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The lockdown favourite banana bread is there! KS1/2

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Fancy doing some baking with your family? We've got lots of fun, easy-to-follow recipes for you to try out.

Whether you're a big fan of The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen or The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, you're sure to find some tasty treats to enjoy!

BookTrust HomeTime

Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
Go to the HomeTime hub

Storybooks and games

Listen or read along with loads of stories, or play one of our interactive games.

Quizzes

Test your knowledge of children's books with our fun quizzes - from Harry Potter to Roald Dahl.

Activities

Word searches, puzzles, colouring sheets and lots of creative inspiration. Print out our activity sheets to keep boredom at bay and have fun together.

Back to top

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Recipes: Book-themed recipes for you to try

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Fancy doing some baking with your family? We've got lots of fun, easy-to-follow recipes for you to try out. Whether you're a big fan of The Bumblebear by Nadia Shireen or The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, you're sure to find some tasty treats to enjoy!

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Great for setting reading on children's interests

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Save the Children - KS1 friendly

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In June 2020, Walker Books released Rain before rainbows. Clouds before sun.
Night before daybreak. A new day's begun.
Rain Before Rainbows ahead of publication as a free eBook to raise awareness for Save the Children's #SaveWithStories campaign which is helping children most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The book was read by Stanley Tucci as part of this campaign. The rainbow has become an incredible symbol of hope and optimism, and we hope that this uplifting story continues to be a source of comfort and light to children and families.
A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow. A book with immense hope at its heart, this is a positive message for anyone who's ever gone through a tough time.

You can buy Rain Before Rainbows: here

Text © 2020 Smriti Halls. Illustrations © 2020 David Litchfield. Rain Before Rainbows published by Walker Books Ltd., London. All Rights Reserved. Warning: Unauthorised copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting are prohibited.

Policies and Terms of Use

Copyright © 2021 Walker Books Ltd.
Walker Books Ltd., 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ. Registered in England under Company No. 1378601

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In June 2020, Walker Books released Rain before rainbows. Clouds before sun. Night before daybreak. A new day's begun. Rain Before Rainbows ahead of publication as a free eBook to raise awareness for Save the Children's #SaveWithStories campaign which is helping children most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

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BookTrust HomeTime

Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
Go to the HomeTime hub

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"We start and finish each day with stories" - Staying Home with Sally Nicholls

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Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters. Go to the HomeTime hub

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Topical subjects like 'Lockdown haircut' and 'The worst birthday ever!'

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'This book is about lockdown - the good bits, the bad bits, and the ugly bits when nobody could get any toilet roll.'

Island-based publisher Cranachan has launched a free, illustrated anthology of poems and stories for children aged 8-12. Stay at Home! Poems and Prose for Children in Lockdown is a collection of 40 lockdown-themed contributions by writers based in Scotland. BooksfromScotland is delighted to host the collection here.

Wonderfully illustrated by Darren Gate, there is something in the anthology for everyone, from the serious to the hilarious, with short stories, flash fiction, poems, letters and diaries (including some in Scots) all giving their take on lockdown life topics such as kitchen haircuts,
birthdays, home-schooling, daily exercise, pets, nature, neighbours-and even toilet roll alternatives!

Contributors: Raisah Ahmed, Annemarie Allan, Dean Atta, Nayanika Basu, Pamela Butchart, Philip Caveney, Maisie Chan, Suleman Chebe, Alastair Chisholm, Justin Davies, Lari Don, Elizabeth Ezra, Matthew Fitt, Kerry L Fleming, Merryn Glover, Laura Guthrie, Joan Haig, Yasmin Hanif, Robert J Harris, Callum Heitler, Barbara Henderson, Diana Hendry, Emily Illet, Lindsay Littleson, Joseph Lamb, Elizabeth Laird, Joan Lennon, Caroline Logan, Janis Mackay, Alan McClure, Miranda Moore, Raman Mundair, Alex Nye, Rachel Plummer, Ross Sayers, Linda Strachan, Chae Strathie, and Victoria Williamson.

Now, click on the cover image, and enjoy!

For more information on Cranachan Books, visit their website.

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Stay At Home! Poems and Prose for Children in Lockdown | Books from Scotland

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'This book is about lockdown - the good bits, the bad bits, and the ugly bits when nobody could get any toilet roll.' Island-based publisher Cranachan has launched a free, illustrated anthology of poems and stories for children aged 8-12. Stay at Home!

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Book of Hopes by National Literacy Trust 

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Book of Hopes by National Literacy Trust 

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Short stories and poetry edited by Katherine Rundell - text only KS1/2

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See all in 9 to 12

Edited by Katherine Rundell, with contributions from more than 100 children's writers and illustrators

Completely free for all children and families, the extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children's writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.

The collection, published by Bloomsbury, is dedicated to the doctors, nurses, carers, porters, cleaners and everyone currently working in hospitals.

The Book of Hopes is currently available to read online only. Bloomsbury intends to publish a gift book based on the project in the autumn in support of NHS Charities Together. Please visit @KidsBloomsbury for further updates on this.

Read the book

Find out more about The Book of Hopes by clicking on the link below to read the news article.

Read the news article

More on Family Zone

Explore writing with Katherine Rundell

Watch the bestselling children's author read from her latest books, and get her tips for overcoming writer's block.

Learn more

Onjali Rauf's writing tips

Read the first chapter of Onjali Q. Rauf's books completely free, and get her tips on how to start writing.

Learn more

Free resources for 9 to 12 year olds

Free ebooks, giveaways and activities for children aged 9 to 12 to develop their literacy skills.

Learn more

Back to Family Zone

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The Book of Hopes | National Literacy Trust

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See all in 9 to 12 Edited by Katherine Rundell, with contributions from more than 100 children's writers and illustrators Completely free for all children and families, the extraordinary collection of short stories, poems, essays and pictures has contributions from more than 110 children's writers and illustrators, including Lauren Child, Anthony Horowitz, Greg James and Chris Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Liz Pichon, Axel Scheffler, Francesca Simon and Jacqueline Wilson.

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Has been adapted to e books which anyone can access by joining local library. Also magazines/newspapers.

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We know that due to the Covid-19 crisis, finding books to read for your Summer Reading Challenge won't be as easy as popping into the library. While library buildings are closed, libraries can still help you find books to read through their virtual services and e-lending platforms. Depending on your location, you may be able to visit your library in person.

Borrowing books from your library

Our friends at CILIP (check out the National Shelf Service on YouTube) have put together this quick guide to help you get started. You can join your local library remotely and access lots of wonderful e-resources, including books, audio books, comics and magazines.

Visit your local authority council website where you will find a link to the library service.
If you're in the UK, you can use theLibraries at home search here, or the gov.uk search here to find your local library service.
For services in Douglas, Isle of Man, visit theHenry Bloom Noble website and the Family Library website.

From the library service website, look out for the link to your library's e-resources

Here you should find joining information to sign up to the library and access their e-lending services.

If you have any problems, you can contact your local library authority directly - they are still working remotely!

Websites and apps

You can also go directly to these e-book lenders and sign in with your library information

BorrowBox
With the BorrowBox library app, you can browse, borrow and download amazing titles by your favourite authors from the comfort of your own home or when you're out and about. Get the app today from your App Store or Google Play and start enjoying incredible eBooks and eAudiobooks straight away via your local library.

OverDrive
OverDrive is the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide. We deliver the industry's largest catalog of ebooks, audiobooks and other digital media to a growing network of 43,000 libraries and schools in 70 countries. Users access OverDrive library services via our award-winning app Libby.

RB Digital
Enjoy the Summer Reading Challenge with your local library and RBdigital. Check out your local library website for availability.

Supporting local bookshops

Hive
Hive is an ethical online retailer, selling Books, eBooks, DVDs, Music and Gifts.
We love the high street, and most of all we love bookshops! We are proud to support an Independent bookshop in our network with a percentage of every single sale we make on the site.
You can order online, and collect your orders in your local shop, or have them delivered direct to your home, either way the shops still benefit from your purchase.

Re-read a book from home

You can also read books you already have at home and add them to your Summer Reading Challenge profile - the most important thing is that you are reading and having fun!
Return to Find a Read

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How-to-access-books | Summer Reading Challenge

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We know that due to the Covid-19 crisis, finding books to read for your Summer Reading Challenge won't be as easy as popping into the library. While library buildings are closed, libraries can still help you find books to read through their virtual services and e-lending platforms. Depending on your location, you may be able to visit your library in person.

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Books in different languages such as Spanish which may be useful with EAL children. Has Aesops Fables, Mother Goose - texts and images but no audio.

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ICDL - International Children’s Digital Library

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Need to register - mostly no audio or video

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Learning to read with phonics

If you live in England, your child will learn to read using phonics. Their school is very likely to use either the Letters and Sounds phonics framework or the Read Write Inc. programme. Check with your school if you're not sure which one they use.

Using Letters and Sounds?

If your child is using Letters and Sounds, you can find this list of eBooks by Letters and Sounds Phases useful. Bear in mind the following:

If you don't know your child's Phase, you can check with your school. As a guide, most Reception children will be on Phases 1-4 and most Year 1 children will be on Phases 4-5. Beyond Phase 5, your child will be able to decode most books.

In Letters and Sounds, there are 'sets' within the Phases - so your child might not know all the sounds in every book within their Phase.

Some series contain occasional 'tricky words' that your child can't decode using phonics. Use the inside front cover notes to teach your child these words before they start the book.

Find out more about Letters and Sounds >

Using Read Write Inc. Phonics?
If your child is being taught to read using the Read Write Inc. programme, you can find books suitable for them by clicking on the 'Levels' menu below and using the 'Read Write Inc.' filter to select the right level.

Find more support and resources for Read Write Inc. in our parents' guide to Read Write Inc. >

Looking for printed books for phonics practice at home?

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Free eBook library | Oxford Owl from Oxford University Press

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Learning to read with phonics If you live in England, your child will learn to read using phonics. Their school is very likely to use either the Letters and Sounds phonics framework or the Read Write Inc. programme. Check with your school if you're not sure which one they use.

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‘Stories for boys who dare to be different’ text and audio on an eclectic mix! Stormzy, Galileo, John Boyega and Benjamin Zephaniah KS2

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‘Stories for boys who dare to be different’ text and audio on an eclectic mix! Stormzy, Galileo, John Boyega and Benjamin Zephaniah KS2

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Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different is a beautiful and inspiring collection of stories about boys who changed the world without killing a single dragon or saving a single princess.

Stories for Kids who Dare to be Different was born out of the success out of Stories for Boys and it a celebration inspirational and amazing boys and girls who stood up and stood out. This is a beautifully illustrated, evocative and inspiration book of amazing stories of amazing people, that will delights sons and daughters, nephews and nieces, and give them to courage to be themselves.

With children at home, we're releasing some exclusive material for Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different and Stories for Kids who Dare to be Different.
Each digital pack contains:
- 2 activity packs
- Downloadable audio extracts of the inspiring stories of boys and kids
- Exclusive sample pages from the upcoming Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different Journal

More about Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different
Winner of the Children's Book of the Year at the National Book Awards 2018 and The Sunday Times Number 1 bestseller, Stories for Boys is a beautiful and transporting book packed with stories of adventure and wonderment. It will appeal to those who need the courage to reject peer pressure and go against the grain. It is the must-have book for all those boys who worry about stuff and all those parents who worry about their boys who worry about stuff. It will education and entertain, whilst also encourage and inspire.

More about Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different Journal
Publishing in May, the journal accompanies the award-winning and bestselling Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different. It's full of tips and ideas to help boys everywhere explore their dreams and release their creativity in an environment where emotions and feelings are celebrated. Thanks to an array of imaginative and thoughtful prompts, and short biographies of some real-life inspiring figures who followed their personal dreams, this journal will help boys construct their own world away from gender stereotypes and social conventions.

Activities include:
- Devising a plot for a film in which your biggest fear is quashed
- Identifying what cause you would go out and protest for
- Creating a list of characteristics about human beings for aliens
- Imagining what would make you happy a week, a month, ten years from now

It is the must-have journal for all those boys who worry about stuff and all those parents who worry about their boys who worry about stuff.

Please share on social media using #StoriesForKidsWhoDareToBeDifferent quercusbooks and readingagency on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram and the author @ben_brooks on Twitter.

Download this resource
" Back to resources

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Boys and Kids Who Dare to be Different - activity packs, audio extracts and journal

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Stories for Boys who Dare to be Different is a beautiful and inspiring collection of stories about boys who changed the world without killing a single dragon or saving a single princess. Stories for Kids who Dare to be Different was born out of the success out of Stories for Boys and it a celebration inspirational and amazing boys and girls who stood up and stood out.

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Needs registration - also links to PSHE and comprehension on

https://schools.beano.com/lesson_plan_category/readingrocks/

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Articles could be used for active reading - write 3 facts, mind-map.

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1 free magazine has many articles on topics such as art, history etc.

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Classic, old-fashioned books scanned in suitabe for KS2

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Step back in time to enjoy celebrated stories as they were illustrated and published around the year 1900.

Learn more about these classic children's books.

Browse more content that is free to use and reuse.

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Free to Use and Reuse: Classic Children's Books | Free to Use and Reuse Sets | Library of Congress

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Step back in time to enjoy celebrated stories as they were illustrated and published around the year 1900.

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Whole text available

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Skip to content

I had the idea for The Ickabog a long time ago and read it to my two younger children chapter by chapter each night while I was working on it. However, when the time came to publish it, I decided to put out a book for adults instead, which is how The Ickabog ended up in the attic. I became busy with other things, and even though I loved the story, over the years I came to think of it as something that was just for my own children.

Then, in the Spring of 2020, lockdown happened. It was very hard on children, in particular, so I brought The Ickabog down from the attic, read it for the first time in years, rewrote bits of it and then decided to publish it at first in free instalments online for children stuck at home. I also thought how wonderful it would be if children on lockdown illustrated the story for me, and so we launched the Ickabog illustration competition, run by my publishers around the world.

The Ickabog book, illustrated by the winners of the competition, is now out as a book, and I'm donating my net royalties to my charitable trust, Volant, to help medical and frontline charities supporting vulnerable groups impacted by Covid-19.

Thank you to everyone who entered the competition and helped create the book, and I hope you enjoy reading it!

The Illustration Competition

Back in the 2020 lockdown, J.K. Rowling invited children across the world to take part in a competition with a truly delightful prize: a chance to see their illustrations in her new book...

Read more

All You Need to Know

If you have any questions about The Ickabog - the story, the characters, or how J. K. Rowling came to publish the book - you'll find the answers here.

Read more

About The Book

What's The Ickabog all about? You can look inside the book here, listen to a snippet from the audiobook, and watch J. K. Rowling reading selected chapters aloud...

Read more

Ickabog Activities

If you're ready to have some creative fun with The Ickabog, then download your free activity pack now. And while you're here, you can get some artistic tips from winners of the illustration competition...

Read more

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Skip to content I had the idea for The Ickabog a long time ago and read it to my two younger children chapter by chapter each night while I was working on it. However, when the time came to publish it, I decided to put out a book for adults instead, which is how The Ickabog ended up in the attic.

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BBC Sounds:  Stories to listen to such as Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. 

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BBC Sounds:  Stories to listen to such as Wind in the Willows and Alice in Wonderland. 

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A collection of timeless fiction from the literary greats.

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Stories e.g. Harry Potter, Kid Cool, Just so stories and a selection of fairy tales. Some free access but with registration.

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Salariya books have made some of their ‘You wouldn’t want to’ books into  E books such as Egyptian Mummy, Roman Gladiator, Polar Explorer - suitable for KS2 

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Salariya books have made some of their ‘You wouldn’t want to’ books into  E books such as Egyptian Mummy, Roman Gladiator, Polar Explorer - suitable for KS2 

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Free access currently but more complicated registration process

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Brilliant days of exploring books! Lots of videos and resources to use.

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Waterstones Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho is an award-winning performance poet, playwright and children's author based in Kent. He aims to inspire young people through stories and characters they can recognise and explores themes including fear, courage, diversity, gratitude, empathy and loss. In addition to exploring emotional landscapes, Coelho is inspired by magic, the ancient world and often draws on his own experiences transforming them into something universal that can be shared. Throughout his career he has highlighted the power of poetry and reading, championing and campaigning for local libraries and spotlights new voices and diversity throughout his work.
Follow Joseph on Twitter

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Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2022-24

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Find out about the current Waterstones Children's Laureate Joseph Coelho and previous Laureates, including Cressida Cowell, Michael Rosen, Jacqueline Wilson and Malorie Blackman.

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Masterclasses from Authors and 10 minute challenges based on their books. Aimed mostly at KS2

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Are you new to Authorfy?

Create an account for just £2.50 a month to gain instant, unlimited access to all
of our author videos, book extracts and downloadable resources.

Already a member?

Sign in to access our entire video and resource library.

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Create an account for just £2.50 a month to gain instant, unlimited access to allof our author videos, book extracts and downloadable resources. Sign in to access our entire video and resource library.

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The 2024 Programme for Schools will take place on 23 May for primary schools (KS2) and 24 May for secondary schools (KS3&4). These specially curated schools days blend performance, workshops and storytelling.

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Specially curated free events for schools, blending performance, workshops and storytelling for key stages 2, 3 & 4

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BBC Class clips: Famous people talking about favourite books 

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BBC Class clips: Famous people talking about favourite books 

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Good for a quiz

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An adventure into the world of children's literature as celebrity presenters share what they love about their favourite books, with animations that bring the stories to life.

These clips are from the BBC series, Bringing Books to Life.

Suitable for: KS1 and KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1st and 2nd Level in Scotland.

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English KS1 / KS2: Bringing Books to Life 1

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An adventure into the world of children's literature as celebrity presenters share what they love about their favourite books, with animations that bring the stories to life. These clips are from the BBC series, Bringing Books to Life. Suitable for: KS1 and KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 1st and 2nd Level in Scotland.

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American actors reading favourite stories e.g. Rainbow Fish - no text

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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American videos of stories e.g. Hungry Caterpillar suitable for EYFS / KS1

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Brightly Storytime | Find books for kids, tips and tricks to help raise readers, printable activities, parenting advice, and more.

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Year group activities based on extracts with activities

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Bitesize Daily: Book Club Lesson collected in one place.

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Literacy lessons around reading texts

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Across July we will be hosting a series of webinars for school leaders and teachers to learn more about how to use our lessons and resources.

To learn more about our 2020/21 plans and ask questions to our curriculum experts, please follow the links below to register for the webinar most appropriate for you:

Making the most of Oak: Primary curriculum for 2020/21 - 6th July

Making the most of Oak: Secondary curriculum for 2020/21 - 7th July

Making the most of Oak: Specialist curriculum for 2020/21 - 8th July

Our 2020/21 plans

Oak National Academy offers schools a full range of online lessons and resources. We provide a flexible, sequenced plan of video lessons, following a clear curriculum .

With the uncertainty ahead, we're hoping for the best but we need a back-up plan available for every school. So we're keeping Oak National Academy open for all of 2020/21 as a free, optional, resource for any school that wants to use it.

Despite the intention for all pupils to return to school, there remains the potential for local lockdowns, continued shielding or classes on rotas. To tackle these challenges we want to support teachers to create, as far as is possible, a seamless transition between learning in school and at home. Our plan, informed by lots of feedback from teachers and school leaders is to:

Develop a broad, flexible curriculum map for reception to year 11. This map will set out the most popular topics and give schools choice in how to order them. It will be available in early July.

Create the majority of the lessons in that curriculum map (up to ~10,000) and make these available before September.

Make it easier to integrate Oak into school's existing learning management systems.

Oak National Academy can help you meet the needs of your school right now, and give you options for whatever happens in the future.

To help now, we've put together a pack of resources for schools with documents and videos you can download if you'd like to implement Oak as part of your remote teaching plans. This pack of resources will be updated in July with more detail on how to make the most of our new curriculum for 2020/21.

To learn more about how to use our lessons and resources next year, please sign up for updates .

Guidance to help schools plan

Find out how we can help you plan for remote teaching or a phased return to school.

How Oak works

Oak National Academy is a free platform which is accessible on any device including mobiles. There are no sign-ups or logins required.

Oak will provide lessons for the entire academic year. Schools are free to choose which parts of Oak's curriculum to use as they wish.

Our content will be structured into a series of 'building blocks'. We'll set out which of the blocks within a subject can go in any order and which ones we think need to follow a sequence. Schools can then choose the blocks that work best for them and build them into planning.

To help with planning, we'll be publishing the entire Oak curriculum for the year in July, and the majority of lessons for the year will be released by September.

To hear when our resources for next year are released, and to attend webinars on how Oak might help your plans, please sign up for updates .

What is in Oak's curriculum?

You can view our current curriculum online, which includes lessons up to the end of term.

For next year, we've enlisted the support of a broad group of curriculum experts from across the system who will help to steer our curriculum work.

As much as we'd love to, Oak can't teach every possible option across the curriculum. But we want to align to schools' plans as much as we can. We'll work with these experts to identify the most common content from across the curriculum to ensure that the resources are as useful for as many schools as possible. This will be published in early July.

How you can use Oak with your pupils

Teachers are best placed to make decisions about which resources to use. We just hope that Oak will be a useful support if you choose to use it in this period of uncertainty.

Schools may choose to adopt Oak's whole curriculum just for next year, with Oak delivering their remote lessons while their in-school curriculum would match Oak's but continue to be delivered by their own fantastic staff. They may also choose to use Oak's resources to support their lesson planning.

Alternatively schools may choose to pick the parts of Oak's curriculum that match their own and use this to support online and in-person teaching. And then continue with different lessons where Oak and the school's curriculum don't match. We hope Oak simply frees you up to focus on the bits that matter most to you and your school.

How you can check your pupils are completing their work on Oak

We've made Oak with accessibility in mind so there is no requirement to log-in. This means we do not store personal data and so at the moment we cannot store or send any information on work completion from individual pupils. We are looking into this for next year..

We know that you may want to check on work completion, and what pupils have learnt. For now, schools can do this by:

Asking pupils to take a screenshot of end of lesson quizzes with their score, and uploading these to the school's learning management system (e.g. as an assignment in Google Classroom), or emailing them to class teachers

Setting their own quizzes on their learning management system, asking about content taught in Oak lessons

Regularly contacting parents to check how pupils are managing with Oak and speaking to the pupil to ask them questions about what they've been learning

Having a teacher available at set times to answer questions from pupils.

What's Oak's background?

Oak was set up as a collective response by state school teachers to address the coronavirus lockdown. We were initially built at speed to support the sector, and we're staying open for 2020/21 to support schools with their remote teaching plans.

How can I get involved?

At the moment, we're unfortunately not able to build in other resources as we have limited capacity. We've been overwhelmed by the support and generosity of our colleagues in the teaching profession in sharing their ideas to improve our classroom.

If you have more questions, please visit our FAQs.

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Information for teachers and schools - Oak National Academy

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Oak National Academy has been developed by 40 state school teachers from different areas, working together to respond to schools having to change the way they teach. Every week we will be creating 180 hours' worth of lessons in total.

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Actors reading stories from  African, Caribbean and African American heritage

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Tata Storytime Trailer  Season 1 | Kids stories read aloud

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Hundreds of stories read aloud such as Elmer and Oh No George! Great for KS1.

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Time for Storytime: David McKee reads Elmer

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Whole text in chapters

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Cressida reads How to Train Your Dragon: Chapter 1

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There are a lot of schools who read Floodland, especially in years 5 and 6 - and with the current situation, I know there are some of you who are halfway through the book, but who, without sufficient copies for every pupil, are unable to finish from home.

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Authors reading extracts of their own books and poems

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Cath Howe reads Chapter 12 of Ella on the Outside, a tale that will strike a chord with anyone who has felt the pressure to please a new friend or has struggled to fit in. Published by Noisy Crow and part of our 2019 Read for Empathy Collection.

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BookTrust have fun at home with authors and illustrators

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BookTrust have fun at home with authors and illustrators

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A list of authors currently offering reading

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Find resources and activities

Daily at 12pm: Join Sarah Crossan on Instagram Live for chats about books and poetry workshops - this one's aimed at children 11+ and adults.

Daily at 5pm: Time to enjoy the brilliant Susin Nielsen reading a chapter from her wonderful book No Fixed Address! You can join her over on Twitter.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce is posting storytime videos on his Instagram feed.

Over on her website, Sara Grant has some fab activities for children, including a guide on how to write a mystery and some fun and games based on her Magic Trix books.

Author Marcus Sedgwick is recording a chapter of his book Floodland every day and posting the videos on his website. Listen and watch here.

Guy Bass has launched A Write Laugh, a funny writing competition for 5-13 year olds. Entry details can be found on the Little Tiger website and there are lots of top tips from Guy and other author friends on the Authorfy website. Nine winners will be published in a special free ebook and there is also a subscription to The Week Junior magazine and lots of funny books up for grabs. The competition closes on 31 May, so get writing!

If you're looking for a new book for little ones which also supports the NHS, Make Believe Ideas have recently published Hope the Rainbow Fairy, a gentle, positive story aimed at helping children understand the current stay at home guidelines. All proceeds from the book are donated to NHS Charities Together. They also have lots of fun, free, downloadable activity and colouring pages on their website.

A group of award-winning authors, including Candy Gourlay, are launching a project to encourage young people to keep diaries throughout the Coronavirus Crisis. The aim is to build an online archive and ultimately publish an anthology that can become part of the historic record of a time that has changed the world forever. Watch Candy's video about the project to get involved.

Illustrator Sarah Dennis has made a free 'Thank you NHS' heart download for children to cut and and colour in.

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 8.30am: author Natalie Costa is hosting a live Breakfast Boost session on her Facebook and Instagram channels, using tips and tricks from the Level Headers book series to help children feeling worried and anxious during lockdown.

Author Sally Nicholls has shared a free picture book, Staying Home, about a family of raccoons who are also in lockdown. The lovely book aims to help young children understand the importance of staying at home. Read it for free here or find out more about why Sally wrote it.

The Gruffalo creators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler have shared twelve beautiful illustrations depicting their famous characters adjusting to social distancing, home-schooling and helping others during the COVID-19 crisis, as well as Scheffler illustrating a free coronavirus booklet aimed at children.

Renowned Australian children's author, Anthony Bertani together with Dirt Lane Press, illustrator Jennifer Goldsmith and renowned actress Greta Scacchi have announced the worldwide launch of Where Happiness Hides - a free book for children in lockdown all about finding happiness in uncertain times.

Eoin McLoughlin and illustrator Polly Dunbar have created a lovely book available in both physical and ebook format called While We Can't Hug. It's accompanied by this fabulous animation of Hedgehog and Tortoise.

BookTrust HomeTime

Looking for something fun as a family? Enjoy storytime with our free online books and videos, play games, win prizes, test your knowledge in our book-themed quizzes, or even learn how to draw some of your favourite characters.
Go to the HomeTime hub

Storybooks and games

Listen or read along with loads of stories, or play one of our interactive games.

Activities

Word searches, puzzles, colouring sheets and lots of creative inspiration. Print out our activity sheets to keep boredom at bay and have fun together.

Quizzes

Test your knowledge of children's books with our fun quizzes - from Harry Potter to Roald Dahl.

Back to top

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Fun at home with authors and illustrators

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Daily at 12pm: Join Sarah Crossan on Instagram Live for chats about books and poetry workshops - this one's aimed at children 11+ and adults. Daily at 5pm: Time to enjoy the brilliant Susin Nielsen reading a chapter from her wonderful book No Fixed Address! You can join her over on Twitter.

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Lots of flick through but Golden Cage is read aloud

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'The Golden Cage' narrated by Laura Watkinson

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'The Golden Cage' is a deliciously dark fairytale from Europe, featuring Valentina, the emperor’s daughter who's an obsessive collector of exotic birds. Her servants track down every bird she desires - just one remains unfound: a bird that talks. Servants search far and wide to fulfill her impossible quest - and she beheads those who fail. In Valentina’s palace, heads roll every day! Will the golden cage ever be filled?  

In this video you can listen to the story, narrated by the translator, Laura Watkinson.

THE GOLDEN CAGE
Written by Anna Castagnoli 
Illustrated by Carll Cneut
Published by Book Island

https://www.bookisland.co.uk/collections/books/products/the-golden-cage

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Free teaching and home learning resources for a range of texts

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We help schools to teach literacy in the most effective way. Our training and resources are all based on credible research and on the principles of effective continuing professional development. Teachers and schools who learn from our work do so in order to raise the achievement and attainment of their children in literacy in an effective and sustainable way. As part of our charitable purpose, in order to enable all schools to benefit from our work we create a number of free resources.
We create and share hundreds of teaching resources for EYFS to Key Stage 3. Simply click on a box to explore...

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We help schools to teach literacy in the most effective way. Our training and resources are all based on credible research and on the principles of effective continuing professional development. Teachers and schools who learn from our work do so in order to raise the achievement and attainment of their children in literacy in an effective and sustainable way.

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QR codes to author extracts for each age group

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Storytime Online Age 9-11 on BooksForTopics | Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic...

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Storytime Online Age 9-11 - Find the best children's books for all primary school year groups on BooksForTopics

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Children's Library search tool

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When the coronavirus pandemic quarantine period began in Spring/Summer 2020, I realised that lots of people were going to find themselves at home with their children for several weeks/months looking for things to do. So I decided to post a draw-along video every Tuesday and Thursday that parents could watch with their kids and, hopefully, make some nice pictures. They have proved very popular, garnering millions of views across the world. On 21 May 2020 we broke the Guinness World Record for the largest online art lesson when 45,611 households drew a whale with me. From September 2020 lockdown gradually began to ease and kids started going back to school, so I decided to move the #DrawWithRob video slot to Saturdays at 10am BST/GMT so that kids can join in with my Saturday Art Club. And then in August 2021 as life returned to (something like) normal, the videos began to be released slightly more sporadically. But I'm still going! Keep an eye on my social feeds or sign up to my newsletter here to find out when the next video will be released.

Here are all of the videos (scroll down the page). Feel free to watch and share them with anybody and everybody. I'd love to see the results, so please send me your pictures on social media using the hashtag #DrawWithRob. I am @RobBiddulph on Twitter, @rbiddulph on Instagram and robbiddulphauthor on Facebook.
Oh, and please subscribe to my YouTube channel too.

I'm delighted to say that DRAW WITH ROB is now an incredible activity book series (every page features perforated edges so you can easily tear out and display your art). The first book is a Sunday Times number one bestseller, the winner of the Sainsbury's Children's Book Award 2020 and was shortlisted for Children's Illustrated/Non-fiction Book of The Year at the British Book Awards 2021. The second book, Draw With Rob at Christmas, is also a bestseller and was the WHSmith Book of the Month for November 2020. The third book, Draw With Rob: Build A Story, the fourth book, Draw With Rob: Monster Madness, the fifth book, Draw With Rob: Amazing Animals, and the sixth book, Draw With Rob at Halloween, are (guess what) bestsellers too! They are all available to order here.

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During the coronavirus quarantine period in Spring/Summer 2020, I realised that lots of people were going to find themselves at home with their children for several weeks/months looking for things to do. So I decided to post some draw-along videos that parents could watch with their kids and, hopefu

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Stories to listen to and watch.

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Lots of libraries are also involved and you can listen to free audio books or read e books too.

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1. 1. Sign up

Click 'Join now' to create your account.

2. 2. Read books

Set your reading goal and read anything you like! Each time you finish a book, add it to your profile and leave a review.

3. 3. Earn digital rewards

Unlock special online badges and a certificate to print at home when you reach your Challenge goal!*

*Physical rewards like medals are only available when taking part at select libraries.

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Click 'Join now' to create your account. Set your reading goal and read anything you like! Each time you finish a book, add it to your profile and leave a review. Unlock special online badges and a certificate to print at home when you reach your Challenge goal!* *Physical rewards like medals are only available when taking part at select libraries.

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Downloadable bingo from books for Topics

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Summer Reading Bingo!

Instructions

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Our Summer Reading Bingo is an activity for children (and adults if they wish!) to complete over the summer holidays. The focus is on reading for pleasure experiences rather than specific texts, with activities like make a den and read inside, read in the dark using a torch and read to a pet or a soft toy. Children can choose what they read for the challenges, although we have included some Summer 2020 recommended reads for those looking for new ideas.

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Teachers can print out the bingo cards for pupils to take home over the summer holidays or the cards can be printed by parents at home. When pupils return to school after the holidays you can award prizes, housepoints or certificates for a completed line or for a full house! Scroll down to find the pupil certificates .

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Summer 2020 Update: This year's version contains a choice of two bingo boards (25 squares or 9 squares) plus a Recommended Reads sheet.

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Certificates

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These certificates are designed to reward pupils for participating in the Summer Reading Bingo challenge.

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We have included certificates for completing a full house, a whole line and a blank certificate to reward pupils who completed

the challenge a different way.

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Summer 2020 Recommended Reads

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If you want to find recommended books for the children to read over the summer holidays, check out our Summer Reads list or download the sharable PDF version.

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You may also like our booklists..

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Summer Reading Bingo! Instructions ​​​ Our Summer Reading Bingo is an activity for children (and adults if they wish!) to complete over the summer holidays. The focus is on reading for pleasure experiences rather than specific texts, with activities like make a den and read inside, read in the dark using a torch and read to a pet or a soft toy.

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Virtual school library with an author each week. THere are links to videos and some free e-books from the author too.

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Every week a popular children's author or illustrator will provide you with free books, exclusive videos and their top three recommended reads.

Having access to a school library is really important for children. School libraries nurture a love of reading that can enrich children's literacy skills, academic achievements and mental wellbeing. Our Virtual School Library will complement existing school libraries and will ensure that children have access to the magical world of stories all year round, whether they are learning at school or at home.

We've worked with brilliant publishers and inspiring authors and illustrators to ensure that the books and activities in our Virtual School Library will support children's wellbeing through reading.

Watch our exclusive video with our Patron HRH The Duchess of Cornwall and contributing authors from The Book of Hopes, marking International Literacy Day and the launch of our Virtual School Library.

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National Literacy Trust Virtual School Library

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Every week a popular children's author or illustrator will provide you with free books, exclusive videos and their top three recommended reads. Having access to a school library is really important for children. School libraries nurture a love of reading that can enrich children's literacy skills, academic achievements and mental wellbeing.

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The Children's Laureate's youtube channel with lots of great links and books read aloud!

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"cressida cowell" "how to train your dragon" "the wizards of once" readings "reading aloud" "children's books" "kids books" "books for kids" "books for child...

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Hello! I'm Cressida Cowell, the Waterstones Children's Laureate and the author and illustrator of How to Train Your Dragon and The Wizards of Once. On my channel, you will find readings, creativity tips, book recommendations and story writing ideas. #ReadingisMagic and magic is for everyone!

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Author of picture and chapter books has a youtube channel with lots of great links!

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"oi frog" "kes gray" daisy "daisy and the trouble with" "get well friends" reading children books "children's books" "nelly the monster sitter" "jim field" coronavirus stories "story time" "home education" library

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Coronavirus, lockdowns, social isolation, school closures... you just couldn't write it. If I can help by reading my children's stories to a World turned upsid...

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Lots of great links to topics and you can read the text.

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DK Find Out! | Fun Facts for Kids on Animals, Earth, History and more!

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Visit DK Find Out! to learn about dinosaurs, space, animals, nature & more. Fun learning activities for kids with videos, quizzes & galleries at DKFindOut.com

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Extracts and first chapters from lots of books in PDF form. Free to register

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Collections

The Best Children's Box Sets - Great Gift Ideas for Young Readers this Christmas

Knowing how challenging it can be to encourage some children to read, we know the deep joy that comes with them finding a character or a story that really speaks to them, that they grow to love, and they want more, more, more of.

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Buy a Book. Support a School. Make a Difference | LoveReading4Kids UK

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LoveReading4Kids exists because reading matters, and books change lives. Support local schools through the LoveReading4Kids bookshop. 10% off RRPs, and 25% of the cover price will be given to a school of your choice. Sharing book love with children's book reviews and book recommendations right across the ages, from toddlers to teens.

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Extracts from a range of books KS1-KS3

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Henry is the new boy at Halbrook Hall - a crumbling boarding school in the Scottish Highlands. He thinks the rumours of yeti lurking in the misty hills are nothing more than stories. Until one day he gets lost in the forest... As a young yeti, Tadpole loves living in Shadowspring.

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Extracts from books on the world book day website

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Information about our use of cookies

Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users and enhance your user experience. They also help us improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

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Our website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users and enhance your user experience. They also help us improve our site. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

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A great collection of websites

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Introduction

This page will collate the SLA resources that are of particular use when working from home.
These are in addition to our usual provision of Online Courses, Publications, the CPD Library and the support resources and advice line.

The SLA office is still open, and we are on hand to maintain services.

You can find a list of resources and platforms which have been made freely available below, as well as information about upcoming events and plans in reaction to the closure of schools.

We will update this page as needed. Best wishes for you all at this time.

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School Closure Resources - books and reading

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Introduction This page will collate the SLA resources that are of particular use when working from home. These are in addition to our usual provision of Online Courses, Publications, the CPD Library and the support resources and advice line. The SLA office is still open, and we are on hand to maintain services.

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Anne thompson has updated her links to authors etc. and reading support. A lovely blog to follow.

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As the new term starts teachers, support staff and parents have been faced with a last minute turn around regarding the opening of schools and once again on-line learning is to be adopted for the majority of the children across England.

When the first lockdown took place in March 2020 I compiled a list of online resources linked to children's books and reading for pleasure in the hope that it would be helpful to teachers, school librarians and parents. As new resources were produced I updated the lists and over the following weeks these various resources were shared many times. They are going to be needed again. I have spent some time checking and updating links and have also added some more. The presentation has been adjusted slightly so that they are organised into a more readily searchable structure. I hope they are useful to you and help ease the stress of the situation a little.

In March 2020 I wrote this and it still applies. Thank you to all the generous people who rose to the challenge then and are doing so again,
Today all over the country teachers and parents are preparing for schools to be closed for an indefinite period. Teachers are faced with creating ways that children can access education online and parents are wondering how they can home educate or occupy their children. Thankfully organisations, charities, authors, illustrators, school librarians and teachers have been sharing resources for several days. This is extremely generous but at times the vast quantity available can feel bewildering. Therefore I have selected some book related resources that I think primary school children will enjoy and parents will find useful. I hope to update these on a regular basis without making the list too long and overwhelming. Organisations, Charities and Literacy Websites
Words for Life - a brilliant place for parents to start, this is a comprehensive web portal for parents created by The Literacy Trust. Split up by age group, you will find ideas and guidance for simple activities that will engage children at home, while also benefiting their reading, writing and language development. You'll be able to access free reading and writing resources, audiobooks, videos, competitions and reading challenges. Their new Virtual School Library site also offers author videos, free books, exclusive videos and their top three recommended reads.

School Library Association Support for Out of School Learning - this fabulous resource has just been updated and is full of helpful links for school librarians and teachers and parents too. They are divided into helpful categories and include links to resources, ideas and advice. The most comprehensive selection I have found.

Love My Books - another free website providing resources, activity ideas and book suggestions for children aged 0-11. Pages of great ideas for parents and children sharing books together.

World Book Day - Browse their booklists for children and young people at all ages and stages - for ideas and inspiration. There are stacks of links to book related resources and videos too. They have just added the Book Ideas Hub to the website which looks fabulous.

Authorfy - this is a great website. Full of free resources, activity packs, writing prompts, author videos and brilliant book recommendations this is a good way to entertain and educate children as it is so engaging.

The British Library Discovering Children's Books - this new website has a wide range of information and resources available from how to draw a Gruffalo to how to make a mini book. Since last year new activities have been added and this a great website to browse for ideas and articles.

The Reading Realm - there are now some free learning packs available on this website based on animals and nature, fairy tales and creative writing prompts. The creators of this website are continually updating and adding to this helpful site so it is well worth revisiting to keep up with updates.

Audible Stories - Audible have launched a free service that offers educational and entertaining audiobook content for kids, teens, and families.

Book Trust Stories and Games - lots of lovely interactive books to read online or watch with signing plus stacks of games and activities to share. They have now added a Home Time page with links to lots of fabulous activities. This is definitely worth a look.

Hay Festival Programme for Schools Free Events Online - Watch authors from Hay Festival Programme for Schools filmed over the last 3 years. There are 55 fun filled and inspiring events to choose from including Ade Adepitan, Gemma Cairney, Emma Carroll, Eoin Colfer, Julian Clary, Abi Elphinstone and Andy Stanton.

#LibrariesFromHome brought to you by Libraries Connected - amongst the range of digital resources available are the excellent online rhyme times, story times and lego clubs that keep children engaged and support early literacy and creative thinking.

Open University: Supporting Reading at Home - this website, such a fabulous resource for educators, now has new section on the site in response to the pandemic and it is updated regularly. Highlights include 'Book Chat: Reading with your child' and a reading treasure hunt.

Toppsta Books with linked activities - this popular website offers book recommendations, reviews and much more. The link above takes you to a selection of books with activities suitable for a wide age group.
Authors, Illustrators and Publishers

Free Resources from Barrington Stoke - From reading guides to colouring in sheets, their Young Editors Scheme to author videos, there's something for every age of reader linked to some of this publisher's wonderful books.

Rob Biddulph Draw Along Videos - these are great. Each Tuesday and Thursday at 10am during the March lockdown Rob Biddulph posted a video of him drawing a character for children to copy. These are stored on his website for you to watch at any time. He is also doing new live videos each Saturday at 10am.

Peter Bunzl Cogheart and Moonlocket School Resources - these include some great creative projects such as design your own mechanical robot and making a flip book animation.

Emma Carroll Online Writing Workshops - this is so tempting as I love Emma's books. Emma is in the early stage of writing a new book and she is going to share the early stages of her writing journey, twice a week until half term in February. 2021 You can join in by writing your own story. It starts on 12th January and you can find out how to join in via the link.

Chicken House Books Education Hub - Here you'll find educational resources that work alongside this publisher's most popular books books. Although designed for use in schools the videos and PDF downloads etc. could be enjoyed at home too.

14 Stories in 14 days from Egmont Publishers - a website, inspired by the recommended 14 days of self-isolation, offering 14 days of free content to provide entertainment and educational support for parents, carers and children across the UK.

Our Corona Diary - founded by Kathryn Evans this initiative hopes to document the experience through the eyes of young diarists and inspire a creative response to the crisis. Suitable for all ages from early years to young adult there are stacks of creative ideas plus information for parents, teachers and carers.

Elise Gravel Free Comic - Illustrator Elise Gravel has created a free to download comic which explains the Covid19 situation to children.

Abi Elphinstone Jungle Drop - author Abi Elphinstone has shared 7 videos of her chatting about her latest book due out in May. You can have a sneaky peep at the opening chapters here too.

Draw with Jim Field - learn to draw alongside illustrator Jim Field with these great videos of him drawing Oi Frog and more on his website.

Caryl Hart Author Events Online - This is an excellent resource. Authors and illustrators are creating loads of resources that children, teachers and families can access from home. These include videos, live broadcasts on Instagram and Facebook, and printables and these have been collated and shared on this site by author Caryl Hart.

The Bookwanderers Club - a live book club hosted by children's author Anna James last year every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 2pm while schools are closed due to COVID-19 and the videos of these interviews are still available to watch. A great selection of authors in these enjoyable interviews. It feels like eavesdropping on friends!

Stay at Home Story Time with Oliver Jeffers - watch author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers reading one of his books every weekday on Instagram and talking about some of the things that went into making it. This link takes you to his website where all the videos have been collated.

Steve Lenton's Draw-Along-A-Lenton - Children's Illustrator Steve Lenton's YouTube channel is full of great videos showing children that everyone can draw and is being updated frequently.

StoryTime4HomeTime with James Mayhew - last March author and illustrator James Mayhew started posting videos on Youtube each day and they are still available to watch. Whether you're in school or at home you can listen to a story and watch James draw upside down! A lovely, soothing end to the day. Highly recommended.

Elle McNicoll Lockdown Writing Class - the author of A Kind of Spark and Show Us Who You Are, both published by Knights Of is generously sharing these free sessions every Monday and Friday and will be assigning tasks at the end of each. These are suitable for young readers aged 9+.

Staying Home Picture Book Free e-book by Sally Nicholls and Viviane Schwarz - this lovely picture books is still available to everyone as a free download from the Andersen Press website as part of their continued effort to entertain and occupy children and their parents during lockdown.

Nosy Crow Free Resources - these publishers have put together lots of activities, resources, free Nosy Crow books and other content which they hope will help keep families happy. There are lots of links to fabulous stuff here.

Tom Palmer Literacy Resources - in addition to a range of great resources linked to Tom's books he has also provided Free Reads and a daily video of him reading aloud from his books.

Kids Poems and Stories With Michael Rosen - This is the official Michael Rosen video channel. All videos and playlists on this channel have been approved by Michael Rosen and are safe to watch.

SF Said: Virtual Author Visits - a helpful blogpost by SF Said, author of Varjak Paw, describing how his virtual visits have worked during the pandemic. This will inspire and reassure authors and schools in equal measure. In addition, to replace school visits during lockdown, SF Said will be doing a live Twitter chat on Tuesdays from 2-3pm, answering questions about his books, & chatting about reading, writing & books in general. PARENTS & TEACHERS: please tweet SF Said questions from your children. Use the hashtag #whatSFSaid

Gaspard and the Quiet Day - If you are a parent, carer or teacher trying to find a comforting way of explaining the current situation to young children this is wonderful. A video of a special story written by Zeb Soanes and illustrated by James Mayhew, it is both thoughtful and reassuring. Perfectly done.

Nick Sharratt's Drawing Tips - Lots of videos with drawing activities based on his well known books such as the Daisy series by Kes Gray plus the characters for Jacqueline Wilson's books and more.

Robin Stevens The Detective Society's Top- Secret Files - loads of activities linked to Robin's books plus 'How to Have the Perfect Midnight Feast' and other such delights.

Fly With Tiny Owl Learning Resources - the publishers of some of my favourite picture books have created some lovely resources linked to their books. These include: Author readings/ bedtime stories, Activity packs, Crafts and Teacher resources.

Piers Torday Storytime - Piers Torday will be reading The Dark Wild* at 2.30pm every weekday from Weds 6th Jan, a chapter a day, live on Instagram, or catch up later on YouTube.

Art with Clara Vulliamy - Author and illustrator Clara Vulliamy has started sharing entertaining art and drawing activities on her YouTube channel based on the characters from her much loved books.

Walkers Picture Book Party - ACTIVITY SHEETS: drawing, spot-the-difference or escape some mazes, there's something for everyone!

Coronavirus: A Book for Children - Publishers Nosy Crow have produced a free information book explaining the coronavirus to children, illustrated by Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler, with expert input. This is excellent & can be downloaded via the link above.

That's all for now, I will add others as and when I find them. Don't forget if you are a member of your local library they will provide a range of online resources that are included in your membership.

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Reading for Pleasure - Resources to Help Children Enjoy Books at Home

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Update January 2021 As the new term starts teachers, support staff and parents have been faced with a last minute turn around regarding the opening of schools and once again on-line learning is to be adopted for the majority of the children across England. When the first lockdown took place in March 2020 I compiled...