We invited a panel of teachers, literacy and reading experts, book reviewers and editors – see right – to choose their top 11 best books for under 11s. From picture books to older fiction, together they make an exciting and varied list of recommended reads for children from three to 11.
Mrs Armitage on Wheels
by Quentin Blake (Red Fox)
As a big Quentin Blake fan, one of his books had to feature in my list. Mrs Armitage is great fun – quirky, creative and unconventional but a great role model for children. (Lots of ‘joining in’ lines in this story too.)
The Day the Crayons Quit
by Drew Daywalt, illustrated by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins)
One of those books that stopped me in my tracks because it was so wonderfully different and original. The Day the Crayons Quit is hilarious and charming – don’t miss it!
Olivia
by Ian Falconer (Simon and Schuster)
Fabulous, characterful illustrations bring this cheeky and mischievous little pig to life. Olivia is adorable!
Matilda
by Roald Dahl (Puffin)
If I had to choose my favourite children’s book character, I’d pick Matilda without a moment’s hesitation. A book I’ll never tire of reading and the one children’s book I’d take to a desert island.
Pippi Longstocking
by Astrid Lindgren (OUP)
One of my favourite books as a child, given a new lease of life in the new edition by Lauren Child’s illustrations, which capture this larger-than-life character perfectly.
Charlotte’s Web
by EB White (Puffin)
A classic tale of love, loyalty and friendship.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone
by JK Rowling (Bloomsbury)
This book could be the start of a beautiful relationship.
Framed
by Frank Cottrell Boyce (Macmillan)
Touching, clever and it makes you want to hunt out pictures of great art on the internet. A brilliant class read.
The Silver Sword
by Ian Serraillier (Red Fox)
This book was read to me by Mrs Taylor as a class read when I was ten – it literally changed my life.
The Book With No Pictures
by BJ Novak (Puffin)
This book with no pictures needs no words!
Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present
by John Burningham (Walker)
A perfect festive read.
The Tale of Despereaux
by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
A new old-fashioned fairytale.
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‘Be quiet!’ said Badger. ‘Keep it down!’ grumbled Hedgehog. ‘Stop banging!’ pleaded Owl. Poor Rabbit, it seemed that no-one appreciated his drumming. But when trouble
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Use these words from the story to practise the tricky spellings from A Thumping Great Rabbit.
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Our closing thought helps us think about how noise affects us and lets us consider where we can go to escape from the hustle and
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Read MoreUse this slideshow for inspiration when telling woodland stories or reciting or creating woodland poetry.
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Use these word cards to give children inspiration for their woodland writing.
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Use the map on your whiteboard to help children visualise the key events in A Thumping Great Rabbit.
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Learn about children's book illustrator Emma Chichester Clark and find exciting ways to use traditional tales to look at sentence construction.
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Poems for learning by heart, poems for performance but, best of all, poems to inspire.
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Use this planner as a scaffold to help create your own story using the same structure as A Thumping Great Rabbit.
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In some cultures foxes are often depicted as symbols of deceit and cunning. Why do the children think that foxes are thought of in this way?
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Use our editable playscript in drama activities or for a full-scale production.
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Use these planning resource sheets to help keep your class’s film productions on track.
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Cut out the caterpillar cards and place a piece of double-sided sticky tape across each caterpillar. Ask the children to sticky tiny samples of woodland
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For centuries people have been using woodland plants to decorate their homes at Christmas time. Find out why with this resource that accompanies our ‘Deck the
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Use The Christmas Elf as a festive story starter or see how many woodland creatures children can spy in this adorable poster (©StoryWorld – illustrated by Tomislav Tomic.).
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Arm your class with magnifying glasses, notebooks, cameras and viewing jars and head out and about with these sheets to find out if your local
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Choose a tree, head out with pencils, crayons and a measuring tape and fill in the boxes to create a record of it.
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Reward your Early Years and KS1 storytellers with this A Thumping Great Rabbit themed certificate.
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Our downloadable woodland animal fact cards teach us about foxes, hedgehogs, rabbits and deers and will help start children off on their voyage of discovery
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Our downloadable woodland animal fact card templates make great class displays and are perfect for children to use when presenting their findings to the class.
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Our woodland animal fact cards are ready for children to add their own pictures of four of our favourite characters from A Thumping Great Rabbit.
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Our woodland animal fact cards are ready for children to add their own facts for four of our favourite characters from A Thumping Great Rabbit.
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Bel Deering takes us through some useful minibeast basics – very useful for when you are out and about on your bug hunt.
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Our image-only ‘Storytelling prompts’ for A thumping great rabbit are the perfect accompaniment to your storytelling lessons.
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Our ‘Storytelling prompts’ with keyword phrases are the perfect accompaniment to your A Thumping Great Rabbit storytelling lessons.
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Our keyword ‘Storytelling prompts’ for A thumping great rabbit are the perfect accompaniment to your storytelling lessons.
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Give your local trees a clean bill of health with these official-looking, class-issued 'Clean bill of health' certificates.
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Use these data sheets with the woodland animal shapes resource.
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Use these outlines of the woodland animal characters in A Thumping Great Rabbit to work out water rationing.
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Amadeus’s search for his father has taken him from chip shops to Sherwood Forest and now to infinity and beyond. Is he really going to
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