Back to School Books

Back to School with Books2Door! 

As children head back to school ensuring that they have their essential items is every parent's top priority. Here at Books2Door, we have compiled a collection of books aimed at children heading to Primary school. Whether it is their first year or final year we have a wide selection of books organised into year groups for you to choose from. Our back-to-school range provides affordable titles that your child will enjoy throughout their school years and afterwards. 

Nursery and Foundation 

The Foundation years are vital for building children’s phonics and reading aloud skills, enabling them to improve their communication and grasp of language as well as encourage creative thinking. In this collection, we have classic children’s stories like Winnie the Pooh and Beatrix Potter. We also have Biff, Chip and Kipper phonics books to help children learn alongside characters they know and love. If Biff, Chip and Kipper isn’t something your child is interested in, we have a Julia Donaldson Phonics Collection that goes from stages 1 - 4 so as they develop knowledge and skills you can move them up different levels. 

Year One 

Throughout their study as a year one pupil your child will be expected to further develop their phonics skills and reading aloud. This year will test their abilities as well as encourage them to progress through the reading stages. To empower your child and help them tackle their reading goals, we have a wide selection of book sets to choose from. 

Following the Oxford reading tree, our Biff, Chip and Kipper set is aimed at stage 2 readers and contains 16 books. This set is designed for phonics-based reading whilst keeping the reader interested in the story. This set is the perfect companion for any young reader and is considered one of the best year 1 and above characters. Moving on from stage 2, we have a Reading Champions Collection that spans from band 6 up to band 10. This means that the collection should last them until they enter year two and continue to test them during these two school years and beyond. The stories are short and filled with illustrations to keep the reader engaged. The books also contain activities at the end to encourage the reader to relay back what has happened in the story, something they will be expected to do in year one and year two. 

Year two 

Year two can be a very stressful year for children and parents alike. The children are still getting to grips with school life and learning but this year they will be expected to sit SATS exams. With this in mind, our dedicated year two collection is aimed to not only support them through their exams but still encourage their reading and storytelling. 

Our set of 4 Practise Assessment Papers will help your child prepare for their exams by practising reading exam questions as well as answering them. These practice papers aim to make the exam experience less daunting and make it less stressful when they have to sit the real exams. As your child develops throughout year 2, they will be expected to read more detailed books and relay information back to you and their teachers. With this in mind, it is important to find books that will keep children interested and invested in the stories. 

My Reading Library by Usborne Publishing Ltd offers a wide selection of well-known stories but in an easier and more accessible format for children. Featuring stories like Oliver Twist, Black Beauty, Alice in Wonderland and many more this is a great way to start your child on older reading with longer paragraphs and chapters. Alternatively, if they are not ready for that leap, our Mog the Cat Collection contains 8 beautifully illustrated stories following Mog and her family. Follow Mog on her mischievous adventures, originally published in 1970 this beloved cat truly is remarkable. 

Year 3 

By this stage, children are starting to decide what kind of books they want to read, what genres interest them and what kind of characters they want to go on adventures with. Many children will read and will intensely enjoy Roald Dahl’s books. With this in mind, we have compiled a collection of his bestsellers intending to save you money. Our Roald Dahl Collection contains 16 of his beloved books including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, BFG and many more. The mischievous characters and unique stories are bound to keep your child entertained for hours as they develop their reading skills at the same time. Beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake, these books will remain a popular choice on children’s bookshelves for years to come. 

Dav Pilkey’s novels have quickly become a favourite of children of all ages. Whether they are fighting crime as a superhero with Captain Underpants or solving mysteries and keeping the streets safe with Dog Man, with the head of a dog and the body of a man his adventures are a great introduction to graphic novels. With the introduction of Kid Cat as his trusty sidekick, the Dog Man series is bound to unlock your child’s imagination. 

Year 4

Young readers are continuing to grow and develop their interests at this age, finding a book or author they love will help shape the person they want to become. If your child has enjoyed reading longer books or they might wish to try something a little more challenging if this is the case we have C.S.Lewis’s Narnia Collection available.

Enid Blyton is an example of an author that stands the test of time. Much like Roald Dahl, her work has been treasured by generations and generations to come. Our Faraway Tree Collection is perfect for a year 4 reader, the stories follow three siblings as they move to a new house and discover an enchanted wood on their doorstep. Let their imagination run wild with the help of Blyton's creative mind. 

Year 5 

In year 5 children are expected to have a wider reading range and a larger understanding of grammar and linguistic styles. With this in mind, we have simplified classics to slowly introduce them to more complex works, allowing them to gain a good grasp of the subject matters without being overwhelmed by the texts themselves. Our Shakespears 20 Children’s Stories Collection and The Sherlock Holmes Children’s Collection, are both beautifully illustrated and presented in a way that young readers can enjoy. 

The Amelia Fang series has quickly become a favourite amongst children aged 9-10. With the gothic style and cute characters, it is easy to see why. There are seven books in our series and each is beautifully illustrated throughout. Following the theme of fantastical plotlines, Adam Blade’s Beast Quest series is a great way for your child to disappear into a book. We sell box sets of the series 1-3 and 4-6 making for plenty of reading material for them to work through. 

Year 6 

By this point, most children know their likes and dislikes as well as what they enjoy reading in school and in their spare time. Our year 6 collections aim to provide you with some inspiration on what could be their next read. The collection includes well-known bestsellers like the full Harry Potter series or Jaqueline Wilson’s iconic yet tragic books. 

Many children will start to read books with darker plots, like Jaqueline Wilson, the stories tend to have much more mature themes such as divorce, grief and mental health. Young Adult literature is a very popular genre with pre-teens, teenagers and adults alike. In their final year of Primary school, your child may start to branch into YA books like Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series, a teenager recruited by MI6 after the suspicious death of his uncle. Some children might be interested in spookier stories or want to adventure in the horror genre, Goosebumps: The Classic Series is the perfect introduction. 

We hope our collection makes shopping for your child back to school books easier. Don’t forget to check out our books categorised into age brackets 0-5, 5-7, 7-9, 9-14 and YA. You can browse our full range of fiction books here.