100 fiction books all children should read before leaving primary school

The National Association for the Teaching of English ran a survey to find teachers’ top 100 fiction books all children should read before leaving primary school. Here are the results:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
by Roald Dahl

Goodnight Mister Tom
by Michelle Magorian

Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll

Matilda
by Roald Dahl

The Gruffalo
by Julia Donaldson

The Chronicles of Narnia
by C S Lewis

The Very Hungry Caterpillar
by Eric Carle

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
by Michael Rosen

Dogger
by Shirley Hughes

Stig of the Dump
by Clive King

Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell

The Iron Man
by Ted Hughes

Flat Stanley
by Jeff Brown

Winnie the Pooh
by A A Milne

Funnybones
by Allan and Janet Ahlberg

Owl Babies
by Martin Waddell & Patrick Benson

The Hobbit
by J R R Tolkien

Green Eggs and Ham
by Dr Seuss

War Horse
by Michael Morpurgo

Grimm’s Fairy Tales
by The Brothers Grimm

The Tiger Who Came to Tea
by Judith Kerr

Peace at Last
by Jill Murphy

Artemis Fowl series
by Eoin Colfer

Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy
by Lynley Dodd

Not Now Bernard
by David Mckee

Diary of a Wimpy Kid
by Jeff Kinney

The Twits
by Roald Dahl

I am David
by Anne Holm

The Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes

The Paddington series
by Michael Bond

Amazing Grace
by Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch

Esio Trot
by Roald Dahl

Five Children and It
by E Nesbit

Clockwork
by Phillip Pullman

The Secret Garden
by Frances Hodgson Burnett

The Magic Far Away Tree
by Enid Blyton

Farmer Duck
by Martin Waddell and Helen Oxenbury

Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome

The Silver Sword
by Ian Serraillier

The Worst Witch series
by Jill Murphy

The Borrowers
by Mary Norton

A Dark, Dark Tale
by Ruth Brown

The Jolly Postman
by Allan Ahlberg

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan

Coraline
by Neil Gaiman

Zoo
by Anthony Browne

Treasure Island
by R L Stevenson

Voices in the Park
by Anthony Browne

Cinderella
by Charles Perrault

Pig Heart Boy
by Malorie Blackman

The Railway Children
by E Nesbit

Cloud Busting
by Malorie Blackman

Kidnapped
by R L Stevenson

The Sheep Pig
by Dick King-Smith

Beegu
by Alexis Deacon

The Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Graham

Eragon
by Christopher Paolini

The Mr Men and Little Miss series
by Roger Hargreaves

Gentle Giant
by Michael Morpurgo

Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling

The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams

Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi

Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff

Theseus and the Minotaur
by David Orme and Wendy Body

The Just William series
by Richmal Crompton

On the Way Home
by Jill Murphy

Pumpkin Soup
by Helen Cooper

Street Child
by Berlie Doherty

The Happy Prince and Other Stories
by Oscar Wilde

Angelo
by Quentin Blake

The Day the Crayons Quit
by Drew Draywalt and Oliver Jeffers

The Snowman
by Raymond Briggs

My Mum
by Anthony Browne

The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The Tunnel
by Anthony Browne

Face
by Benjamin Zephaniah

The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tyler
by Gene Kemp

The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein

Click Clack Moo: cows that type
by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin

The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster

The Tale of Peter Rabbit
by Beatrix Potter

I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato
by Lauren Child

The Skulduggery Pleasant series
by Derek Landy

The Early Years at Malory Towers
by Enid Blyton

Wolf Brother
by Michelle Paver

Birds Beasts and Relatives
by Gerald Durrell

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
by Alan Garner

The Mrs Pepperpot series
by Alf Proysen

The Asterix Series
by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

The Fib and Other Stories
by George Layton

The Giant’s Necklace
by Michael Morpurgo

The Kipper series
by Mick Inkpen

The Milly-Molly-Mandy series
by Joyce Lankester Brisley

The Suitcase Kid
by Jacqueline Wilson

Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak

“The school is decorated nicely and it’s colourful.”

COREY, Year 3

“I feel that the school has always given my children the best support throughout. They are all exceeding because of this. “

Parent comment

“We would like to thank all the staff for their hard work. My son is a happy child and has a big smile on his face. I would like to say thank you for you getting him interested in sport.”

Parent comment

“I love Longhill Primary School because the teachers are very kind. They always challenge us to work hard and help us when we are stuck.”

EVE, Year 4

“Longhill Primary is a good school. The staff are supportive and I feel welcome here. It is a very good environment and there’s lots of good things to do and learn.”

ALEISHA, Year 5

“I have no concerns, the teachers are attentive, my child is thriving at school and is always happy at hometime.”

Parent comment

“I have no concerns only praise for the staff I have encountered on my child’s journey so far.”

Parent comment

“I like to play outside because it’s so fun to go on the climbing frame and the ladder and if you fall down there’s a monster and we can all turn into monsters – really BIG monsters!” 

SIYAR, Foundation Stage

“It’s lovely because you can do RP and I love it.”

Year 2 pupil

“The school is great and my child enjoys coming.”

Parent comment

“I love this school, I remember when I first walked in the door at 3 years old! Me and my friends have evolved a lot over the years, and I love coming here. I love the teachers and the work.”

ARCHIE, Year 5

“I cannot fault the school or staff since by son joined. He has blossomed and is doing great. The staff really do their best to help with anything they can. “

Parent comment

“I like — because at break-times there are lots of things to do, such as gym equipment and games on the floor.” 

RYAN, Year 4

“The equipment available at break-times is fun to play with and I love earning prizes for my good work.” 

MIZGIN, Year 4

“The teachers are lovely, it is easy to make friends and the lesson are fun.” 

OLIVER, Year 4

“Here are Longhill we build positive relationships through restorative behaviours”

Year 6 pupil

“I like this school because all of the teachers treat us really well, appreciate us and make us feel safe.”

LOGAN, Year 5

“There isn’t anything, they are already a big part of the community.”

Parent comment

“The teachers and pupils are the kindest people ever, if everyone was like this the world would be amazing.” 

HARRISON, Year 4

“I like playing on the pirate ship because it’s a boat and I like big boats and the Titanic.” 

BROGAN, Foundation Stage

“I like the teachers as they are very pleasant and appreciative, also they award with amazing awards such marbles and star of the week.”

FREYA, Year 4

“This school is great. Everyone is friendly and easy to talk to.”

Parent comment

“We have amazing teachers at our school which makes us feel happy and helps us to learn.”

BRADLEY, Year 3

“I think this school is the best because everyone is kind and caring.”

BERKAY, Year 5

“Everything’s great for my daughter at the school and she loves coming to it.”

Parent comment

“We always have fun lessons which makes us enjoy coming to school. For example, I made chocolate pizzas in DT this year and they were amazing!”

ISLA, Year 3

“I love the giant playground with all of the fantastic equipment on it; it keeps me busy all playtime. You can exercise whilst talking to your friends!”

ADAM, Year 4

“We are very happy with Longhill Primary School.”

Parent comment

“My daughter has only just started and everything is great.”

Parent comment

“My son has settled into school well, he has only been here a short time. “

Parent comment

“It’s fascinating because every single thing is interesting.

Year 2 pupil

“I love learning Big Maths and I can know all the Learn It’s so fast!” 

INES, Foundation Stage

“The thing I like about Longhill is the marbles and prizes you get for doing good things for yourself and others.” 

EMMANUEL, Year 4

“My daughter has come on so great at the school.”

Parent comment

“Longhill Primary teaches children respect, kindness and responsibility”

Year 6 pupil

“When I come to school, I feel loved because my friends play with me.” 

CHARLIE, Foundation Stage

“At Longhill, we learn lots of fascinating things. I’ve really enjoyed finding out all about the Vikings and Victorians in my topic lessons this year.”

RYAN, Year 4

“I like outside! I love jumping on the barrels, going on the climbing frame, and pretending to be a pirate on the pirate ship.”

RUSSEL, Foundation Stage

“I love coming to school because we always have fun lessons to learn and we learn a lot in school.”

MAYA, Year 3

“Longhill builds children’s future to the limit”

Year 6 pupil

“There are lots of amazing books available to read whenever we want.” 

MIA, Year 4