Books by Malorie Blackman, Roald Dahl, Julia Donaldson, Alice Oseman, Michael Rosen and J K Rowling are among the 50 books every child should read, according to a list compiled by experts from the National Literacy Trust and Good Housekeeping magazine.
The panel of judges was comprised of c.e.o of the NLT Jonathan Douglas, director of school programmes at the NLT Fiona Evans, TV presenter Angelica Bell, editor-in-chief of Good Housekeeping Gaby Huddart and books editor at Good Housekeeping Joanne Finney.
Douglas said: “Giving children and their families the opportunities to share stories and read together is a fundamental part of raising literacy levels. We know that children with higher literacy levels are more likely to succeed at school, access more opportunities in the job market, and break the intergenerational cycle of poverty. Partnering with the incredible team at Good Housekeeping not only helps us raise awareness of the importance of reading with children, but will help us reach new audiences and readers to support us in our journey of making sure every child has the literacy skills they need to shape their own life.”
The list is separated into five categories according to age group for children up to the age of 16. The final list, below, also features work by the likes of Lauren Child, A A Milne, A M Dassu and Jacqueline Wilson.
The top 50 books:
Must-reads for under 5s
- The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (Puffin)
- So Much by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (Walker)
- Peepo by Allan Ahlberg and Janet Ahlberg (Puffin)
- I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato by Lauren Child (Orchard Books)
- Barbara Throws A Wobbler by Nadia Shireen (Jonathan Cape)
- Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Bodley Head)
- The Smartest Giant In Town by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Axel Scheffler (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Look Up by Nathan Bryon, illustrated by Dapo Adeola (Puffin)
- We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury (Walker)
- Ruby’s Worry by Tom Percival (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Must reads for 5-7 year olds
- The Missing Piece by Jordan Stephens, illustrated by Beth Suzanna (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- The Greatest Show On Earth by Mini Grey (Puffin)
- What Happened To You? by James Catchpole, illustrated by Karen George (Faber & Faber)
- Winne-the-Pooh by A A Milne (Farshore)
- A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
- Dogger by Shirley Hughes (Bodley Head)
- Julian Is A Mermaid by Jessica Love (Walker)
- The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy (Puffin)
- The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane, illustrated by Jackie Morris (Hamish Hamilton)
- James and The Giant Peach by Roald Dahl, illustrated by Quentin Blake (Puffin)
Must reads for 7-11 year olds
- Rooftoppers by Katherine Rundell (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
- Boy, Everywhere by A M Dassu (Old Barn Books)
- How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell (Hodder Children’s Books)
- The Brilliant World Of Tom Gates by Liz Pichon (Scholastic)
- High-Rise Mystery by Sharna Jackson (Knights Of)
- The Breakfast Club Adventures by Marcus Rashford and Alex Falase-Koya, illustrated by Marta Kissi (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- The Wreck Of The Zanzibar by Michael Morpurgo (Farshore)
- The Story Of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Nick Sharratt (Yearling)
- The Railway Children by E Nesbit
- Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone by J K Rowling (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)
Must reads for 11-13 year olds
- Wonder by RJ Palacio (Corgi Childrens)
- The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper (Puffin Classics)
- Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz (Walker)
- When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr (HarperCollins Children’s Books)
- Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman (Scholastic)
- The Girl Who Became A Tree by Joseph Coehlo (Otter-Barry)
- Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- The Skylarks’ War by Hilary McKay (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Millions by Frank Cottrell-Boyce and Steven Lenton (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (Walker)
Must reads for 14-16 year olds
- Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (Hodder Children’s Books)
- Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman (Penguin)
- Toffee by Sarah Crossan (Bloomsbury YA)
- The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (Transworld)
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Walker)
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Scholastic)
- The Fault In Our Stars by John Green (Penguin)
- Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Vintage)
- The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time by Mark Haddon (Vintage)
- How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (Penguin)