Closing the Reading Gap is an essential, research-informed guide for educators committed to improving literacy and tackling educational inequality. Alex Quigley brings together a wealth of evidence with practical classroom strategies, exploring how reading development underpins success across the curriculum - and how gaps in literacy can widen over time if not addressed with intention.
What makes this book particularly valuable is its clarity and applicability. Quigley breaks down complex ideas around vocabulary, comprehension and disciplinary literacy into actionable approaches that teachers can implement across subjects, not just in English. There is a strong emphasis on consistency, explicit teaching and ... View Full Review
In In the Margins, Elena Ferrante offers a series of reflective essays that explore the act of reading and writing with honesty, intelligence and quiet intensity. Drawing on her own experiences as a reader and writer, Ferrante considers how stories shape us - not just intellectually, but emotionally and instinctively.
For educators, this is a particularly resonant read. Ferrante articulates something many teachers recognise but rarely have time to pause and examine: that reading is not always neat, structured or measurable. It is often messy, personal and transformative. Her reflections on voice, influence and the tension between imitation and originality ... View Full Review
In a time when schools are rightly questioning whose stories are told - and whose are missing - Beyond the Secret Garden feels both urgent and essential.
Drawing on years of writing and research, Darren Chetty and Karen Sands-O’Connor explore how children’s literature in Britain has represented - and often failed to represent - Black and racially minoritised people.
What emerges is not a critique from the outside, but a thoughtful, deeply informed examination of the stories many of us grew up with - and the assumptions quietly embedded within them.
For teachers, this is ... View Full Review
When Philip Pullman declares a book “one of the best surveys of children’s literature” - you take note. You grab it by both hands. And read it voraciously.
In a landscape where reading is increasingly measured, assessed and squeezed into outcomes, this is a timely and necessary reminder of why reading matters in the first place.
Sam Leith takes us on a journey through the history of children’s literature - from folklore and fairy tales to modern classics - but this is far more than a literary overview. At its heart, it’s ... View Full Review
This handbook brings together international research and classroom practice in a way that is both scholarly and deeply practical.
Contributors from across the field explore how children’s and YA literature functions within educational spaces: how texts shape identity, how reading for pleasure connects to wellbeing, how diverse voices transform student engagement, and how literature can be used purposefully to support critical thinking and cultural understanding.
What makes this volume particularly valuable for schools is its dual focus on theory and practice. Chapters ground big ideas about literacy, identity and inclusion in real classroom contexts, offering insights that can ... View Full Review
Evie and her best friend Dr Dino are enjoying a family day out at the beach. There are waves to splash in and pretty shells to collect but...will they see a mermaid? Evie and Dr Dino set out on an adventure to find out.
They scour the rockpools, build a submarine to take them out to sea, explore a kelp forest and a mangrove but still no mermaid! Fortunately they find lots of other sea creatures instead and we learn about the tiny worm pipefish that hasn't any teeth, the clever dolphins that communicate with whistles and clicks, ... View Full Review
The National Year of Reading starts here. Join thousands of families and schools supporting reading for pleasure across the UK.
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