Episode 40 - How to spot which books will appeal to 14-16+ year olds based on social media trends

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 40

For transcripts, resources & show notes: https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-40/

Part 1
Book post

•  I Am Ray's Imaginary Friend by Brian Moses
• Locked in the Museum by Leisa Stewart-Sharpe
• Mo's Stick by Fiona Lumbers
• Tick Tock Around the Clock by Ruth Brown
• Sea Safari by Julie Sykes and Emily Jones
• Marty Moose: The Great Stamp-ede by Claire Powell
• The Elementals: Wanzu Sets Sail by Love Ssega and Erika Meza
• Cruise Ship Kid: Kidnap at Sea! by Emma Swan
• On the Streets of New York by Sarah Kay and Ryan Johnson
• The Cheat Book (Vol.3) by Ramzee
• Always Angel by Kimberly Whittam
• Made for Each Other by Georgina Taylor
• Dragonborn by Struan Murray
• War & Peas by Robert Muchamore
• Burn the Water by Billy Ray
• All the Cursed Creatures by Amie Jordan
• When I Was Death by Alexis Henderson 

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books in April 2026

• The Last Death Poet by Stephen Daly
• What Stephen Lawrence Has Taught Us by Benjamin Zephaniah
• How to Question Everything by Susan Martineau & Vicky Barker
• Nico the Donkey's New Home by Elena Mannion
• Camping in the Wild by Nicholas Oldland
• SPYGLASS: Mastermind of Mayhem by David Solomons
• Piper at the Gates of Dusk by Patrick Ness
• Two is a Crowd by Cath Howe
• Wide Eye by Jennifer Liss
• Dead Straight Line by Malcolm Duffy
• A Million Tiny Missiles All at Once by Lucas Maxwell
• Kamizen: Fortress of Lost Memories by William Dobson
• Guinea Pig Rescue by Pamela Butchart
• Saving Species by Jess French
• Wild Footprints by Judy Wise
• Once Upon a Time in the Woods by Anthony Browne
• Whale Song by Nicola Davies
• Once Upon a Planet by Pierrick Graviou
• How to Build a Chocolate Bridge by Roma Agrawal
• Izzy Dobson is Definitely Different by Abigail Balfe
• Survival Show by Juno Dawson
• My Art Book of Peace by Shana Gozansky
• Song I Wrote for Charlotte by Caitlin Devlin
• The Seriously Epic Holiday of Lottie Brooks by Katie Kirby
• Lost by Tom Adams, Daniela Martin Del Campo
• The Whisperwicks: The Vanished Key by Jordan Lees
• Hercules vs the Minotaur by Tom Vaughan
• The House with Chicken Legs Runs Away by Sophie Anderson
• The World's Last Mammoth and Other Missing Marvels by Mike Barfield & Franziska Hollbacher
• Woodlore by Kevin Parr

April 2025 books of the month

• Fiction: Dead Straight Line by Malcolm Duffy
• Nonfiction: How to Question Everything by Susan Martineau & Vicky Barker
• Picture book: The Dream by Gideon Sterer & Nik Henderson

Part 2
Cricket books

New book pitches: Little Poets: A Poem A Day by Tara Ali, Ask To Learn Booklets by Anjennis Walrond & Sally the Spider’s new shoes by Clodagh Ryan

Part 3
How to spot which books will appeal to 14-16+ year olds based on social media trends

Credits & licensing
Sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl