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7 Amazing Book Topics You’ll Want To Teach Every Year

Lloyd Burgess

Added: 11th December 2015

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Take your class on a voyage of discovery in the Antarctic, rocket up into space and ride a giant peach over the ocean with these children’s literary gems.
Just click on each one to open up a complete book topic with a range of activities to use in your lessons.

1. Toys in Space

7 Amazing Book Topics You’ll Want To Teach Every Year

Author: Mini Grey
Publisher: Red Fox
Key Stage 1

Award-winning illustrator Mini Grey’s delightful picture book draws young children’s attention to the playful side of storytelling and feeds their imagination with the question: where do all the lost toys go? This absorbing and emotionally-rich reading experience for children, offers great opportunities for storytelling and creative writing exercises.

Click here to access the full book topic
and activities for Toys in Space

2. Where my Wellies Take Me

Authors: Michael and Clare Morpurgo
Publisher: Templar Publishing
Key Stage 1/2

Celebrate the wonder of childhood and a love of the countryside with 40 evocative poems that will germinate a love of verse that will stay with pupils for many years to come. This story takes the form of a child’s scrapbook created by Pippa – a young girl whose wellie-clad adventures create the narrative frame for the poems contained within.

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and activities for Where my Wellies Take Me

3. James and the Giant Peach

Author: Roald Dahl
Publisher: Puffin Books
Key Stage 2

One of the many Dahl classics, James’ journey across the Atlantic atop a giant peach accompanied by a band of insects has its fair share of sadness and angst. However, used sensitively it has much to teach us about the importance of friendship and allows us enjoy the lighter side of the tale with some creative activities such as designing our own fantastical home, and seeing what other everyday foods might be good as an unusual means of travel.

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and activities for James and the Giant Peach

4. Shackleton's Journey

Author: William Grill
Publisher: Flying Eye Books
Key Stage 2

Join Ernest Shackleton’s perilous venture through the icy waters of Antarctica with William Grill’s fantastic retelling of this historical tale. Are your class brave enough to form the ship’s crew and face the many seemingly insurmountable challenges that were undertaken on this expedition? This non-fiction book shows how building resilience is not simply about strength of body, but also about strength of character.

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and activities for Shackleton’s Journey

5. Oliver and the Seawigs

Author and Illustrator: Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Key Stage 2

There’s something in the water in this fantastic tale, with a talking albatross, some rather strange islands to discover and some unique head-wear. Follow Oliver on his search to very strange lands in search of his explorer parents. This book offers plenty of opportunities to explore tales, myths and symbols of the sea, from Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ to how the idea of mermaids came about to the famous head statues of Easter Island.

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and activities for Oliver and the Seawigs

6. The Land of Neverbelieve

Author: Norman Messenger
Publisher: Walker
Key Stage 2

The Land of Neverbelieve’s weird and wonderful wildlife will have children’s imaginations overflowing with world-building ideas. Part journal, part naturalist’s report, this fascinating book takes the reader on a journey into Messenger’s imagined world. Spellbound by the plants, creatures, people and landscape, he painstakingly catalogues his amazing adventure, wary of the island’s ability to produce legs and walk off on a whim to settle in a new location.

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and activities for The Land of Neverbelieve

7. Journey

Author: Aaron Becker
Publisher: Walker
Key Stage 2

A lonely girl draws a door on her bedroom wall and steps into another world. Aided by her magic crayon she travels through this strange, new place. Shifting landscapes give way to a remarkable city where there’s a villain to confront, and where the girl needs all her courage and resourcefulness in order to survive. With so much to look at and think about, this is a book that can be read on many levels, and his watercolour illustrations provide a rich and memorable reading experience that will inspire much in the way of thinking and talking, and make a wonderful starting point for creative projects of all kinds.

Click here to access the full book topic
and activities for Journey