100 Books for Primary School Children

Here is a list of 100 fiction books all children should read before leaving primary school, as chosen by teachers.

Rather than specific books, I would just list authors and recommend you read anything by:

 - Roald Dahl. "Danny, champion of the world" would actually be my choice over "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". And "Boy" would be my non-fic pick.

 - Oliver Jeffers. The pop-up version of "Lost and Found" is a favoutite, but I also like The Hueys.

 - Mem Fox. "Wilfrid Gordon Mcdonald Partridge" = thoughtful brilliance. And every child should be read "Possum Magic" at least once in their life. For parents, Mem has written a wonderful little book called "Reading Magic" about the importance of reading from birth. It should be required reading, given out along with pre-natal vitamins.

 - Enid Blyton. Ok, so her writing is a little old, now, but I don't think the Secret Seven, the Famous Five, or her stories of magic and fantasy will ever be completely irrelevant in children's lives.

 - Dr. Seuss. Kids should read him on a train, or in the rain, or on a boat with a goat.


OK, who am I kidding? I would be listing authors for years if I continued this post! There are just so many good books and authors, there is not enough time in the day read them all.

Domino Book Chain World Record 2013

So much fun, but I'd want a lot of re-shelving volunteers!

The Joy of Books (and Bookstores)

This stop-motion video would have taken forever! It would also have been so much fun (at least, I think so. I wouldn't have liked putting the movie together as much as making it, but we all have our gifts :) ).

I first saw the above video posted on Facebook and it was posted with "related" links. The following little movie would be perfect to show to a class (upper primary/elementary age) as a prompt for creative writing, or even as something to play during some relaxation time. The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore was written by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, and was inspired by Joyce's mentor, children's book publisher William Morris. It also draws inspiration from Keaton's Steamboat Bill Jr. the tornado from The Wizard of Oz and the devastation left by the real-life Hurricane Katrina. This award-winning video is about the curative powers of a story, both in the writing and the reading. [information from Wikipedia]

A quick google search will give you quite a few reviews and analyses, and an article in the New Yorker had a more dire view of what can be read into this story. I'll leave it up to you (and your class - probably middle school if you are going to start analysing it this deeply) to get what you will out of it.

Children's Books of 2014

Brainpickings has put together a list of top children's books of 2014. I haven't seen some of them, but Oliver Jeffers' "Once Upon An Alphabet" is simply genius.

Best School Libraries From Around The World

Here are some of the most inspirational school libraries from around the world. *Sigh* So many ideas, not enough money, or time, or space....

What Kind Of Reader Are You?

The Literacy Site has put out a little chart:

I'm a mix of all these except 'neurotic' - I sometimes have three books on the go at once, but I'll also re-read favourites multiple times (I have a few titles I read about once a year). I vaguely stick to one genre (crime/detective/mystery/suspense), but I also read non-fiction, and across genres (especially when I'm reading to review children's/young adult fiction). I'm also constantly bugging friends and family with book recommendations and sourcing cheap and free books that I give away.

Best Quotes From Children's Books

The literacy site has compiled a list of quotes from children's books. I can see these being used in displays in primary/middle school libraries and could even form a game (match the quote to the book). I'm sure there are hundreds of others, like these and these and these.