Reading for Pleasure
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The School Reading List
Choosing a book can be very challenging. The School Reading List have put together children's book lists to cater to a diverse audience, encompassing a wide range of genres, themes, and reading levels. They have provided an extensive collection of kids’ books that not only entertain but also augment cross-curricular teaching and inspire children’s learning and imagination.
At St John the Baptist, children begin their reading journey with the Song of Sounds phonics scheme.
To support their early reading development, we provide fully decodable books that align with the phonics they are learning. As their skills grow, children progress to chapter books through the Accelerated Reader programme.
Click the link below to discover how you can support your child's reading at home.
At St John the Baptist, we are passionate about fostering a love of reading among our children.
Our goal is to inspire them to pick up books not just for academic growth, but for the joy and adventure that reading brings. We understand that readers—both new and experienced—sometimes need a little encouragement, support, and direction to discover the right books that spark interest and motivation.
As a parent, your role in this journey is vital. Book recommendations can be a powerful tool in helping your child explore new genres, find stories they connect with, and develop a lifelong love of reading.
Below, you will find helpful guidance and suggestions to support your child’s reading journey at home.
Reading Road Maps
Promoting a genuine love of reading is widely recognised as one of the most effective ways to improve literacy levels and establish a strong reading culture in schools.
Reading Road Maps explore a wider range of books. Please see below to find road maps for KS1, Years 3&4 and Years 5&6. The coloured dots beside each book denote the level of challenge: red means that the book is more challenging; yellow means that the book is quite challenging and green means that the book is less challenging.
Reading Tube Maps
Reading Tube maps are a visual tool designed to encourage reading for pleasure by connecting books and authors based on genre, style, or other themes, similar to how a real Tube map connects different stations. They help readers explore new books and authors within their preferred genres or discover related genres they might enjoy. The maps below are for children in EY and KS1 (4+), Lower Key Stage 2 (7+) and Upper Key Stage 2 (9+).
Book Recommendations
Branching Out
Is your child hooked on a particular series or author and ready for something new? Explore our recommendations to keep their love of reading growing!
Love Reading 4 kids
Love Reading 4 Kids regularly compiles a wide range of book recommendations, offering something for every young reader. Children can explore different titles and even read a short extract before choosing their next book—helping them find the perfect fit for their interests and reading level.
Reading Ambassadors
Every year, children apply to be a Reading Ambassador. This group of children helps to organise the library, read to our younger children and write reviews for our reading newsletter.
Reading for Pleasure Newsletter
Our Reading Lead puts together a newsletter that features an author spotlight, book recommendations and reviews written by staff and children. Here is our latest publication:
World Book Day 2025
Every year, the whole school come together to celebrate World Book Day. This year, children could choose whether to dress in pj's or as their favourite book character. Activities included: a whole school story, which was read at the end of the day; a book quiz - children had a variety of riddles that they had to match with the correct book cover that were pinned up around the school; an adult read and class based activities including badge making.
