Hello Cozy Family!!
Today I’m going to be doing the first deep dive into the updated school curriculum reading list that I recently shared, starting with primary school (8 - 10 years old).
What would you add or take away from this list? Do you agree with my suggestions?
My main aim and goal with this list is to inspire and create readers earlier on. So many people find the books they read at school to be a chore and not interesting to them in the slightest. Because of that, so many people give up on reading entirely, and it is only a select few who then go to find a passion and joy in reading again in their adulthood.
If we want to create readers at an early age, we need to find books that they will enjoy, that they can be passionate about and actively seek out the next book in the series or similar books after finishing it. We need to spark that love for reading early and then actively and continuously fan the flames of that passion with books that kids might actually be interested in. Books they can see themselves and their experiences in. Books that are fun and relatable and timely for the age that they are first picking it up.
With that all in mind, here are my suggestions for primary school (8 - 10 years old):
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
Best Friends Forever by Lisa Williamson
… + a graphic novel tbc (suggestions welcomed!)
Percy Jackson
In my opinion, Percy Jackson is the ultimate recommendation (for all age groups really, it’s timeless). It’s fun, it’s filled with adventure, it emphasises not using technology (something a lot of parents are, very validly, attempting to do, due to concerns surrounding the amount of technology kids are exposed to), and it is also a brilliant representation for ADHD and dyslexia.
So many children, myself included, found themselves in the pages of this story. Connecting to the characters, wanting to go on wild adventures and quests, and loving the possibilities that the world of Percy Jackson presents to them. Demi-gods are among us and you could be one! Magic is real and in the world around us!
The incorporation of mythology, explaining away how monsters come and go, why the average mortal wouldn’t notice them, and how heroes exist and defend us all. You could be a demi-god, you could be a hero, you could be a mortal who is clear sighted and able to see through the mist into the magical world around us all.
The imagination, the adventure, the representation - all of this, and so much more, is why I think that every child should be introduced to the world of Percy Jackson at some point. To introduce these books in a school setting, where teachers and educators are helping to promote the use of imagination and creativity, as well as presenting children with fictional role models that might struggle with the same disabilities as they do, characters that constantly overcome all the challenges they are presented and work together through it all - it’s just so very important and something Percy Jackson does it spades!
A Kind of Spark
Speaking of representation and how important that is for children, especially young girls with autism as that is sadly something that doesn’t get diagnosed until much later in life, A Kind of Spark is another brilliant book that I would highly recommend be taught and shared with children in schools.
Not only does it follow a young autistic girl, which is an incredibly important representation, but it also talks about the witch trials and making sure the women and girls who were persecuted are not forgotten. This book allows for an inspiring and unique look into the witch trials across history, and provides an opportunity for children to research their own local areas to discover the local history (whether that be witch trials related or not).
Creating a memorial for the women who died in the witch trials in her local town is a passion project for the main character of this book. It opens teachers and educators to a world of possibilities, asking children to research into something they are passionate about as well. A collaborative class project to create the equivalent of the witch trials memorial that was in the book but relating to their local area or to a topic that the children have collectively decided is important to them (whether be historical, environmental, commemorating the work of someone in the community, etc).
There are so many potentials and possibilities that can come from studying A Kind of Spark!! So many wonderful lessons on community, history, and being kind to and accepting of one another.
Best Friends Forever
This is a book that I believe is best read and studied just prior to children moving from one school to the next. In the UK, that would mean moving from primary school to secondary school (aged 10 or 11 depending on where in the year their birthday falls).
Following friend dramas and the challenges of moving schools, both incredibly scary things to children and quite literally their entire world at that point in their lives. This book shows how people grow, how cliques are formed, how friends drift apart and new friends are made. Things that can feel like the end of the world to a young child, all put into perspective and providing hope that it will all be okay.
From just this perspective alone, I truly believe that Best Friends Forever is a book that all schools should teach, or at the very least show, to children before that absolutely terrifying change occurs of moving schools as you get older. There are many wonderful lessons, both morally and topics that can be used in the classroom, within this book, but it is the peace of mind and confronting the relating of moving schools that I think is the important reason this book should be taught at schools.
Graphic Novels
Honestly, I am still debating which graphic novel specifically that I think should be included in this list. However, I do think it is important that a graphic novel be included.
Not only are they another form of storytelling, which in itself is a wonderful lesson to cover in a classroom, but it is also an easier form of storytelling to consume if a child is struggling to read chapter books. Whether that struggle originates from dyslexia or attention span issues or a variety of other reasons, graphic novels are a way for children (and adults) to consume literature, use their imaginations, embrace their creativity, and find stories that grip them.
The hope is one day that passion for graphic novels might translate over into reading full length chapter books, but even if it doesn’t, reading is reading - and reading anything at all is the most important thing.
There are also infinite possibilities of combining English literature lessons with art lessons when using graphic novels. Showing children how the two forms of creativity can be combined, getting them to create their own comic strips, looking at the different art styles used in graphic novels, and so much more.
Graphic novels are accessible and a route into reading that many overlook or look down upon, when they really shouldn’t. Reading is reading, and all reading is good. Especially if it can inspire creativity and imagination, and nurture a love for storytelling, no matter the form it is in.
If you have suggestions for which graphic novels you think would be amazing for children to look at in schools, please do comment your recs below! I would love to look into all suggestions!
Until next time,
Charlotte xx
