Stage 1 – Early Readers (Age 5–7)
Focus: phonics, simple sentences, high-frequency words.
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 1 | Kipper’s Diary | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 2 | The Magic Key | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 3 | The Lost Toy | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 4 | The New House | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 5 | Floppy the Hero | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 6 | The Toy’s Party | Roderick Hunt | Early reader | 5–6 | Oxford Reading Tree |
| 7 | The Snowman | Raymond Briggs | Picture book | 5–7 | Standalone |
| 8 | Peace at Last | Jill Murphy | Picture book | 5–7 | Standalone |
| 9 | Dogger | Shirley Hughes | Picture book | 5–7 | Standalone |
| 10 | The Gruffalo | Julia Donaldson | Picture book | 5–7 | Standalone |
Stage 2 – Early Chapter Books (Age 7–9)
Focus: building reading stamina and enjoyment.
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 11 | The Brilliant World of Tom Gates | Liz Pichon | Diary humour | 7–9 | 21+ books |
| 12 | Excellent Excuses | Liz Pichon | Diary humour | 7–9 | Tom Gates |
| 13 | Diary of a Wimpy Kid | Jeff Kinney | Diary humour | 8–10 | 19+ books |
| 14 | Rodrick Rules | Jeff Kinney | Diary humour | 8–10 | Wimpy Kid |
| 15 | Fantastic Mr Fox | Roald Dahl | Humour | 8+ | Standalone |
| 16 | The Twits | Roald Dahl | Humour | 8+ | Standalone |
| 17 | George’s Marvellous Medicine | Roald Dahl | Humour | 8+ | Standalone |
| 18 | Charlotte’s Web | E. B. White | Animal story | 8+ | Standalone |
| 19 | The Worst Witch | Jill Murphy | Fantasy | 8+ | 8 books |
| 20 | Flat Stanley | Jeff Brown | Adventure | 8+ | 12 books |
Stage 3 – Confident Readers (Age 9–11)
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 21 | Varjak Paw | S. F. Said | Fantasy | 9+ | 2 books |
| 22 | How to Train Your Dragon | Cressida Cowell | Fantasy | 9+ | 12 books |
| 23 | The Explorer | Katherine Rundell | Adventure | 9+ | Standalone |
| 24 | Wonder | R. J. Palacio | Contemporary | 10+ | Companion books |
| 25 | Kensuke’s Kingdom | Michael Morpurgo | Adventure | 10+ | Standalone |
| 26 | Artemis Fowl | Eoin Colfer | Fantasy | 10+ | 8 books |
| 27 | The Secret Garden | Frances Hodgson Burnett | Classic | 10+ | Standalone |
| 28 | The Railway Children | E. Nesbit | Classic | 10+ | Standalone |
| 29 | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | C. S. Lewis | Fantasy | 10+ | 7 books |
| 30 | The Tale of Despereaux | Kate DiCamillo | Fantasy | 9+ | Standalone |
Stage 4 – Transition to Secondary (Age 11–13)
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 31 | Holes | Louis Sachar | Adventure | 11+ | 2 books |
| 32 | Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone | J. K. Rowling | Fantasy | 11+ | 7 books |
| 33 | The Hobbit | J. R. R. Tolkien | Fantasy | 11+ | Middle-earth |
| 34 | Northern Lights | Philip Pullman | Fantasy | 11+ | His Dark Materials |
| 35 | The Graveyard Book | Neil Gaiman | Fantasy | 11+ | Standalone |
| 36 | Coraline | Neil Gaiman | Fantasy | 11+ | Standalone |
| 37 | A Wrinkle in Time | Madeleine L’Engle | Sci-fi | 11+ | 5 books |
| 38 | Skellig | David Almond | Magical realism | 11+ | Standalone |
| 39 | Stormbreaker | Anthony Horowitz | Spy adventure | 11+ | Alex Rider |
| 40 | The Giver | Lois Lowry | Dystopian | 12+ | 4 books |
Stage 5 – Teen Readers (Age 12–14)
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 41 | Percy Jackson: Lightning Thief | Rick Riordan | Fantasy | 11+ | 5 books |
| 42 | The Hunger Games | Suzanne Collins | Dystopian | 12+ | 3 books |
| 43 | The Maze Runner | James Dashner | Dystopian | 12+ | 5 books |
| 44 | Noughts & Crosses | Malorie Blackman | Dystopian | 13+ | 6 books |
| 45 | The Book Thief | Markus Zusak | Historical fiction | 13+ | Standalone |
| 46 | The Outsiders | S. E. Hinton | Coming of age | 13+ | Standalone |
| 47 | Inkheart | Cornelia Funke | Fantasy | 12+ | 3 books |
| 48 | A Monster Calls | Patrick Ness | Fantasy | 12+ | Standalone |
| 49 | The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time | Mark Haddon | Contemporary | 13+ | Standalone |
| 50 | Fahrenheit 451 | Ray Bradbury | Dystopian | 13+ | Standalone |
Stage 6 – Pre-GCSE Literature (Age 14–15)
| Level | Book | Author | Type | Age | Series |
|---|
| 51 | Animal Farm | George Orwell | Political allegory | 14+ | Standalone |
| 52 | Of Mice and Men | John Steinbeck | Classic | 14+ | Standalone |
| 53 | Lord of the Flies | William Golding | Classic | 14+ | Standalone |
| 54 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | Classic | 14+ | Standalone |
| 55 | The Great Gatsby | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Classic | 14+ | Standalone |
| 56 | 1984 | George Orwell | Dystopian | 15+ | Standalone |
| 57 | Brave New World | Aldous Huxley | Dystopian | 15+ | Standalone |
| 58 | Frankenstein | Mary Shelley | Gothic classic | 15+ | Standalone |
| 59 | Dracula | Bram Stoker | Gothic classic | 15+ | Standalone |
| 60 | Jane Eyre | Charlotte Brontë | Classic | 15+ | Standalone |