Episode 43 - What happens when children spend the book budget?

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 43

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-43/

Part 1
Book post

• Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller by Amelia Tait
• Pop-Up Dinosaurium by Chris Wormell
• Bart is Different by Barroux
• Biguana: And His Best Friend Pinto by Michael Parkin
• Again! said Rabbit by Marjoke Henrichs
• Max and the Haircut by Samareh Azardi
• The Blue Tomato by Amber Aü
• Are You Looking At Me? by Philip Ardagh, illustrated by Enrico Lorenzi
• The Old Man and the Penguin by Julie Abery and Pierre Pratt
• Superheroes in the Park by Ian Eagleton and Hayley Wells
• Food For All by Mary Hoffman and Ros Asquith
• The Fawn Who Chased The Sun by Joanna McInerney, Phung Nguyen Quang and Huynh Thi Kim Lien
• G.O.A.T.: The Greatest of All Time! by Karelle Tobias, illustrated by Harry Briggs
• Tales of the Cobb Street Commandos by Tony Bradman
• Wildheart by Bec Manser
• The Othernauts by Clare Pollard
• Wishbound by Clemency Brown
• Honey, I Ate the Kids by Kerry Hyndman and Mike Hills
• Transcendent: Forgotten Earth by Patrick Gallagher
• Bone Head: Guardian of the Underworld by Jamie Gregory
• Strike by Mitch Johnson
• The Curator's Collection: An A to Z of Fungi by Ester Gaya, illustrated by Katie Scott
• Six Weeks by Matt Goodfellow
• A Flood of Memories by Nadia Mikail
• Winners and Liars by Aleema Omotoni
• Libertad by Cassandra James
• The Heirs by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni
• Fake Out Make Out by Kate Williams

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books in July 2026

• The First Works of Shakespeare by Adam Thompson
• The Summer My Wishes Came True by Radhika Sanghani 
• How to Lose Yourself Completely by Peter Bognanni 
• Othello by William Shakespeare 
• How to Steal the Future by Christopher Edge 
• Captain Sunshine by Alex Milway 
• Evie in Venice by Bruna De Luca 
• Blood of Gods and Girls by Katja Kaine 
• Beacons of Light by Gemma Koomen 
• Thornbird by E. Kennedy 
• Ziggy the Caterpillar’s Zigzag Adventure by Beatrice Simpkiss 
• They Sent a Cat to Saturn by Valerie Bloom 
• Ray by Marianna Coppo 
• Where Lost Girls Go by Kody Keplinger 
• Us and Them by James Carter 
• Eternally Yours by Anika Hussain 
• The Sound of a Smile by Louise Greig 
• When I Was a Wolf by Liz Flanagan 
• Outlaws by E. L. Norry 
• And Now We Run by Nicola Penfold 
• Elfie's Spellbook by Christophe Arleston & Audrey Alwett 
• Heledd's Song by Fiona Collins 
• Mysterious Things by Andy J. Pizza & Sophie Miller 
• A Day Off School by Oliver Jeffers 
• Murder at the Mansion by Paul Westmoreland 
• Step Inside Homes Through History by Goldie Hawk 
• Zero Override by Steve Blackman
• Hell to Pay by Lora Beth Johnson 
• My Big Fat Smelly Poo Diary 5: The Phantom Pooper by Jim Smith 
• Diary of a Number One Superfan by Pamela Butchart 
• Weather, Camera, Action! by Liam Dutton

July 2026 books of the month

• Fiction: Hell to Pay by Lora Beth Johnson
• Nonfiction: Beacons of Light by Gemma Koomen
• Picture book: The First Works of Shakespeare by Adam Thompson

Part 2
Books for teenage boys who don’t like reading

New book pitches: Reading Laughing Learning series by Thomas Heinrichs, Leo and the Dragon of Sound by Stephanie Thomas & Bibble Bobble Wibble Wobble by Terence Begnor

Part 3
What happens when children spend the book budget?

Credits & licensing
Sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl