Welcome
Hello everyone, Miss Harris here! Welcome to our January edition of The Coleham Reading Newsletter. As always, I am keen to share with you some new book recommendations. I’ll also be sharing some exciting reading events taking place in school right now, including an update on Year 5’s participation with The Shropshire Bookfest.
In this month’s edition I’m also really keen to share with you some information on the importance of picture books, as well as sharing some dates for your diaries on upcoming reading events happening in school during the Spring Term.
Recommended Reads
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.
Shropshire Bookfest 2026
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”.
Power of Picture Books
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.
Next Wednesday – KS2 Author Visit -Catherine Wilkins
Booka Bookshop has arranged a brilliant Author event with Catherine Wilkins for Years 3, 4, 5 & 6 taking place on Wednesday 18th March 2026
You may purchase a signed copy of The Way The Cookie Crumbles
(the most recent book in the Cafe Chaos series) and/or My Family is Not
A Piece of Cake. All books are at the reduced price of £7 instead of the RRP £7.99.
If you would like your child to have a signed book on the day, please purchase one via Booka Bookshops website.
Click HERE
Important! So Booka can compile a list for the book signing, when you get to checkout make sure you enter:
- your child’s name and surname in the ‘First Name’ box
- your child’s class and school in the ‘Last Name’ box
- select ‘Collect in Oswestry’ so you don’t get charged for shipping.
- fill in your billing address and email as normal
There will be a talk with the author for all pupils in KS2.
World Book Week
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.