Both classical novels and contemporary literature have a lot to offer young readers. But, as we all know, children sometimes need a little nudge to pick up a book. So, we thought we’d put together a list of brilliant books that children of all ages can enjoy!

Some of the 100 titles towards the end of this list may not be suitable for less confident readers to pick up independently, but are still great to read to younger children. Why not challenge your child to see how many they can read by the end of primary school?

100 children’s books for ages 2 to 11

1. The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson
2. Green Eggs and Ham – Dr Seuss
3. Giraffes Can’t Dance – Giles Andreae
4. Dinosaurs Love Underpants – Claire Freedman & Ben Cort
5. Dear Zoo – Rod Campbell
6. Not Now, Bernard – David McKee
7. Handa’s Surprise – Eileen Browne
8. The Rainbow Fish – Marcus Pfister
9. We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury
10. Owl Babies – Martin Waddell and Patrick Henson
11. The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
12. And Tango Makes Three – Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
13. Spyder – Matt Carr
14. Juniper Jupiter – Lizzy Stewart
15. Peace at Last – Jill Murphy
16. Oi Frog! – Kes Gray
17. Mrs Mole, I’m Home – Jarvis
18. The Tiger Who Came to Tea – Judith Kerr
19. Charlie and Lola – Lauren Child
20. The Day the Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt
21. My Friend Bear – Jez Alborough
22. A Bear Called Paddington – Michael Bond
23. F unnybones – Allan Ahlberg
24. Katie Morag – Mairi Hedderwick
25. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs – Jon Scieszka
26. The Adventures of Captain Underpants – Dav Pilkey
27. Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown
28. Rosie Revere, Engineer – Andrea Beaty and David Roberts
29. George’s Marvellous Medicine/The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me/The Twits etc – Roald Dahl
30. The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark – Jill Tomlinson
31. Pirate School: Just a Bit of Wind – Jeremy Strong
32. The Diary of a Killer Cat – Anne Fine
33. Daisy and the Trouble with Life – Kes Gray
34. Dogger – Shirley Hughes
35. Gobbolino the Witch’s Cat – Ursula Williams
36. The Tear Thief – Carol Ann Duffy
37. Horrid Henry – Francesca Simon
38. Fluff the Farting Fish – Michael Rosen
39. Mr Majeika – Humphrey Carpenter
40. Nim’s Island – Wendy Orr
41. How to Train Your Dragon – Cressida Cowell
42. You’re a Bad Man Mr Gum – Andy Stanton
43. Shadow – Michael Morpurgo
44. The 13-Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths
45. Beast Quest – Adam Blade
46. Charlotte’s Web – E.B. White
47. The Midnight Fox – Betsy Byars
48. Animal Ark series – Lucy Daniels
49. Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren
50. The Time Travelling Cat – Julia Jarman
51. The Worst Witch – Jill Murphy
52. Doctor Dolittle – Hugh Lofting
53. The Legend of Captain Crow’s Teeth – Eoin Colfer
54. The Watchers – Helen Cresswell
55. The 52-Storey Treehouse – Andy Griffiths
56. Desirable – Frank Cottrell Boyce
57. Street Child – Berlie Doherty
58. The Iron Man – Ted Hughes
59. How to Train Your Parents – Pete Johnson
60. Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Jeff Kinney
61. Carrie’s War – Nina Bawden
62. The Spiderwick Chronicles – Tony Diterlizzi
63. Tom’s Midnight Garden – Phillipa Pearce
64. Cliffhanger/Lottie/Lola Rose etc – Jacqueline Wilson
65. The Famous Five/Malory Towers/The Naughtiest Girl in the School etc – Enid Blyton
66. Artemis Fowl – Eoin Colfer
67. Horrible Histories – Terry Deary
68. Gangsta Granny – David Walliams
69. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – JK Rowling
70. Stormbreaker – Anthony Horowitz
71. Wonder – RJ Palacio
72. The Chronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis
73. The Brilliant World of Tom Gates – Liz Pichon
74. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas – John Boyne
75. Goodnight Mr Tom – Michelle Magorian
76. Dragons at Crumbling Castle – Terry Pratchett
77. What Katy Did – Susan Coolidge
78. Who Let the Gods Out? – Maz Evans
79. Murder MostUnladylike – Robin Stevens
80. The Girl of Ink and Stars
81. Skulduggery Pleasant – Derek Landy
82. Noughts and Crosses/Thief – Malorie Blackman
83. The Firework-Maker’s Daughter – Philip Pullman
84. A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
85. Holes – Louis Sachar
86. The Boy at the Back of the Class – Onjali Q. Rauf
87. The Fastest Boy in the World – Elizabeth Laird
88. My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece – Annabel Pitcher
89. Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
90. The Jungle Book – Rudyard Kipling
91. The Wind in the Willows – Kenneth Grahame
92. The Tale of Peter Rabbit – Beatrix Potter
93. The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
94. Anne of Green Gables – L. Montgomery
95. Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
96. The Borrowers – Mary Norton
97. Black Beauty – Anna Sewell
98. Treasure Island – Robert Louis Stevenson
99. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Lewis Carroll
100. The Diary of Anne Frank – Anne Frank

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