Ages 5–6

Year 1 reading list

Picture books, rhyme and early readers for children building fluency and starting to choose books for themselves.

Chapter Books

Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish
Chloe Savage
Hare Who Wouldn't Share
Steve Small
Gina Kaminski Rescues the Giant
Craig Barr-Green
Meet Gina Kaminski. She’s here to tell you three facts. 1. The story of Jack and the Beanstalk is FULL of BIG mistakes. 2. She has a plan to fix them. 3. Her plan does NOT involve magic beans (but there will be cake). Gina is off to fairy tale land again, and this time she’s rescuing the giant!
Midnight Panther
Poonam Mistry
How the Stars Came to Be
Poonam Mistry
Splash Day!
Nick Sharratt
Splish, splosh, splash! It's Splash Day and everyone is ready for a water fight! They've got their trunks and wetsuits, some wellies and rubber rings, and Mrs Rose even has a great big hose! Join in with all the splashing fun in Nick Sharratt's beautiful debut Little Gem. Bursting with lots of rhyme, rhythm and energy for little ones to enjoy, it's the perfect book for a young reader's first steps on the path to reading independence.
Don't Trust Fish!
Neil Sharpson
Have you ever noticed that fish spend all of their time under water? What are they plotting down there? And did you know that a group of fish is called a ‘school’? Exactly what are they learning in these ‘schools’? We must find answers. But one thing’s for sure. Whatever you do: Don’t. Trust. Fish.
Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf
Craig Barr-Green
Gina Kaminski is here to tell you three facts. 1 – Little Red Riding Hood is full of BIG mistakes. 2 – She is off to fairy tale land to fix them. 3 – She WILL save the wolf. Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf?
Where to Hide a Star
Oliver Jeffers
Once there was a boy who would often play hide-and-seek with his friends the star and the penguin. The star was always easy to find, but one day it went missing. So, the boy radioed the Martian for help and soon found himself on an exciting spaceship rescue mission to the North Pole! But there, he discovered that he wasn’t the only one who had always dreamed of having a star as a friend…

Picture Book

The Bumblebear
Nadia Shireen
Norman is a bear. A bear who LOVES honey. According to Norman, there can never be enough honey! And who has the most honey? The bees, of course! So, dressed up in his very best bee onesie, he thinks he looks quite convincing as he infiltrates Bee School with his eye on their huge honey supply. But how long will his disguise last? And when the hive is endangered, can he finally discover his true destiny and become. . . The Bumblebear?
The Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown
Cressida Cowell

Picture Books

Noah's New Home
Zeshan Akhter
In a tale of home and healing, Noah's family have taken a journey no one should have to make. They arrive in a different country as refugees. While settling into their new house, Noah misses his Baba, Jida and their old home. When a fireworks display brings back both happy memories and difficult moments of their journey and arrival, his family and their new community support him in facing his fears and feeling hopeful for the future.
Don't Think of Tigers
Alex Latimer
This book is magical. Whatever you think of, the narrator will draw it on the next page. There’s just one problem: they’re really bad at drawing tigers. Hilariously bad. So please, don’t think of tigers! But of course, soon all you’ll be able to think of is tigers . . . so the narrator will draw them, more and more ridiculous as they go: a tiger in a mermaid outfit, one carrying a coffee and a briefcase, some just plain awful. But with practice, will they get better?

Storybooks

Fairy Tale Treasury
Axel Scheffler
A gorgeous gift book of classic fairy tales, beautifully illustrated by bestselling and award-winning illustrator, Axel Scheffler.
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
Michael Rosen
Brave bear hunters go through grass, a river, mud, and other obstacles before the inevitable encounter with the bear forces a headlong retreat.
Rocket Says Look Up!
Nathan Bryon
Meet hilarious, science-mad chatterbox, Rocket - she's going to be the greatest astronaut, star-catcher, space-traveller that has ever lived! But... can she convince her big brother to stop looking down at his phone and start LOOKING UP at the stars? Bursting with energy and passion about science and space, this heart-warming, inspirational picture book will have readers turning off their screens and switching on to the outside world.
You must bring a hat!
Simon Philip
The only rule for attending this party is you must bring a hat. But what if you don't own a hat? Will bringing a monkey wearing a hat be enough? Find out in this tale that builds to a gloriously surreal and hilarious ending.
You must bring a hat!
Simon Philip
The only rule for attending this party is you must bring a hat. But what if you don't own a hat? Will bringing a monkey wearing a hat be enough? Find out in this tale that builds to a gloriously surreal and hilarious ending.