Age group 3-6
Charlotte’s Piggy Bank by David McKee
A free book available on the National Literacy Trust website here
The Cave by Rob Hodgson
You can hear Rob read his book and you can visit his website.
Things you might do after sharing:
– Make a cave in the garden or a room in the house.
– Make a friend for the little creature
– Draw what you think the little creature might look like.
– Talk about surprises and unexpected endings.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
You can hear Eric Carle reading the Very Hungry caterpillar or you can watch an animation of the film.
Things you might do after sharing:
– Explore outside for signs of new life e.g. shoots from plants, frog spawn, cocoons, larvae etc.
– Talk about healthy meals for lunch.
– Make puppets.
– Leaf collages.
Age group 6-11
The World’s Worst Children by David Walliams
David reads a story every day from The World’s Worst Children and you can visit his website where there are lots of fun things to do.
Things you might do after sharing:
– Design your own worst child.
– Choose one of the children and write a character profile.
The Promise by Nicola Davis
Nicola Davies reads her book here and you can listen to two poems read by her here ‘The Secret of the Egg‘ and ‘Raised in Rhyme‘.
Things you might do after sharing:
– The Promise: what promises could you each make?
– Plant seeds, fruit and vegetables.
– Explore eggs
– Write poems
– Explore anything in the house and look at different ways of looking at them, for example a cushion. Describe what the look like, feel like etc.
More Authors reading:
Jan Blake is a compelling story teller. Find her on the web or watch her telling The Leopard Woman.
Oliver Jeffers has videos of himself reading on instagram here.
Online books to listen to or watch.
Spider and the Fly and Ted by Toni DiTerlizi.
‘Storytime Storytime’ is a YouTube channel full of videos of people reading children’s stories aloud.
If you like these, then here are other books they have written:
Spiderwick Chronicles
The Journey by Francesca Sanna
Picture Books boys and girls of all ages
Tuesday and Flotsam by David Weisner
If you like these, then here are other books they have written:
The Three Pigs
Art and Max
June 29 1999
Great Author Websites
Websites with lists of recommended authors:
This site has extensive links to books and ideas: https://www.booktrust.org.uk/books-and-reading/have-some-fun/
This site links you into some author sites with practical ideas linked to the books: https://clpe.org.uk/powerofpictures/authors-and-illustrators
There are masses of suggestions for storytelling in StoryQuest 28 Ways to turn children into storytellers, produced by The Prince of WalesArts & Kids Foundation. Find the pdf here.
Libraries4Schools have a really comprehensive list of authors and illustrators here.
Stories to download and view online
Audible books have made available many books to listen to for children for free, check them out here
Last month Mingzhou Zhang initiated his translation and reading programme called Picture Books About COVID-19 for Children Around the World. The online platform is now open here. Eleven books have been selected and are available in over ten languages. The books are related to the current pandemic and the spread of COVID-19.
Comics and Magazines online:
“
©2023 United Kingdom Literacy Association, All rights reserved
Our members enable us to produce quality resources like these and every membership contributes to our important work of improving literacy education for all. If you value this resource please consider supporting the work of the Association by joining us.
Find out more about becoming a UKLA member.