BookTrust Great Books Guide

Ten-year-old Leo dreams of performing in the West End. His love of dancing is getting him through the heatwave, but his selective mutism means he is unlikely to be able to perform in public and puts his spot in the end-of-summer dance show on the line.

Explores various kinds of weather

When Jason's friends learn of a reward for proof of The Beast's existence, they convince Jason this is the answer to his and Richie's money problems

Michael's dream is to go from being an unknown pup to a Hollywoof sensation and global su-paw-star.

Young readers help to tell the story by responding to simple verbal or visual cues.

When a catastrophic series of events threaten to destroy her home, Juniper Mae creates her own amour and steps into the spotlight.

A group of friends who enjoy mudlarking in the Thames find themselves on a quest to return one of their finds to the secret underworld of the river

A collection of poetry that celebrates feelings.

A change in classroom seating arrangements challenges old habits and leads to a new friendship.

A lost little budgie brings together a young boy and his grumpy older neighbour.

An exuberant sheep must use his talents to save his flock from the Big Bad Wolf.

Heather discovers a plot from a fae realm to overthrow the human world and she becomes a warrior to thwart it.

A child is encouraged to hide in three fairy-tale houses, taking the knowledge they have from storybooks to defeat three scary monsters.

An illustrated picture book that explores how to overcome shyness in a gentle and familiar way.

Tells the story of three generations of the Kristensen family, their history as whale hunters and later their mission to save the great whales and our planet.

A celebration of being your self and living life joyfully.

A funny, uplifting tale about family and the healing power of pets from internationally published author, Chitra Soundar.

When Ginika temporarily moves to her grandparents by the sea, she meets a boy of the sea people and together they discover each other's worlds and form a unique friendship

A class of children make their own clock lanterns to celebrate the shortest day of the year

Recounts the true story of Olaudah Equiano's life from being kidnapped from his village in Africa as a child and sold into slavery to earning his freedom and settling in London.

When Faizah's teacher asks her class to imagine what kind of world they want to live in Faizah imagines a world where everyone is kind to one another, and tries to create that world in the school playground.

Explores various kinds of weather

A boy with one leg struggles with strangers being overly encouraging when he does everyday things

A celebration about the variety and importance of human connections.

Chaos ensues as an angry Stoat tries to chase Goat out of his boat.

Young readers help to tell the story by responding to simple verbal or visual cues.

A child imagines the rules and changes they would make if they were in charge of their country.

When a little boy is told there's no such thing as dragons, he doesn't believe it for a second.

A bug wants to be tucked up in bed but instead finds himself on a wild adventure where everybody chase him

Together with her band of trusty sidekicks, Captain Looroll must use her super 3-ply powers to stop the dastardly Toilet Troll from wreaking havoc.

Follows a band of extinct animals that are in disguise.

Introduces children to number bonds and fact friends for the number 5.

When his grandfather passes away, a young boy learns to cope with his grief by continuing his grandfather's legacy of teaching people to paint.

Martha zooms in, page by page, to our planet, her community, her home, and beyond to her dreams of a future where anything is possible.

One brave little artist goes on one epic adventure to share her art.

A celebration of being your self and living life joyfully.

A joyful, humorous rhyming tale about how friends lift each other up.

A girl named Goldilocks tries out different chairs, bowls of porridge and beds in the crocodile home.

A boy with Down Syndrome introduces himself and his family.

Rocket organises a peaceful protest to save her local library.

An exuberant sheep must use his talents to save his flock from the Big Bad Wolf.

Gerald believes that he is allergic to his best friend.

Lenny and his friends try and capture a rat on the loose in their classroom

When his first try at an adventure goes a bit wrong, Pedro is rescued by an adventure mouse.

Video game her Super Rabbit Boy tries to save Singing Dog from the villainous King Viking.

When Bird discovers that Bear has more of a certain talent than she does, Bear finds a way to make her feel better.

An illustrated picture book about friendship, football, and having the courage to believe in yourself.

A collection of poetry that celebrates feelings.

Lockdown is over and Too Small Tola has returned to the flat in Lagos that she shares with her sister, Moji, who is very clever, her brother, Dapo, who is very fast, and Grandmummy, who is very bossy. Even though she is back home and safe, there are still plenty of problems for Tola to solve. Like the one facing Mrs Shaky-Shaky who is having trouble getting up and down the stairs to her flat, or what Tola and Grandmummy should do for a day's holiday.

A lost little budgie brings together a young boy and his grumpy older neighbour.

Bumble and Snug meet a unicorn and decide to be superheroes together, but naturally things don't turn out the way they planned.

Follows three children living in a tower block, as they embark on a fantastical adventure which helps them see their home in a new light.

Honey finds her place in her community of bees when a new queen bee takes over the hive and she choses to stay with the old queen bee.

A child is encouraged to hide in three fairy-tale houses, taking the knowledge they have from storybooks to defeat three scary monsters.

When all the bugs are eaten, Snail is determined to hunt down the culprit.

Looks at how the features of animals measure up to our own when shown in their real size.

When a mysterious canal boat appears outside Aisha and Jayden 's block of flats, they soon discover that is an ancient society responsible for protecting magical creatures.

A funny, uplifting tale about family and the healing power of pets from internationally published author, Chitra Soundar.

Presents 20 real-life scientists' discoveries.

A class of children make their own clock lanterns to celebrate the shortest day of the year

Ten-year-old Leo dreams of performing in the West End. His love of dancing is getting him through the heatwave, but his selective mutism means he is unlikely to be able to perform in public and puts his spot in the end-of-summer dance show on the line.

A young Romany boy harbours a secret desire to become a professional football player, but knows that his dad is set against it as he doesn't think it is a fit profession for Romany people.

Michael's dream is to go from being an unknown pup to a Hollywoof sensation and global su-paw-star.

When ten-year-old Jack is stranded on a desert island he makes an unexpected friend and experiences a bizarre set of experiences on his journey home

When a catastrophic series of events threaten to destroy her home, Juniper Mae creates her own amour and steps into the spotlight.

When his baby step-sister is kidnapped and taken to another world, K2 and his magical family must use his gift of making maps as gateways to other worlds to follow and rescue her

More mad adventures featuring Looshkin the cat.

A group of friends who enjoy mudlarking in the Thames find themselves on a quest to return one of their finds to the secret underworld of the river

When war threatens her city, Rowan and her mother must flee to the Dark Forest, where she discovers her grandpa is a Wildsmith with the ability to heal and talk to animals, an ability she has now inherited

Cilantro uncovers a sheep-led worker's rights revolt and an alien invasion conspiracy.

Stink promises to return to Fairyland and leave Danny in peace if he helps her earn enough money to buy some state-of-the-art Silver Bullet wings

A change in classroom seating arrangements challenges old habits and leads to a new friendship.

Discover a collection of 50 positive poems.

Bridie sells matches on the streets of Victorian London, but realises that she has the power to change her own fortune and the fortunes of others by standing up to those in charge.

Ró risks everything in her search for a missing dolphin, and discovers just how powerful she can be.

Explores survival techniques for different environments and what you can do to help protect these environments for the future.

A simple introduction to various animals from different habitats around the world.

When a talking rabbit appears from his deceased dad's magic hat, and reveals there is a place where Cooper might find him again, he jumps at the chance.

Discover everything about the colours of the rainbow.

Aspiring inventor Suzie manages to transport herself into her favourite TV show where she helps save the universe from a dream-eating alien.

Kofi is a natural entrepreneur, but what he had overlooked is his best friend Kelvin's photographic memory and the fact that he can remember every single line of a song he's heard only once....

A young boy struggling with grief goes on the trip of a lifetime with his mother to the rainforest

Teenager Archie has to go on the run when his policeman father is arrested for corruption

In an alternative London in which the British Empire still exists and foreigners are segregated, a young boy and girl work with the mysterious being called Tyger to open a mythical gateway and bring about social change

In Victorian London a young disabled orphan and her friends from the Home for Unfortunate Girls hatch a plot to steal a precious jewel, while she tries to find out the secret of her parents

Olly Brown adores hamsters but is flabbergasted when a horde of them appear in his bedroom, after crash-landing their spaceship in his neighbour's garden pond.

Tilbury, a Dockland Rat, is about to go on an adventure of a lifetime to return a priceless diamond to its rightful owner.

A hidden door in Kew Gardens leads Daisy to life-changing truths about herself and her family

Heather discovers a plot from a fae realm to overthrow the human world and she becomes a warrior to thwart it.

A boy struggles to assert his identity and sexuality in the face of opposition from school bullies and his own father, whilst also trying to cope with his grandma's death.

When Jason's friends learn of a reward for proof of The Beast's existence, they convince Jason this is the answer to his and Richie's money problems

Twelve-year-olds Lizzie Sancho and Dido Belle try to prevent a murder from happening and to find the gang responsible for kidnapping people to sell into slavery.

After losing his hearing fourteen-year-old Max, discovers that a sinister scientist is using wind turbines to experiment on the islanders.

When Ginika temporarily moves to her grandparents by the sea, she meets a boy of the sea people and together they discover each other's worlds and form a unique friendship

Recounts the true story of Olaudah Equiano's life from being kidnapped from his village in Africa as a child and sold into slavery to earning his freedom and settling in London.

Follows an autistic girl who finds friendship where she least expects it and learns to express her true self in a world where everyone defines her by her differences.

An illustrated exploration of our solar system by Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock

A colour-illustrated collection of stories and poems celebrating joy, showcasing 40 talented Black writers and artists from across the world.

Join Hiba Noor Khan who meets eighteen young activists who are taking a stand against climate change and find out how you can help protect our beautiful earth.

A boy struggling with OCD, starts at a new at school and learns to cope with the help of friendship and understanding.

Under threat, Tyrese and his friends set out on a terrifying journey across the island to try and uncover the Shadow Man's sinister history.

In a town where all the adults turn into werewolves once a month, three teenagers discover the sinister reality behind the change and set out to save their town

When Charlene's loses her temper over a blanket that she hand-knitted, and stabs her foster mum's son in the hand with the knitting needle, she has to deal with the consequences.

Kurara is servant on board the Midori, but when her party trick of making paper come to life turns out to be a power treasured across the empire, she joins a sky ship and its motley crew to become a Crafter.

An essential handbook for anyone who wants to be the best, most authentic version of themselves on the web.

Follows the survival and adventures of the dogs and humans after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

One teen's summer job scaring tourists with ghost stories takes a terrifying turn when he accidentally summons the spirit of a dead girl.

Follows teenage catastrophe, Lara, sharing her innermost thoughts in her secret online journal.

A teenage boy who aspires to be a famous rapper finds new motivation to pursue his dreams when his family are in danger of being evicted

When James follows a young ghost girl he discovers a terrible truth about his family.

When her tribe are offered a journey to America to be part of the St. Louis World's Fair, Luki is eager to escape the constraints of life in her mountain village.

Four best friends spend the summer apart and keep in touch to share their experiences