn/Blue-Red band | Get ready to explore the world of William Shakespeare! Your guide is Kit, one of Shakespeare's oldest friends. He will show you around the famous Globe Theatre in London, and tell you the story of the man behind the plays, from his early childhood and his schooldays, to the incredible legacy of his writing. You'll also get to act out some scenes from his best-known plays, including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth! Read on, and you'll discover why Shakespeare is considered to be one of the greatest writers ever.
Independent Reading Blue 4 | Developed with and endorsed by literacy experts from the UCL Institute of Education, Reading Champions are high quality, visually attractive and engaging supplementary reading resources. They are uniquely designed specifically to support independent reading alongside guided reading in the classroom. With clear exterior labelling linked to Book Bands, children can be confident that the carefully levelled text will be accessible to them. Developing readers need to build their reading confidence and stamina by extended practise within levels to embed and secure their skills while experiencing an enjoyable reading opportunity. There are at least six books in each level to offer choice and variety and they are ideal for reading practice at home. Parents and carers will feel supported by the extremely helpful guidance notes in each book on how to share and discuss the book with their child and by the opportunities to extend their learning with some enjoyable activities linked to the subject matter. Most importantly of all these original stories are lively and relevant to children’s lives. They feature a broad range of genres and contemporary topics and both the quality text and the vibrant illustrations reflect genuine diversity, so that every child can identify with characters and settings.
Reading Planet - Level 7: Fiction (Saturn) - Reading age: 10-11 years | The Apollo Time Capsule is included in the Rising Stars Reading Planet reading scheme at the Blue-Red level. The book is an engaging fantasy story involving two characters: Ryan and Clare. On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Ryan’s class, 6A, unearth the time capsule buried by the pupils of 6A in 1969. Ryan discovers a letter written by Clare in which she seems to predict the details of several space missions undertaken after the famous events of 1969, and so the mystery unfolds. After much investigation, the now adult Clare is brought back to her old school where she meets Ryan, and both experience an overwhelming feeling of déjà vu. This is a delightful fantasy asking pupils to consider the possibility of time travel whilst framed in the familiar setting of home and the primary school. The book also deals with the themes of aspiration, hard-work and honesty and includes several characters who have fulfilled their potential through pursuing STEM subjects at school and beyond. The Apollo Time Capsule includes comprehension questions from across the range tested in the KS2 tests and provides children with sufficient additional activities to extend and secure their understanding of the text.
Independent Reading White 10 - Perfect for children aged 6-8 or reading book band 10. | Losing a family pet can be a child’s first introduction to the concept of death and this gentle, heart-warming tale provides a safe introduction to a tricky topic. Leo and Tessa have been best friends ever since Tessa was a puppy. She wakes him every morning with a lick and he was the first to meet Tessa’s puppies when they were born. Leo was particularly fond of Jasper who was the image of her mum but glad to see that he went off with a kind owner. When Tessa dies peacefully in her sleep the reader can really empathise with Leo’s grief and how much he misses her and then is delighted when it turns out that Jasper needs to find a new home and that Leo is, of course, only too happy to offer one. This is a Reading Champion text carefully levelled for readers working at Book Band White 10 in class and designed to develop their enjoyment in reading independently. At this level readers will be developing inference and predicting skills and in the helpful guidance notes for parents and carers there are suggestions for discussing the plot and key events looking for clues, for example, that indicate that all is not well with Tessa and a picture sorting activity which reinforces story sequencing. This is an immediately relatable and emotionally satisfying story with genuine learning opportunities.
Independent Reading Turquoise 7 | Developed with and endorsed by literacy experts from the UCL Institute of Education, Reading Champions are high quality, visually attractive and engaging supplementary reading resources. They are uniquely designed specifically to support independent reading alongside guided reading in the classroom. With clear exterior labelling linked to Book Bands, children can be confident that the carefully levelled text will be accessible to them. Developing readers need to build their reading confidence and stamina by extended practise within levels to embed and secure their skills while experiencing an enjoyable reading opportunity. There are at least six books in each level to offer choice and variety and they are ideal for reading practice at home. Parents and carers will feel supported by the extremely helpful guidance notes in each book on how to share and discuss the book with their child and by the opportunities to extend their learning with some enjoyable activities linked to the subject matter. Most importantly of all these original stories are lively and relevant to children’s lives. They feature a broad range of genres and contemporary topics and both the quality text and the vibrant illustrations reflect genuine diversity, so that every child can identify with characters and settings.
Reading Planet - Beneath the Surface and other Welsh Tales of Mystery - Level 7: Fiction (Saturn) | Beneath the Surface: Tales from Welsh Legend forms one in a series of Rising Stars Reading Planet books retelling traditional tales. In this book, readers encounter the legends of Cantre’r Gwaelod and The Tylwyth Teg through the experiences of two children: Dion and Cariad. Both tales make for compelling reading, with Cantre’e Gwaelod taking the form of an audio account and The Tylwyth Teg being narrated through Cariad’s grandmother’s first-hand experience. Both of these narrative techniques offer the reader opportunities to consider the validity of the stories they experience. In the case of Cantre’e Gwaelod, two versions of the legend are presented within the frame of Dion researching local history for a homework topic. And in The Tylwyth Teg, readers’ first encounter with Cariad’s grandmother suggests she is an unreliable narrator; something that offers scope for discussion as the story unfolds. Both stories are accompanied by full-colour illustrations that support the narratives. A range of comprehension questions asking readers to retrieve key facts, to compare the themes contained in the two stories and offer opinions are provided, which is welcome for teachers looking to develop the comprehension skills required at the end of KS2.
Independent Reading Yellow stories are perfect for children aged 4+ who are reading at book band 3 (Yellow) in classroom reading lessons. | Young readers will immediately spot that the new boy is strikingly different since he is bright green! This is amusingly never referred to in the text and we see Ahmed trying his very best to make the new boy feel included. But as the repetitive refrain tells us, Zab was not good at drawing, eating, singing or even sitting. But luckily, he is very good at playing and he helps Ahmed score a great goal and we can see their friendship is secured. As a Reading Champion text carefully levelled for Book Band Yellow 3 this lively story is designed for children working at that level in class to read independently; building their confidence and reading enjoyment. Children will empathise with the experience of being new to school and enjoy imagining how they would feel if an alien joined their class. A lovely Story Trail feature allows the child to retell the story in their own words developing recall and sequencing skills. At the back of the book there are useful guidance notes explaining how parents and carers can make the most of the reading experience with tips on how to support comprehension and some fun extension activities they can try. Yellow Band texts begin to introduce punctuation marks and Zab’s antics give plentiful opportunities for exclamations! Beautifully designed and with vibrant, witty illustrations, this is a fun read that will really engage and encourage beginner readers.
