Recommended Reading
Year 5 is often the stage where children begin to experience the true magic of reading. As their confidence grows, they are able to enjoy longer books, explore more complex stories and connect more deeply with the characters and themes they encounter. Many children begin to discover favourite authors at this age and find books that stay with them long after the final chapter has been read.
Regular reading continues to play a vital role in developing vocabulary, comprehension and imagination, but it should also remain a source of enjoyment. Whether your child loves thrilling adventures, fascinating facts, historical fiction or laugh-out-loud humour, finding books that capture their interest is key. The titles below have been chosen to inspire, challenge and entertain Year 5 readers as they continue to grow in confidence and develop a lifelong love of reading.
General Recommended Reads
The Midnight Fox – Betsy Byars
Skellig – David Almond
Wolf Brother – Michelle Paver
Journey to the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson
Cosmic – Frank Cottrell-Boyce
The Explorer – Katherine Rundell
Varjak Paw – S.F. Said
The Last Wild – Piers Torday
Wonder – R.J. Palacio
Beetle Boy – M.G. Leonard
The Girl of Ink & Stars – Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Who Let the Gods Out? – Maz Evans
Cogheart – Peter Bunzl
Kick – Mitch Johnson
No Ballet Shoes in Syria – Catherine Bruton
Where the River Runs Gold – Sita Brahmachari
The Land of Roar – Jenny McLachlan
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone – Jaclyn Moriarty
High Rise Mystery – Sharna Jackson
Orphans of the Tide – Struan Murray
Amari and the Night Brothers – B.B. Alston
The Last Bear – Hannah Gold
Adventure & Mystery
The House with Chicken Legs – Sophie Anderson
Malamander – Thomas Taylor
Brightstorm – Vashti Hardy
A Kind of Spark – Elle McNicoll
The Shark Caller – Zillah Bethell
When the Sky Falls – Phil Earle
Wildspice: The Dragon in the Library – Louie Stowell
Darwin’s Dragons – Lindsay Galvin
The Valley of Lost Secrets – Lesley Parr
Escape Room – Christopher Edge
The Swallows’ Flight – Hilary McKay
Safiyyah’s War – Hiba Noor Khan
The Final Year – Matt Goodfellow
Greenwild – Pari Thomson
The Clockwork Conspiracy – Sam Sedgman
The Wild robot – Peter Brown
Impossible Creatures – Katherine Rundell
The Boy at the Back of the Class – Onjali Q. Raúf
Pax – Sara Pennypacker
For Confident Readers
Northern Lights – Philip Pullman
The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkien
Goodnight Mister Tom – Michelle Magorian
Tom’s Midnight Garden – Philippa Pearce
The Silver Sword – Ian Serraillier
Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden
The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist – Charles Dickens
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
Kim – Rudyard Kipling
White Fang – Jack London
The Call of the Wild – Jack London
The Railway Children – E. Nesbit
Five Children and It – E. Nesbit
Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
Swiss Family Robinson – Johann David Wyss
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Jules Verne
Around the World in Eighty Days – Jules Verne
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer – Mark Twain
Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
Gulliver’s Travels – Jonathan Swift
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table – Roger Lancelyn Green
Tales of the Greek Heroes – Roger Lancelyn Green
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood – Howard Pyle
The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
Bridge to Terabithia – Katherine Paterson
Tuck Everlasting – Natalie Babbitt
Funny Reads
Mr Gum series – Andy Stanton
The 13-Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths
Danny the Champion of the World – Roald Dahl
George’s Marvellous Medicine – Roald Dahl
The Boy in the Dress – David Walliams
Gangsta Granny – David Walliams
Billionaire Boy – David Walliams
Ratburger – David Walliams
The Parent Agency – David Baddiel
Animal Stories
War Horse – Michael Morpurgo
The Butterfly Lion – Michael Morpurgo
Kensuke’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo
Shadow – Michael Morpurgo
Born to Run – Michael Morpurgo
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips – Michael Morpurgo
Private Peaceful – Michael Morpurgo
Farm Boy – Michael Morpurgo
Alone on a Wide Wide Sea – Michael Morpurgo
Running Wild – Michael Morpurgo