The Secret Garden
Frances Hodgson Burnett
11+ Reading List
A considered reading list for CSSE preparation.
Reading widely builds vocabulary, stamina and confidence. These suggestions cover classic stories, fantasy, history, mystery, poetry and modern fiction; they are starting points rather than a required syllabus.
Classics and timeless tales
The Wind in the Willows
Kenneth Grahame
The Railway Children
E. Nesbit
The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis
The Borrowers
Mary Norton
Black Beauty
Anna Sewell
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank Baum
A Little Princess
Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Jungle Book
Rudyard Kipling
The Story of the Treasure Seekers
E. Nesbit
Fantasy and adventure
The Last Wild
Piers Torday
How to Train Your Dragon
Cressida Cowell
The Girl Who Speaks Bear
Sophie Anderson
Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
Jessica Townsend
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
The Firework-Maker's Daughter
Philip Pullman
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Joan Aiken
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Brian Selznick
The Hobbit
J. R. R. Tolkien
The Silver Sword
Ian Serraillier
The Storm Keeper's Island
Catherine Doyle
Historical fiction
Goodnight Mister Tom
Michelle Magorian
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
John Boyne
Once
Morris Gleitzman
The Eagle of the Ninth
Rosemary Sutcliff
The Machine Gunners
Robert Westall
The Skylarks' War
Hilary McKay
The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips
Michael Morpurgo
The Silver Sword
Ian Serraillier
The Roman Mysteries: The Thieves of Ostia
Caroline Lawrence
The Girl of Ink and Stars
Kiran Millwood Hargrave
A Medal for Leroy
Michael Morpurgo
Mystery and realistic fiction
The London Eye Mystery
Siobhan Dowd
The Explorer
Katherine Rundell
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon
Artemis Fowl
Eoin Colfer
The Murder at the Museum
Joan Lowery Nixon
The House with Chicken Legs
Sophie Anderson
Wonder
R. J. Palacio
The Goldfish Boy
Lisa Thompson
The Boy at the Back of the Class
Onjali Q. Raúf
A Kind of Spark
Elle McNicoll
The Nowhere Emporium
Ross MacKenzie
Poetry and short stories
The Puffin Book of Classic Verse
Various
The Works
Roger McGough
The Listeners and Other Poems
Walter de la Mare
A Poem for Every Day of the Year
Allie Esiri
The Rattle Bag
Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes
The Highwayman
Alfred Noyes
The Lost Words
Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris
The Dream Keeper and Other Poems
Langston Hughes
Tales of the Unexpected
Roald Dahl
Short!, Stories
Various
The Illustrated Treasury of Classic Children's Poems
Various
Please use your judgement when choosing books: reading level, themes and suitability will vary between children.