Books every child should read by the age of 14

Books for 6-to-8-year-olds

• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
• Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
• The Story of Babar by Jean de Brunhoff
• Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton
• Five on a Treasure Island by Enid Blyton
• Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
• My Naughty Little Sister by Dorothy Edwards
• Charlotte's Web by EB White
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• Asterix the Gaul by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo
• Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown
• The Worst Witch by Jill Murphy
• Mister Magnolia by Quentin Blake
• The Queen's Nose by Dick King-Smith
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman
• The Adventures of Milly Molly Mandy by Joyce Lankester Brisley
• Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon
• The Sheep-Pig by Dick King Smith
• Clarice Bean, That's Me by Lauren Child
• That Rabbit Belongs to Emily Brown by Cressida Cowell
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
• The BFG by Roald Dahl
• The Arrival by Shaun Tan

Books for 9-to-12-year-olds

• The Adventures of Tin Tin by Herge
• Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
• Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfield
• The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
• The Borrowers by Mary Norton
• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aitken
• Stig of the Dump by Clive King
• Carrie's War by Nina Bawden
• Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
• The Witches by Roald Dahl
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• Truckers: The First Book of the Nomes by Terry Pratchett
• The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson
• Flour Babies by Anne Fine
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
• Skellig by David Almond
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
• Journey to River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
• Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
• Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
• Once by Morris Gleitzman
• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Books for 12-to-14-year-olds

• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• The Fellowship of the Ring by J R R Tolkien
• The Owl Service by Alan Garner
• Watership Down by Richard Adams
• Forever by Judy Blume
• The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
• Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
• Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison
• Witch Child by Celia Rees
• Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin
• Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean
• Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
• Looking for JJ by Anne Cassidy
• Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
• Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
• Revolver by Marcus Segdwick
• Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet
• Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner
• Junk by Melvin Burgess
• How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins