Episode 29 - Do Children Read More Than We Think?

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 29

For transcripts, resources, show notes and contact details, see https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-29/

Part 1
Book post

• Mr Norton's New Hat by Huw Lewis Jones and Corey Egbert
• Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica by Alison Lester & Coral Tulloch
• Please Don't Read the Footnotes Please by Rob Walton, illustrated by Reena Makwana
• Meet Amber Class by Enomwoyi Damali, illustrated by Ruthine Burton
• Bad Panda: For Sale by Swapna Haddow
• Grumpfort by Jamie Hammond
• Solving Crimes Is NOT My Superpower by Nathanael Lessore, illustrated by Simran Diamond Singh
• The Magnificent Book of Trees by Tony Russell, illustrated by Val Walerczuk & Simon Treadwell
• Rebel Heart by Ally Sherrick
• School of Doom by Sarah Harrison
• Beastlands: Legend of the Crystal Caves by Jess French
• Fury, Fire and Frost by Robert Muchamore
• Missing Link by Anthony Kessel
• Normal Women Making History for 900 Years by Philippa Gregory
• Nightweaver by R. M. Gray

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books to buy in April 2025

• Run Away With Me by Brian Selznick
• The Line They Drew Through Us by Hiba Noor Khan
• Clem Fatale Has Been Betrayed by Eve Wersocki Morris
• Peregrine Quinn and the Mask of Chaos by Ash Bond
• The Boy with Big Decisions by Helen Rutter
• Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Not That Kind Of Hero by Alexia Casale
• The First Year by Matt Goodfellow
• The Last House in the Row by Lesley Parr
• Odd Girl Out by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid
• Fishfolk by Steven Quincey-Jones
• I Am Raven by Alastair Chisholm
• Snails of the Unexpected by Terrie Chilvers
• Light by Jess Wade & Ana Sanfelippo
• Michael Rosen's Pocket Shakespeare by Michael Rosen & Chris Riddell
• Life (As We Know It) by Ziggy Hanaor & Cristobal Schmal
• Weird Philosophy by Brandon Robshaw
• Becoming Grace by Hilary McKay
• The Misadventures of Mina Mahmood by Farhana Islam
• Hercules: Hero to Zero? By Tom Vaughan
• Matched Up by Jenny Ireland
• The Girl with the Red Boots by Alex Wheatle
• What Happens Online by Nathanael Lessore
• Botticelli's Apprentice by Ursula Murray Husted
• The Mirror World by Femi Fadugba
• Rainforest by DK
• Starminster: The Month of Birthdays by Megan Hopkins
• Food for All by Mary Hoffman & Ros Asquith
• Quiet Riot by Nadia Finer
• Our Tree by Jessica Meserve

April 2025 books of the month

• Fiction: Under a Fire-Red Sky by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Nonfiction: We are All Animals by Ben Hoare and Christopher Lloyd, illustrated by Mark Ruffle
• Picture book: Our Tree by Jessica Meserve

Part 2
Our recommended books for reception classrooms

New book pitches: Oakley the Superhero by Roxanne Constantine; The Tilly and Harry Adventures by Ashton Moon; Danny the Ducky and Gilly the Goose by Dushka Petkovich

Part 3
Do Children Read More Than We Think?

Credits and licensing
3rd party sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl