For children and adults alike, reading is a lifelong skill, and one that has a profound impact on academic and personal development. There are many benefits of reading during the Summer Holidays, such as maintaining and improving literacy skills, fighting the summer slide and continuing to foster a love of books and reading in students! 

Not only will this blog explore just some of the many benefits of reading in more depth, but we’ve also put together our top 10 recommended reading list for years 4 to 13 for you to test out this summer! 

As we spoke about in our earlier blog all about the summer slide, this phenomenon sees students experiencing a decline in reading ability and comprehension as a result of lack of practice during the long summer break. Regular reading over the 6-week break can help combat the summer slide and ensure a smooth transition back to school in September, without students needing to catch up! 

Reading also exposes students to new words, interesting phrases, and inventive language structures, helping to expand vocabulary and develop their language skills.This in turn improves readers’ comprehension and communication skills, not just in the English subjects but in all aspects of school and in life! 

Reading fiction and imaginative stories can ignite students’ imagination and creativity. Exposure to different genres and narratives can also inspire students to think critically and develop their own ideas, for example when reading mysteries!

Reading a diverse range of literature exposes the readers to different cultures, experiences, and perspectives, and can help them not only expand their understanding but also their empathy for others. Empathising with characters and their journeys fosters understanding, tolerance, and empathy.

Lastly, reading improves cognitive skills like concentration, focus, and memory, all skills that are very useful for students when preparing for events in their lives like exams! Analysing plots, characters, and themes also enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities which can help in all aspects of life.

These are just many of the ways in which regular reading can help students, both children and adults, why not get started today and experience these and more!

Check out our top 10 recommended reading lists for each year to help you:

Year 4: 

The Land of Roar by Jenny McLachlan & Ben Mantle 

The Girl who Stole an Elephant by Nizrana Farook 

How to Train your Dragon by Cressida Cowell 

The Queen’s Nose by Dick King Smith

Starfell by Dominique Valente and Sarah Warburton 

Matilda by Roald Dahl 

When the Mountains Roared by Jess Butterworth 

Call me Lion by Camilla Chester 

Sky by Holly Webb 

The Highland Falcon Thief by M.G.Leonard, Sam Sedgman and Elisa Paganelli 

Year 5:

Jaz Santos vs The World by Priscilla Mante 

Freddy and the New Kid by Neill Cameron 

The Treasure Hunters by Lisa Thompson and Gemma Correll

Brightstorm: A Sky-Ship Adventure by Vashti Hardy 

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold and Levi Pinfold 

Alex Neptune, Dragon Thief by David Owen and George Ermos 

The Day My Family Disappeared by Jo Simmons and Lee Cosgrove 

Diary of an Accidental Witch by Honor and Perdita Cargill and Katie Saunders 

Frankie’s World by Aoife Dooly 

The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell 

Year 7: 

Running out of Time by Simon Fox 

Holes by Louis Sachar

The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson 

The Box of Delights by John Masefield

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Wonder by RJ Palacio

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo 

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle 

Kick by Mitch Johnson

Year 8: 

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine 

Lord of the Flies by Willam Golding

Animal Farm by George Orwell 

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Peterson 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon 

Liccle Bit by Alex Wheatle 

Year 10: 

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Sallinger 

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

1984 by George Orwell 

As Far as You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Every Day by David Levithan

The Road by Cormac McCarthy 

Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie 

Year 11:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Savage Her Reply by Dierdre Sullivan 

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells 

Baby Teeth by Meg Grehan

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulkes 

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe 

A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 

Dune by Frank Herbet  

Year 12: 

Witch Light by Susan Fletcher

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Shtum by Jem Lester

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson 

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

Burnt Shadows by Kamila Shamsie 

Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 

A Boy’s Own Story by Edmund White

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Year 13: 

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 

A Fort of Nine Towers by Qais Akbar Omar

Philomena by Martin Sixsmith 

White Rabbit, Red Wolf by Tom Pollock

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

Atonement by Ian McEwan 

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway

Paradise Lost by John Milton 

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald

(we get lots of recommendations each year from https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/ so head there to find even more!)

Is your favourite book on here? If not, let us know so we can add it for the future! 

For more recommended reading, or advice on helping your student foster a love of reading this Summer Holidays and beyond, speak to a member of our team today!