LRC Recommended 25 books every child should read

Good morning

Please see attached LRC Recommended KS3 Reading List for 2019/20.  This list will also help you choose from different genres. 

Why should we read different genres?  We all have our comfort reads.  There is nothing wrong with having a favourite genre, but below are a few reasons why you should try reading a new genre of book and if you take even the tiniest step outside of your comfort zone, you might find that you can like more than one genre at once.

You are missing out on great books

I won't promise that you're going to love every sci-fi novel ever written, but I will promise that there is at least one sci-fi novel out there that you will love, even if you find aliens and silver jumpsuits a bit silly. The same goes for thrillers, non-fiction, horror, poetry, adventure, and every other genre under the sun. A great book is a great book, no matter where it is shelved. Don't miss out on amazing reads just because of the sticker on a book's spine.

You will be smarter

It is no secret that reading makes you smarter. But, as much as you may love to re-read your favourite books until they fall apart, reading the same story over and over again is not going to expand your intelligence.

You will have a broader worldview

Reading is the cheapest way to travel. Reading a book can take you to other countries, times, and dimensions. Reading forces you to actually think about other people and imagine yourself in their shoes. Picking up a new genre means you are giving yourself thousands of brand new worlds to explore.

You will understand your favourite genre better

Books are not terribly good at staying in one genre. Fantasy books borrow from  thrillers, horror stories steal from fairy tales, autobiographies occasionally veer into fiction. Read widely, and you might get more of the references in your own favourite books. Plus, you will start to notice the ways in which genres differ and (more likely) the ways in which they blend.

You will discover new favourites

Do not judge a book by its cover (or its genre, or its film adaptation). You might discover that a new genre is actually your new favourite. Just because a book has vampires in it (or no vampires, depending on your taste), it does not mean that it cannot resonate with you on a personal level. And who doesn't want more favourite books?

You will get out of that rut you are in

We all get stuck in a reading rut every once in a while. Your mind needs a varied diet of books to stay sharp.

Your own reading and writing will improve

Whether you are doing your homework or sending an email to your teacher, reading a new genre will give you some new vocabulary words. Reading graphic novels may help your visual storytelling abilities, or that dystopian novel will help build your own characters.  For whatever reason, your writing will improve.

If you do pick any of the books from the list attached, or have recommendations to go on our next list please let me know!

Key Stage 3 LRC Recommended Reading List 2019/2020

Classic Titles                                           Historical Fiction  

Title	Author	Title	Author
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Sir Arthur Conan Doyle	Code Name Verity	Elizabeth Wein
King Solomon’s Mines	H Rider Haggard	The Call of the Wild	Jack London
Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	My Name’s not Friday	Jon Walter
Treasure Island	R L Stevenson	War Horse	Michael Morpurgo
The Time Machine	H G Wells	The Book Thief	Markus Zusak
War of the Worlds	H G Wells	Five Children on the Western Front	Kate Saunders
Animal Farm	George Orwell	Hetty Feather	Jacqueline Wilson
Great Expectations	Charles Dickens	The Way of the Warrior	Chris Bradford
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn	Mark Twain	The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas	John Boyne
Oliver Twist	Charles Dickens	Private Peaceful	Michael Morpurgo
The Catcher in the Rye	J D Salinger	The Doll maker of Krakow	R M Romero

Action and Adventure                 Fantasy/Science Fiction         

Title	Author	Title	Author
Goodnight, Boy	Nikki Sheehan	A Monster Calls	Patrick Ness
Hacker	Malorie Blackman	Alice in Wonderland	Lewis Carroll
Beyond the Bright Sea	Lauren Wolk	After Tomorrow	Gillian Cross
The Children of Castle Rock	Natasha Farrant	The Girl of Ink and Stars	Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Hunger Games	Suzanne Collins	Mortal Engines	Philip Reeves
Jake Atlas	Rob Lloyd Jones	A Wrinkle in Time	Madeleine L’Engle
Egg and Spoon	Gregory Maguire	Narnia Series	C S Lewis
Itch	Simon Mayo	Golden Compass	Philip Pullman
Middle of Nowhere	Anthony Horowitz	Harry Potter Series	J K Rowling
Mortal Chaos	Matt Dickinson	Gone	Michael Grant
Survival	Chris Ryan	Doomspell Trilogy	Cliff McNish

 Relationships and Conflicts        Diversity     

Title	Author	Title	Author
The Smell of Other People’s Houses	Sue-Bonnie Hitchcock	The Fastest Boy in the World	Elizabeth Laird
Wonder	R J Palacio	Rhythm and Poetry	Karl Nova
Life on the Refrigerator Door	Alice Kuipers	Refugee Boy	Benjamin Zephaniah
One	Sarah Crossan	Lies We Tell Ourselves	Robin Talley
Goldfish Boy	Lisa Thompson	Buffalo Soldier	Tanya Landman
Boy under Water	Adam Baron	George	Alex Gino
Face	Benjamin Zephaniah	Anita and Me	Meera Syal
The Harder they Fall	Bali Rai	Out of Bounds	Beverley Naidoo
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time	Mark Haddon	The Crossover	Kwame Alexander
Gangsta Rap	Benjamin Zephania	Things Fall Apart	Chinua Achebe

Horror                                                     Comedy      

Title	Author	Title	Author
The Graveyard Book	Neil Gaimon	Matilda	Roald Dahl
Chill	Alex Nye	Mr Popper’s Penguins	Richard Atwater
Doll Bones	Holly Black	Just William	Richmal Crompton
Thornhill	Pam Smy	Kid Normal	Greg James
Frozen Charlotte	Alex Bell	Lightening Girl	Alesha Dixon
Thirteen Chairs	Dave Shelton	Who Let the Gods Out	Maz Evans
The Hunting Ground	Cliff McNish	The Parent Agency	David Baddiel
The Woman in Black	Susan Hill	Demon Dentist	David Walliams
The Twisted Tree	Rachel Burge	Petunia Perry and the Curse of the Ugly Pigeon	Pamela Butchart
Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children	Ransom Riggs	Gangsta Granny	David Walliams
The Hazel Wood	Melissa Albert	Louisiana’s Way Home	Kate Camillo
The Stuff of Nightmares	Malorie Blackman	The 13-Story Treehouse series	Andy Griffiths

The Top Twenty Five Books Every Child Should Read

·         Harry Potter Series – J K Rowling

·         Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll

·         The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe – C S Lewis

·         Winnie the Pooh – A A Milne

·         Wonder – R J Palacio

·         The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne

·         Noughts and Crosses – Malorie Blackman

·         The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson-Burnett

·         The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank

·         The Catcher in the Rye – J D Salinger

·         Black Beauty – Anna Sewell

·         Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson

·         Matilda – Roald Dahl

·         The Railway Children – E Nesbit

·         Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens

·         Five on a Treasure Island – Enid Blyton

·         The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame

·         Pinocchio – Carlo Collodi

·         The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling

·         Charlotte’s Web – E B White

·         Once – Morris Gleitzman

·         Watership Down – Richard Adams

·         Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian

·         Lord of the Flies – William Golding

·         Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl