At Coleham, every class enjoys a daily story read aloud by their teacher. This special time is about much more than simply listening to a book – it helps nurture a lifelong love of reading. Research shows that children who read for pleasure are more likely to develop strong vocabulary, comprehension and communication skills, as well as increased confidence and empathy. By sharing high-quality stories together, children are introduced to new authors, ideas and experiences, while also seeing reading modelled as something enjoyable and worthwhile. Most importantly, daily story time allows children to relax, imagine, laugh and become immersed in the magic of books – helping them to see themselves as readers for life.

This week I had the pleasure of talking to representatives from each year group to find out a bot more about the selected texts they are reading. Watch out, there may be some spoilers!

• Year 6 – Holes by Louis Sachar

“I like the drama within the text and how easy it is to follow” – Florence

“Stanley is currently running away with Zero, I’m not sure but this sounds dangerous!” – Emiliia

• Year 5 – Relic Hamilton by Joseph Coelho

“I like that it’s adventurous – it’s like a mystery that you have to figure out with each turn of the page” – Aurora

“The main character turns out to be a lamp guardian. I like that it goes from an ordinary boys life to a completely irregular one” – Finlay

• Year 4 – The Twits by Roald Dahl

“I really like how they play tricks on each other” – Dolly

“My favourite bit is when the boys get stuck in the tree, that kind of made me laugh” – Ollie

• Year 3 – The Ancient Egyptian Sleepover by Stephen Davies

“It’s really good, I was excited to find out what was going to happen next” Elvie

“It’s really entertaining, especially when the Rosetta Stone gets stolen” – Alfie

• Year 2 – George’s Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl

“We are on the bit when George starts making the medicine. I’m a bit excited” – Bobby

“Well, we’ve just started and George has started making the medicine, I’m excited to see what the medicine is going to do” – Phoebe

• Year 1 – Rainforests by Lucy

“I like how the book describes the animals and I enjoy learning about what animals look like, and what animals eat” – Rory

“I just love learning about Rainforests” – Kira

• Reception – Clean Up by Nathan Bryon

“I like how they are trying to make the work a better place” – Arbor

“The grandma and the grandpa tidy all the rubbish from the sea so the animals can go back” – CeCe

Ready for a reading challenge full of reading adventures? Our Summer Reading Bingo Challenge is a fun way to discover new books, explore different types of reading and keep your reading skills sharp over the holidays. From reading under a tree to visiting the library or sharing a story with a family member, there are lots of exciting challenges to complete. How many squares can you tick off? Aim for a line, four corners or even a full house! We can’t wait to hear about your reading adventures when we return in September. Happy reading!

Summer Reading Bingo Challenge

Pupils in EYFS and KS1 will recall a fantastic reading event led by Author Donna David earlier this year. Want to hear more about her fantastic books? Head to Shrewsbury Library this Summer and join local author, Donna David, for a workshop full of stories, games and movement. She will also be available after the session to purchase signed copies of her children’s books.  This session is free to attend but booking is required.

Please contact the library to book your child’s space. Recommended ages 4-8.

Date: 31 July 2026

Start Time: 10:30am

End Time: 11:15am

Location: Shrewsbury Library Castle Gates, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 2AS

Price: FREE

EYFS

You Can Do It, Bert! is the perfect picture book for anyone embarking on a new adventure. This is Bert’s big day. He is well prepared, mentally and physically.

But he might need some encouragement. You can do it, Bert! From the author/illustrator of Anton Can Do Magic (the USBBY winner and Read Boston Award finalist), this is a simple, funny picture book with an encouraging positive message

KS1

Watch feelings come to life in Big Feelings, Little Feelings – a beautifully illustrated book of emotions that helps kids understand, name, and express what they feel inside.

From happiness and surprise to fear, anger, and sadness, each feeling is brought to life through colourful, funny characters that make learning about emotions fun and relatable.

Kids will discover how to identify, understand, and manage their emotions – and that it’s okay to feel happy, sad, angry, or anything in between.

This fun yet educational feelings book for kids aged 5-9 acts as a gentle introduction to emotional awareness, helping children recognise and talk about their feelings with confidence.

Inside, you’ll find:

• A unique, colour-coded approach that groups emotions and gives children the words to express them
• Funny, expressive characters that show emotions in an engaging, child-friendly way
• Simple language and practical prompts that encourage children to recognise and share how they feel
• Expert input from a qualified psychotherapist, ensuring a sensitive and supportive approach to talking about feelings
• A valuable resource for parents, carers, and educators to nurture emotional intelligence and empathy early

Perfect for children aged 5-9, this book turns big feelings into something to celebrate, explore, and understand. Whether you’re reading together at home or using it in the classroom, Big Feelings, Little Feelings gives young readers the words and confidence to talk about their feelings – and helps adults start those all-important conversations, too.

LKS2

This imaginative collection of engaging short stories is perfect for all kids who love the unexpected.

Good Bits is a highly original collection of short stories for children aged 6-8 that demands to be read. It will excite and inspire young readers not only to read on, but also to write and illustrate their own stories.

Written by award-winning author Kes Gray, this action-packed collection of stories is ideal for kids who need a bit of encouragement to keep them reading. The engaging layout and illustrations make the stories exciting and approachable, and short stories are perfect for a quick adventure somewhere new.

This collection of short stories for kids offers:

Stories by award-winning author Kes Gray, who has written bestselling children’s books like Oi Frog.

An early chapter book with intriguing illustrations and an engaging format that will make children want to read on.

Shorter stories with fun, exciting plots that will encourage caregivers and children to participate in shared storytelling.

From a spaceship flight into a Black Hole, to a town plagued by zombie beavers, a magical pen that knows all the answers to a test, to a crochet-loving pirate, this collection features the best bits of the story – the brilliant characters, actions and settings that spin a story that demands to be read.

UKS2

A hilarious new series by award-winning author Phil Earle which introduces Finn N. O. Hope and his life of epic failure! Perfect for readers of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Loki and Tom Gates.

Finn just wants to survive Year 7, but his life is destined to be a series of epic fails. It’s only Tuesday and his scheming, unicorn-obsessed little sister has already stuck a horn to his head (with superglue) and his properly evil older brother has wedgied him 278 times. And don’t even ask what happened at swimming, in front of the WHOLE CLASS. At least he has best friends Laszlo (a hopeless romantic) and Google (ask her anything) by his side as he attempts to turn failure into victory in his very own book that is definitely not a diary.

‘A comedy classic and hilarious page-turner from a genuinely brilliant writer.’ Liz Pichon, author of Tom Gates series

‘Pure comedy genius – Finn’s Epic Fails will have you howling with laughter and cheering for more! This book belongs on every kid’s bookshelf!’ – Jenny Pearson, author of The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates

‘Failure has never been this funny. Finn is my new hero!’ – Rob Biddulph, author of Draw With Rob

WHAT TO EXPECT:

• Illustrations by the brilliant and hilarious AL MUPRHY
• Mortifying moments
• Laughter guaranteed
• Disastrous supply teachers
• A stinky stray dog who may just be the PERFECT best friend
• PRANKS!
• Mates who save the day
• OFF THE SCALE FAILOMETERS!!!
• And much more…!

Great stories don’t need to cost a thing. Children at primary age often want to explore new stories and topics all the time, but that doesn’t mean you need to keep buying books. Your local library is full of free books, ebooks and story times for families. If getting there isn’t easy, digital platforms can help you access stories and magazines at home.

You can also share books with friends, neighbours or family, and many schools and Family Hubs run book swaps, community bookshelves or lending schemes – giving children even more chance to discover something new. Click the link below for information on where to find your nearest library.

https://libraryon.org/libraries –

Further access to additional reading material such as ebooks and audio books, please see below:

Borrow Box

BorrowBox lets you borrow audio books and ebooks for free through your local library. It’s a great option for listening together, supporting reluctant readers, or enjoying stories on the go.

BorrowBox – Your library in one app – CLICK LINK HERE

Libby

Libby gives free access to digital magazines, ebooks and audio books through libraries. Children can explore topics they already love in a format that feels familiar and fun.

Libby – Welcome – CLICK LINK HERE

Twinkl 

Twinkl offers child-friendly magazines and reading content designed to support confidence and enjoyment. Many schools provide access, and free content is available to families.

Parents Hub – Twinkl – CLICK LINK HERE

Reading at home is one of the most important ways you can support your child’s learning. Just a few minutes each day can make a big difference to their confidence, vocabulary and understanding of the world around them.

We do understand that it could appear to feel like duplication, given your child has been reading in school with staff. However reading at home and school are complimentary tasks, with each adult adding something different, unique and exciting they can share.

Learning to read at school

At primary school, children are learning how reading works. Teachers support them to build skills like phonics, fluency and understanding, giving them a strong foundation as they become more independent readers.

Reading for pleasure at home

At home, reading can be more relaxed and helps children explore their interests, build confidence and enjoy stories and information in their own way – without it feeling like homework.

EYFS

Mandy is a banana. A yellow, bendy, half-mooned-shaped banana. The problem is, Mandy doesn’t want to be a banana. She would rather be a prickly pineapple like Pedro, a round watermelon like Wilhelmina, or – frankly – ANYTHING other than a banana.

It takes a plucky little blueberry called Blip to help Mandy focus on her ‘haves’ rather than her ‘have-nots’ and to celebrate what makes her so unique, so bendy, so brilliant and so absolutely, utterly . . . BANANA!

A quirky celebration of learning to love the skin you’re in, featuring an all-star cast of fruit-bowl friends. Heart-warming and funny in equal measure, Mandy is Still a Banana is guaranteed to be a hit with little ones and adults alike.

KS1

A gentle story about moving, making connections and mapping a better world.

When a young girl moves to a new country, her mum helps her draw a map to understand her unfamiliar surroundings. They draw the new neighbourhood, new friends and the special places the girl has found but important things from the past are missing like Grandma and Joe-Dog. So the girl makes the map bigger to include them.

Soon the girl’s friends are inspired to add their own stories and the distances between them all seem to shrink. Yet when misfortune strikes and the girl’s world is shown to be less fixed than she thought, how will she learn to navigate change?

Discover how we all have the power to create a better future.

LKS2

A delightfully uplifting new collection of children’s poetry from Joshua Seigal, winner of the 2020 and 2023 Laugh Out Loud Book Awards and 2024 Reading Rocks Award.

Whether you are in the mood for something hilariously silly or sentimental, this new collection of witty, reflective, and rather ridiculous poems will lift your mood, spark your imagination, and give your mental health a little boost! Joshua Seigal’s verses will have you pondering life’s big (and small) questions as you encounter a waxy pet lemon, spicy jalapeños and a valiant dog who proves that even the smallest of us can be heroes. This book is a must-have for imaginative young readers and aspiring poets aged 7+.

Joshua Seigal is a two-time-winner of the Laugh Out Loud awards (also known as the Lollies) in 2020 with I Bet I Can Make You Laugh and in 2023 with Yapping Away. Joshua won the People’s Book Prize in 2022, and his poetry collection Who Let the Words Out? also won the 2024 Reading Rocks award in the Lower Key Stage Two category in 2024.

UKS2

Can YOU solve the case? Choose your suspect, choose your next move – choose the story!

YOU VS is a series of interactive adventure stories where the reader gets to choose what happens next! Full of maps, diagrams and illustrations, YOU VS gives readers the chance to star in their own stories: big genre adventures with huge stakes, real heart and a sense of humour. Oh, and lots and lots of endings.

In YOU VS The Poison Plot, it’s the eve of the school talent show, but the school’s drama teacher has suddenly collapsed with four witnesses at his side! As editor of the school newspaper and a seasoned journalist, you investigate – and smell foul play. You’ve got ’til tomorrow’s show to follow your nose and unravel the mystery…

Perfect for fans of Cluedle and Murdle Junior as well as The Boy With Big Decisions, this first book in the series is an attempted-murder mystery where YOU get to solve the case!

Explore the Read to the Beat book collection!

This year’s official Read to the Beat book collection includes books about musicians, characters discovering music, sound science, cultural traditions, rhythm, storytelling through sound, breaking down barriers to music, creative expression and following your dreams.

Support your child in being inspired with their very own musical adventure with this year’s official Summer Reading Challenge book collection – take a look below!

Lots of these titles will be available for you to enjoy for free through your local library. Check out our handy page on how to find books.

Summer Reading Challenge

The whole of May is National Share a Story Month, run by the Federation of Children’s Book Groups. The idea is simply to share stories — through reading aloud, telling, acting out, or talking about books together. Heads up, there are usually events at libraries, bookshops  throughout the month.

Its good to remember that “sharing a story” doesn’t always mean sitting down with a book. Telling a child about a book you loved when you were their age counts. So does listening to an audiobook together on a long car journey.

The National Share a Story Month guide from the Reading Chest has simple ideas for bringing stories into your home throughout May.

Reading aloud to children isn’t something you outgrow. Even confident readers benefit from hearing stories read with expression, rhythm, and someone there beside them.

Language blooms: When children hear stories read aloud, they absorb vocabulary, sentence patterns, and the music of language. It happens naturally, without any flashcards or worksheets.

Connection deepens: Sharing a story creates a moment of focused attention. No screens, no rush. Just you, your child, and a book. That’s powerful.

Imagination explodes: Listening to someone read fires up a child’s imagination more than watching images on a screen. They’re building the pictures in their mind.

It signals that stories matter: When you sit down to read together, you’re telling your child: “This is important. You’re important. This time together is important.”

In honour of David Attenborough’s 100th Birthday coming up, this months Recommended Reads are all inspired by nature.

EYFS

This series of board books will inspire a love of nature in even the littlest of animal lovers. With vibrant artwork printed on white board, robust easy-to-use mechanisms for tiny hands and a rhyming text with friendly animal facts, these are the perfect books to captivate curious little explorers time and time again.

In this first birds book, there are ostriches running across the plains, penguins diving in the sea, toucans perched on jungle branches and many more birds to discover and bring to life with the moving parts.

KS1

Hop, leap or bounce into Boing! for bug and mini-beast poetry fun and fascinating facts.

Find beautiful butterflies, ladybirds and dragonflies. Marvel at worker bugs, from tiny ants and busy bees to leaping grasshoppers and fleas. Discover mini-beast heroes – dung beetles, millipedes, spiders – and those amazing ‘pigs in space’, the tardigrades!

With 24 poems, including shape poems, riddles, rhyming poems and free verse, plus amazing and informative facts about each bug or minibeast on every page, the world of insects is brought buzzing to life, matched by Neal Layton’s witty colour illustrations.

LKS2

Antarctica is a place most of us will never visit – and it’s disappearing. Learn all about it before it’s too late.

Put on your parka and snowshoes and get ready to embark on a journey to the far, far south. You could hitch a ride on a Sno-Cat, explore the majestic icefalls, hunt for meteorites and marvel at migrating whales – or just stay in for a movie and pizza.

From colossal squids and active volcanoes to research vessels and cricket matches, there’s a lot more to the South Pole than just penguins and icebergs (though there are also a lot of penguins and icebergs). Learn how humans survive in the coldest place on Earth and discover what surprises await in this fragile and fascinating world.

Packed with hundreds of brilliant snippets of information, All About Antarctica is perfect for curious kids who love to ask lots of questions about the wonders of our world.

UKS2

Packed full of illustrations, exciting experiments – and even comic strips – That’s Life! encourages young scientists to start looking for the living things around them.Life is everywhere on planet Earth. Jungles, deserts, seas, plains, fields and forests – all of them teem with life but, amazingly, you can also find lots of living things hidden in your home, and even hidden inside you! Join Sherlock Ohms and his companions on a brilliant biological adventure, seeking out all kinds of life, including the life forms hiding in your own home!

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.

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

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.

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?

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.

Hello everyone, Miss Harris here! Welcome to February’s edition of The Coleham Reading Newsletter. This month we are busy preparing for our annual World Book Week where there will be a full timetable of events that aim to inspire all pupils in reading for pleasure. As always I will be sharing with you a variety of book recommendations, as well as telling you a little bit about what’s coming up in school.

EYFS

Meet Wilbur, a little boy making a big move in this illustrated storybook that teaches young children about embracing change.

With beautiful illustrations and an engaging storyline, this book teaches young readers aged 3-5 about exploring new environments and building strong friendships.

A perfect bedtime story and addition to every child’s bookshelf, The Night the Garden Glowed teaches children that change doesn’t always need to be scary. This storybook is about finding friendships in new places and teaches them that letting go of fear can lead to exciting new things.

This heart warming picture book for children offers:

An uplifting message that encourages children to overcome difficult situations through an engaging storyline.

Bright and warming illustrations that blend elements of the fantastical with the ordinary world around us.

A beautiful book by Brendan Kearney, author of the much-loved Finn and Skip series.

KS1

The Terrible Trio is a fun illustrated series, best described as The Bad Guys meets Madagascar!

In a world where all animals have superpowers, Zeb the zebra, Margarine the penguin, and Barry the lemur have the WORST powers of all.

Zeb, Margarine, and Barry end up at the back of the line to have the Superpower Supermarket Manager grant them their superpowers and end up getting the short end of the stick. Margarine is granted the special ability to make macaroni and cheese. Barry the Lemur is gifted with the power to write neatly. And Zeb the Zebra can now blend in with a crosswalk…

Working at a café and watching everybody else save the world day in and day out, Zeb, Margarine, and Barry wonder if they will ever get to be superheroes for a day themselves.

“A funny story, with lots of melodrama from Zeb and silliness around the various superpowers … The black and white illustrations are full of expression and bring the characters to life brilliantly.” – Booktrust

LKS2

An orange cat blessed with opposable thumbs, Alan is convinced he was born to rule and spends his days scheming up brilliant plans to fulfil his destiny – from creating a brand-new country, Alanland, to cloning himself in an attempt to raise an entire army of Alans. And his hapless dog sidekick Fido is just happy to be along for the ride!

Join these two loveable characters on their hilarious adventures as they try to take over the universe – as long as they’re home in time for tea, of course.

This two-colour graphic novel series for 7+ readers will have kids and their grown-ups rolling around on the floor with laughter.

UKS2

Bonkers dilemmas that can be solved with science and a bunch of brilliant physics experiments.

**No grannies were harmed in the making of this book!**

Trick a shark! Lift a jumbo jet! Escape a deserted island! Stop a runaway train!

Explore a bunch of ridiculous (and not-so-ridiculous) dilemmas – with solutions from the astonishing world of physics.

Sounds unbelievable? Test the science for yourself, with easy-to-follow experiments throughout!

What are you waiting for? Let’s save Granny!

Written by bestselling and award-winning author Swapna Haddow, with brilliantly funny colour illustrations from award-winning illustrator Jess Bradley.

Monday – World Book Week Assembly

• At 10am in the school hall World Book Week is launched in style with an introductory assembly led by Mr Larkham.

Tuesday – Book Fair

• Please come along after school to the school hall and pick up a bargain book at our school book fair.

Wednesday – EYFS/KS1 Author Workshop

• Children in EYFS, Years 1 and 2 will have the wonderful opportunity to engage with Author Bryher Mckenzie. During the workshop Bryher will be sharing what it’s like to be an author and telling us more about her new title Great Aunt Margot and Me.

Thursday – KS2 Workshop

• Pupils in Years 5 and 6 will be getting stuck into stories and poetry through performance with Chair of Trustees of Shropshire Bookfest ‘Chris Tay’

Friday – The Grand Finale

• Fancy Dress
• Pop-up book shop
• World Book Day Menu
• Golden Ticket Book Competition

We know every child enjoys reading more when they can pick a book that excites them. Don’t forget this week your child will be coming home with their very own book voucher.

Explore this year’s £1/€1.50 World Book Day books and support your child to pick a title they’ll love.

For a digital copy of the Free Book Token, please click the link below:

DIGITAL FREE BOOK TOKEN

Each digital token is single use per transaction, but schools can share the same token with all parents and carers. The same PDF and barcode can be used for every child within the school.

Digital tokens can be shown on a phone or tablet, or printed and taken into a participating bookseller.

It’s time to GO ALL IN on reading and get creative!

To celebrate World Book Day and the UK’s National Year of Reading 2026, sponsors of World Book Day National Book Tokens are inviting children of all ages to DESIGN A NATIONAL BOOK TOKEN for their annual competition. This year’s winners will be selected by three very special guest judges: bestselling authors and illustrators Paddy Donnelly, Nadia Shireen and Sonia Leong!

The National Year of Reading theme, Go All In, is all about diving deeper into the things you already love through reading. Whether you’re passionate about football, animals, space, fashion, gaming, history, music or making people laugh, books can bring your interests to life in exciting new ways.

Challenge your child to create a bold, eye-catching gift card design that celebrates their interests and shows how books help them explore ideas, spark imagination and go further through reading, and they could win prizes galore.

Six winning entrants will bag HUNDREDS of pounds  for their schools and themselves so they can choose all the books they need during the National Year of Reading and beyond. Plus, one overall winner will see their design turned into a real National Book Token for every child in their class – and enjoy a visit to a bookshop to spend them!

So get the pencils, pens and paints ready… and let’s GO ALL IN this World Book Day.

Click here for link to template – Design a National Book Token template

PRIZES

ONE OVERALL WINNER (chosen from the first prize winners in each category) will receive a £10/€12 National Book Tokens gift card in their design for every child in their class,* and the opportunity for their class to visit a real bookshop to spend their National Book Tokens.

FIRST PRIZE in each age range wins: £350/€400 National Book Tokens for the school and £100/€115 National Book Tokens for the pupil

SECOND PRIZE in each age range wins: £200/€230 National Book Tokens for the school and £50/€60 National Book Tokens for the pupil

HOW TO ENTER

To enter, children should design a National Book Tokens gift card on the theme of Go All In, using their designs to show how reading brings their passions to life.

Here are some ideas to get started:

• What do you love?
• Think about your interests, hobbies or favourite things – from sport, art and music to animals, adventures, facts or fantasy. How does reading help you explore them more deeply?
• How does reading connect to your passion?
• Does reading help you learn new skills, imagine new worlds, discover real-life heroes, or understand something better? Try to show this through pictures, colours or symbols.
• Go bold!
• A gift card should stand out. Use strong images, clear ideas and eye-catching designs that make someone want to pick it up and give it as a gift.
• Look at real gift cards
• Check out gift cards in shops or online. What do they have in common? What makes your favourites work so well – and how can you use those ideas in your own design?

As always we will be celebrating World Book Week here at Coleham during the week commencing Monday 2nd March 2026. Throughout the week we will celebrating books, reading, poetry and story telling through visitors, authors and in true Coleham Style ‘a bit of dressing up’.

This year we will hosting our World Book Week dress up day on Friday 6th March – watch this space for more information.

Picture books as I’m sure you’ll agree are powerful educational and emotional tools that combine visual and textual narratives to boost literacy, foster empathy, and stimulate imagination in young readers. At Coleham Primary School we are keen to share high quality picture books across all year groups as we believe they serve as accessible entry points for complex themes, allowing children to explore emotions, understand different perspectives, and develop critical thinking skills.
Each month every year group across school is encouraged to explore a high quality Picture Book during weekly reading sessions. Each book has been carefully selected and recommended to us by one of our reading consultants John Murray. Once the text and imagery has been explored to it’s fullest, each class is encouraged to work on a project associated with the text through art, music, drama, dance and much more. Take a look at some Year 2 and Year 5 examples below.

You may recall from our previous newsletters that our Year 5 pupils are taking part in this years Bookfest Book Award, a nationally recognised reading initiative that delivers comprehensive support for teachers and children in developing reading for pleasure.

Just before the Christmas holidays, Year 5 were given multiple copies of each of the six shortlisted titles, with an aim to read as many as possible before casting their votes for their favourites.

We are pleased to share with you that both Lion and Leopard classes are thoroughly enjoying their books. Many children are already onto their 2nd or oven 3rd book. The children have very positive reviews about all the books so far. Year 5 are looking forward to creating some projects linking to the books for Art, English and Drama. These projects will be entered into the Bookfest competitions against other participating schools.

It’s fair to say our children are highly motivated and really enjoying the books so far. See below for some pupil voice:

Polly

“Doing Bookfest has been very good. I really liked reading a book called ‘The Wildlands’ because it has two girls that are sisters and they get lost and need to find their way home. SPOILER ALERT One of them isn’t really a sister! I just love the suspense.”

Olive

“It’s really fun, I’m on my third book. We are all really getting into it and at times it gets a bit competitive. It feels like everyone’s really motivated ad wants to read more. We’ve never done anything like this before”.

EYFS

Meet the planets and discover why Earth is so special in this heart-warming story about our solar system.
Somewhere in our vast universe floats a little blue dot. This dot is Earth and she is surrounded by lots of impressive planets – Saturn with his ice-crystal rings and 146 moons, fiery Mars with his huge storms and volcanoes, bright and beautiful Venus…
Earth feels small and insignificant, until the other planets tell her why she is the envy of them all. And then another little voice, very close by, has something important to say. A fun story that delivers lot of information about the planets in a way that is easy to understand.

KS1

Blast off on a tour around our amazing solar system!
How fast does the Earth spin?
Why don’t we all float up into space?
What would happen if you tried to eat spaghetti on Mars?
Discover the answers in this fun-filled adventure through our solar system!

LKS2

The Universal Nature Park is a place of wonder and scientific adventure, but watch out – there are mysterious and nefarious plots afoot, and it’s not all fun and learning when the Universe is at stake… Hop on a hover-buggy to the centre of the Milky Way and catch a ride around the Universal Nature Park to learn some amazing facts about our galactic neighbourhood. Maybe you’ll spot some tricksy black holes trying to escape their enclosure, or perhaps you’ll get caught in a meteorite storm (don’t forget your comet-repellent umbrella!), and make sure you wrap up warm for the freezing end of the Universe! This colourful comic informs and explains some of the key tenets of cosmology in an engaging and accessible way, following a narrative and packing in fascinating facts and concepts along the way. Kids will emerge from this world with new-found knowledge about the nature of our Universe, and a thirst to learn and explore on their own.

UKS2

A brand-new, epic sci-fi action-adventure where friendship is tested to the limits from bestselling author Tọlá Okogwu. Perfect for 8+ fans of the Onyeka series, Star Wars and Marvel!
When a powerful group of aliens threaten Earth, a mysterious species called the Onni offers humanity hope. But there’s a catch. Ninety-one children from across the planet must first prove their worth by competing in a series of trials set on a distant planet.
For twelve-year-old Kola, who has long dreamed of going into space, it’s the chance of a lifetime. But once aboard the Onni mothership, Kola finds himself thrown into a misfit team of Champions.