This is, of necessity, not an exhaustive list of the books that the children at Sir William Burrough will encounter over their time here. The school is exceptionally well-stocked with books — every class has its own very full bookshelf, and we are constantly updating and increasing our stock — and children are free to read, at the appropriate level, books which entertain and excite them. The list below is specifically the books that the children encounter with their teacher as class readers or in smaller groups and are used as specific parts of the literacy curriculum. A number of the books connect to the IPC topics being studied. Many of them are also supported by lesson plans and resources from The Power of Reading.

Early Years

In the Early Years, along with picture books, fairy tales and other early stories, children will encounter a number of books relating to their topics. These include, although are not limited to, the following:

• Each Peach Pear Plum – Alan and Janet Ahlberg
• Meg and Mog stories – Helen Nicholl
• Monsters Love Underpants (and other stories) – Claire Freedman
• Peepo – Alan and Janet Ahlberg
• We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
• Little Rabbit Foo Foo – Michael Rosen and Arthur Robins
• I Wish I Had a Monster – Judy Waite
• The Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
• Rainbow Fish – Marcus Pfister
• Whatever Next – Jill Murphy
• Owl Babies – Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson
• The Snail and the Whale – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
• The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson and Joel Stewart
• The Gruffalo’s Child– Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
• Stickman – Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
• The Smartest Giant in Town – Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb
• The Shopping Basket – John Burningham
• The Tiger Who Came to Tea – Judith Kerr
• The Ugly Duckling – Mara Alperin and Sue Eastland
• The Enormous Watermelon – Alison Hawes and Eliba Rodriguez
• The Little Red Hen – Liz Pichon
• Walking Through The Jungle – Julie Lacome

Information texts of a variety during the animals topic.

Key Stage One

During Key Stage One, as well as a number of specific books, the children experience author studies, where a number of books by the same author are read. These authors include:

• Julia Donaldson
• Dr Seuss
• Martin Waddell
• Jill Murphy
• Helen Cooper
• Rose Impey
• Roald Dahl
• Jill Tomlinson
• David McKee
• John Burningham
• Fairy tales by various authors
• Traditional tales by various authors
• Specific books also include
• The Magic Finger – Roald Dahl
• The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark – Jill Tomlinson
• Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown
• The Iron Man – Ted Hughes
• Not Now Bernard – David McKee
• Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak
• Green Eggs and Ham – Doctor Seuss
• The Storm Whale – Benji Davies

Lower Key Stage Two (Years 3 and 4)

In Lower Key Stage Two, books are studied as class readers, which, in Key Stage Two, we aim to be a little above the average reading level of the class, can include:

• The Secrets of the Sun King – Emma Carroll
• Gangsta Granny – David Walliams
• Bad Dad – David Walliams
• The Boy in the Dress – David Walliams
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – Roald Dahl
• Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator – Roald Dahl
• The Invention of Hugo Cabret – Brian Selznick
• The Marvels – Brian Selznick
• Wonderstruck – Brian Selznick
• The Firework Maker’s Daughter – Philip Pullman
• Journey to the River Sea – Eva Ibbotson
• The Sharman’s Apprentice – Lynn Cherry
• The Great Kapok Tree – Lynn Cherry
• Five Children and It – Jacqueline Wilson
• Stig of the Dump – Clive King
• Stone Age Boy – Satoshi Kitamura
• Ug – Raymond Briggs

Lower Key Stage Two also use a number of the interactive stories from the Fiction Express website, which are constantly being updated.

Upper Key Stage Two

In Upper Key Stage Two, the books which the children are exposed to can include:

• M is for Magic – Neil Gaiman (short stories)
• Selections from Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls – Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
• Cloud Busting – Malorie Blackman
• The Explorer – Katherine Rundell
• The Wold Wilder – Katherine Rundell
• Frindle – Andrew Clements
• Kensuke’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo
• Billy the Kid – Michael Morpurgo
• Friend or Foe – Michael Morpurgo
• Cool – Michael Morpurgo
• Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden
• Beowulf (retold by Michael Morpurgo)
• The Angel of Nitshill Road – Anne Fine
• The Midnight Fox – Betsy Byars
• Krindlekrax – Philip Ridley
• Oliver Twist and other Charles Dickens stories (retold by Marcia Williams)
• The Labours of Hercules (retold by Geraldine McCaughrean)
• Tales of King Arthur (retold by Felicity Brooks)
• Robin Hood (retold by Henriette Marshal)
• Macbeth – William Shakespeare
• There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom – Louis Sachar
• Holes – Louis Sachar
• Once – Morris Gleizmann
• Fearless – Tim Lott
• A Long Walk to Water – Linda Sue Parks
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind – William Kamkwamba