Welcome
Welcome to this month’s edition of our Reading Newsletter! We’ve had a wonderful term bursting with activities to raise the profile of reading for pleasure across our school – from the excitement of World Book Week to inspiring author visits and many more joyful book‑themed moments. In this issue, you’ll find a new selection of recommended reads for pupils of all ages, an update from our staff book club, and some simple, fun reading initiatives for parents to try at home. We hope this newsletter helps keep the love of stories alive and thriving in every corner of our school community.
Recommended Reads
EYFS
Discover the ROARSOME world of dinosaurs with this beautifully illustrated lift-the-flap book for dino-mad kids!
Take a hands-on tour through the amazing world of dinosaurs and learn about where they lived, what they ate and how they spent their days. From the terrifying T-rex to the long-necked diplodocus, you’ll find some of the biggest, mightiest and deadliest dinos inside the pages of this book – with exciting lift-the-flaps that reveal extra secrets and surprises!
Over 50 interactive flaps to lift, all hiding amazing extra facts and dinotastic-details
Fascinating introduction to the world of dinosaurs that explores these incredible creatures across the continents.
Beautiful visuals on every page with illustrations by Teresa Bellon, best known for illustrating Lonely Planet Kids’ My First Lift-the-Flap World Atlas, as well as several Usborne and Pan Macmillan children’s books
Explore the world of dinosaurs through the eyes of an early reader with this fun and entertaining follow-up to My First Lift-the-Flap World Atlas. This is the perfect reading gift for dino-mad children everywhere!
KS1
Discover the remarkable family tree of one chicken in this strange but true tale!
Hello! I don’t think that I’ve met you before.
Now, you may not have heard, I’m a real DINOSAUR.
Now, before you start thinking I look like a meal…
Check my family tree – and then see how you feel.
Meet one plucky chicken and discover her roarsome secret: she is descended from dinosaurs . . . and no fox is going to make a meal out of her!
Travel through time and uncover the unlikely truth of how of the humble hen is related to the terrifying T-Rex in this fantastic read-aloud picture book.
Written by the bestselling dinosaur duo Steve and Anne Brusatte, it packs 250 million years of history into a single sitting and contains a fascinating fact packed section at the back.
LKS2
This engagingly illustrated book tells in thrilling detail the story of the Carpathia, the small vessel which saved hundreds of people from drowing during the sinking of the Titanic.
In the middle of the night, the Carpathia received a distress call from the sinking Titanic. The intrepid little ship heroically changed course and headed straight into the frozen sea to help save as many people as it could. Follow the Carpathia as it risks everything to navigate remote, treacherous ice fields in the dark and come to the rescue of passengers on the world-famous ocean liner.
Along the journey, you will learn all about Morse code, navigation tools, the different roles of the crew, how the ships found each other, and by-the-minute details of exactly what happened on this cold and fateful night.
The illustrations set the scene and take the reader into the frozen eerie night in the North Atlantic. Beautiful full-bleed illustration and vignettes give great detail about how everyone on the ship made their own contribution and showed true bravery.
Rescuing Titanic shows that a glimmer of hope can be found even in great tragedy and that heroes are not always big and mighty, but can also be small and unassuming.
This is the debut book in the Hidden Histories series, which explores with beautiful illustrations and vivid details the untold parts of stories we thought we knew.
UKS2
A hidden garden. An ancient tale. A missing child. This is an addictive mystery with crossing narratives that’s impossible to put down.
“Deliciously creepy modern adventure. Beautifully plotted and a real page-turner.” – The Irish Independent
Fran doesn’t want to stay with her aunt and uncle and her annoying cousin, Imogen. Imogen is rude and unfriendly and, it turns out, missing… But her parents don’t seem to know who Fran means – don’t be silly, we don’t have a daughter, you know that. So it’s up to Fran, and Imogen’s best friend, Bex, to find out what’s happened to her.
Except Bex doesn’t know who Imogen is either. All Fran knows is that it’s got something to do with the hidden garden at Stillness Hall and the twelve statues that belong there. Could a mysterious old tale, a story of enchantment and death, hold the answers?
KS2 Author Visit – Catherine Wilkins
Our KS2 pupils met comedian and author Catherine Wilkins, who joined us to chat about her children’s book series Café Chaos. The story follows Hope Crumble and her dysfunctional family as they run the delightfully chaotic Café Crumble together.
Catherine shared fantastic insights into her writing process — from writing what you know (she worked in cafés and hospitality) to using character conflict to spark a great story, and weaving in plenty of humour.
Her books have an anti‑bullying message and she reminded pupils that bullying can always be solved by speaking to trusted adults and never facing problems alone.
Our children asked some great questions and we were added some signed copies to our book shelves.
Why Phonics Matters in Early Reading
Phonics is an essential building block in helping children learn to read with confidence. It teaches the relationship between letters and the sounds they make, enabling children to decode words by sounding them out. This gives young readers a clear strategy for tackling new or unfamiliar words and helps develop accuracy, fluency and early spelling skills. When children learn phonics systematically and practise regularly, they build a strong foundation that supports all future reading and writing.
In order to supplement what we are doing in school, we wanted to share with parents some of the online resources we use in school to make learning phonics fun and engaging. Please click on the links below to access some great online games.
www.phonicsplay.co.uk
www.spellingplay.co.uk
www.phonicsplaycomics.co.uk
Raise a Reader
As part of Coleham School’s ongoing commitment to nurturing a love of reading across our school community, we want to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible for families to share stories, build reading habits, and help children grow as confident, enthusiastic readers. The Raise a Reader guidance attached below offers simple, inspiring ideas to help you do just that.
Raise-A-Reader-Parent-Pack-Digital.pdf – CLICK HERE
How This Guidance Can Help You Support Reading at Home
The Raise a Reader pack offers simple, practical ideas to make reading an enjoyable and meaningful part of family life. It highlights how powerful it is for children to see adults reading, encourages families to create cosy, distraction‑free reading spaces, and provides prompts for talking together about books to build understanding and confidence. The pack also includes helpful tools such as reading reward charts, review sheets, and suggestions for swapping books or visiting the library, all designed to spark excitement and motivation. Above all, it emphasises having fun and enjoying stories together—because these small, regular moments of shared reading can make a big difference to your child’s confidence, imagination, and long‑term love of reading.