Top 10 Books and Resources for Starting School

Posted on 24 August 2015

Starting school is a huge step for your little one and it’s a wonderful, exciting time. But it can also be a little daunting! Don’t worry – we’re here to help you find the perfect books for your child when they start school and beyond. Books to motivate, inspire, build core skills and grow their confidence in a fun way. We’ll help your child learn to love reading and help you choose books that inspire them to keep reading for life!

To get you started here are our top 10 books and resources for starting school.

Best for building skills

Disney: Star Wars Workbooks Pair

Learn with the Force – and some nifty finger puppets. These books will make sure the learning Force is strong in you. Loads of handy activities to build first counting and ABC skills. Plus colour pictures of your favourite Star Wars characters and objects. Each book even has ten cut-out finger puppets to play with. Perfect for little stars.

Peppa Pig: Practise with Peppa Wipe-Clean Learning Pack

Peppa’s wipe-clean puzzles make learning feel like child’s play. Which is exactly what they are. Full of bright colour art, these books are perfect for young readers who are starting school to practise their writing skills, counting skills and pencil control again and again!

My First Skills for School Sticker Activity Book

Sticker puzzles to get your child ready for school. Even before starting school, there’s a lot to learn. It really helps to be happy with letters and numbers before you begin your first class. So gear up with this colourful learning book – full of merry activities, plus over 100 lovely bright stickers to play with. You’ll build your skills with the alphabet and simple counting.

Best for learning the alphabet

Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper: Alphabet Games

Play makes perfect for little learners! These games make the alphabet as easy as ABC. Do your kids love the Biff, Chip and Kipper stories? Well, these super card games are just as much fun as the books. Hours of playtime fun, and your child will practice their ABC. All these games can be played with a grown-up or older child, plus one or two little ones. Instant fun for the whole family.

Best for starting phonics

Jolly Phonics Workbooks Pack

The classic series. Essential phonics plus your child’s imagination. There’s a reason Jolly Phonics is a favourite. No other phonics series has such a focus on play while helping your child read and write. Don’t forget – these key skills are at the heart of the school curriculum. So how do you master them? Just imagine: tracing snakes to make the letter ‘S’. Or making plane noises that go ‘nnnnnn’. With these books, your child will explore letters and sounds, write your name and build pencil control by tracing and colouring. Jolly phonics: happy learning.

Read with Biff, Chip & Kipper: My Phonics Flashcards

The Oxford experts help your child read using phonics fun and the power of play. It’s true: playing with words is a great way to improve your early reading skills. Now these fun-filled games help kids master phonics faster. That’s really important, as the new school curriculum is all about phonics. And these cards are made by a series used in 80% of primary schools. Use simple phonic sounds and letter blends to play snap and other games. You’ll even start to prepare for the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. Reading practice and great fun all the way.

Usborne Phonics Readers Pack

Words to rhyme, flaps to flip and cute pictures to make you happy. Usborne’s charming series will make you smile and build phonics skills for school. Full of funny stories with flip-flaps (and a yellow duck to spot!), this pack supports the curriculum and its focus on phonics, and it makes phonics fun for the youngest readers.

Best for reassuring anxious children

Whiffy Wilson: The Wolf Who Wouldn’t Go to School

Really funny and reassuring. This stinky little wolf finds out why school is cool. (You’ll love it too.) Whiffy is our kind of friend: cute, scruffy and very funny. There’s just one problem: he never wants to go to school. He thinks it’s boring, and he’d rather watch TV all day. Oh, Whiffy! That is really dim! If you don’t come to school, you’ll miss snack time, storytime and playtime with your friends. Plus you won’t learn anything. Will Whiffy ever become a super student and win a gold star for his work? Well, that would be telling…

Best for learning motor skills

I Can Tie My Own Shoelaces!

This handy little book makes learning to tie shoes totally fun! Using the sneaker template, kids can practise weaving the cool green laces through the punched holes and tying them into a bow. With steps, pictures and easy rhymes to help remember the motions, they’ll quickly get it right.

Best for motivation and rewards

Julia Donaldson Reward Chart

All your favourite Julia Donaldson friends are on hand to help your child to their best in this chart full of sticker rewards. It has its own special wipe-off pen, so kids can have fun swooshing it clean and setting new goals each week. Every time your child finishes a task, they can add a bright sticker to the chart.

Find even more books and resources here to help you and your child with the new school year.