KS1

Year 1 Top 100 Reads

Year 2 Top 100 Reads

High Quality Text List

A small creature from outer space lands on Earth accidentally. She finds the Earth creatures unfeeling and unfriendly, until she finds a box of unwanted puppies, and then a school playground full of small creatures who ‘seemed hopeful’. Empathy is evoked by both the brief text and the distinctive illustrations which portray Beegu against the background of a stark and empty urban landscape.
This is a free teaching sequence from the CLPE

The Lost Words is a collaboration between Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris, seeking to ‘summon what has vanished’ and celebrate a host of disappearing words relating to the natural world. This is a book about preservation - of nature, of language and of childhood – and the beautifully illustrated over-sized hardback volume is in itself a book to preserve and treasure.

In the rockpool above the sea, live two crabs: Big Crab and Little Crab. Today, they’re going for a dip in the sea. “This is going to be so great!” says Little Crab. But then Little Crab catches a first glimpse of the water... Oh. The waves! They're ENORMOUS. "JEEPERS!" Will Little Crab be brave enough to go in?
Teaching notes written by the CLPE

These notes have been written by the teachers at the CLPE to provide schools with ideas to develop comprehension and cross-curricular activities around this text. They build on our work supporting teachers to use quality texts throughout the reading curriculum. They encourage a deep reading of and reflection on the text, which may happen over a series of reading sessions, rather than in just one sitting

Children use their toothbrush each morning and evening, and get new ones every few months. That's billions of toothbrushes! What happens to them all when they're no longer needed? And if toothbrushes take thousands of years to break down, what does that mean for our planet?
With a fun cast of plastic characters, from pirate-ship bottles to dancing shampoos, and even an inquisitive albatross, The Tale of a Toothbush is a positive and heart-warming story to help children explore the impact their choices have on our planet.

Are you looking for happiness? Sometimes it can feel really far away, and sometimes you might have so much you can’t help but share. You can try to chase it, control it or capture it, but even if it seems like it’s gone for a while, you’ll know it’s never far away...
This is the second of Eva Eland's picture books that helps little ones deal with big emotions. Start on your journey with happiness... who knows where it could take you?
Free teaching notes above from the CLPE

Eva has been searching for her cat Luna, who has been missing for a couple of days. One evening she comes across the Moonlight Zoo which is a magical place which takes care of lost animals during the night. Along her journey she meets many different animals, including, parrots, penguins, lions, even guinea pigs. But what it all comes down to is finding Luna and bringing her home, will Eva be able to do this before dawn?

Peter’s dog Nell has an amazing sense of smell. Her ever-sniffing nose is always hard at work solving mysteries and finding all Peter’s lost toys. But Nell has other talents too . . .
When she’s not cracking cases, Nell goes to school with Peter and listens to the children read. Books about dinosaurs, books about space and even books about dogs – Nell loves them all! But one day Peter and Nell arrive at school to find all the books have disappeared! Who could have taken them, and why?