Episode 34 - Books that rival screens and social media

School Reading List

School Reading List
Episode 34 - Books that rival screens and social media
Aug 31, 2025 Season 1 Episode 34

School Reading List podcast hosted by Tom Tolkien

Season 1: Episode 34

For transcripts & show notes see https://schoolreadinglist.co.uk/podcasts/series-1-episode-34/

Part 1
Book post

  • Gloam by Jack Mackay
  • There Are Amphibians Everywhere by Britta Teckentrup
  • The Museum of Shapes by Sven Volker
  • How to Catch an Idea by Forest Xiao
  • The Coming of the Iron Man by Ted Hughes
  • My Brother Is a Tiger by Joaquin Camp
  • Luna Grace: Girl from Outer Space by Julie Sykes
  • Map to Starlight Hollow by Rebecca Lewis-Oakes
  • The Notwitches: Prison Break by Gary Panton
  • How to Get Magically Popular by Radhika Sanghani
  • Moonboy by Anna Ciddor
  • Wintour's Fate by Brían Dungan
  • iNSiDE by Sally Gales
  • Girls of Dark Divine by E. V. Woods

Rundown - top 30 children's and YA books to buy in September 2025

  • Old Oak and Little Acorn by Elena Mannion & Erin Brown
  • The Guardians of Dreamdark: Windwitch by Laini Taylor
  • Britannica All New Children’s Encyclopedia by Christopher Lloyd
  • History's Most Epic Fails by Athena Kugblenu
  • Hank Meets Frank by Maudie Powell-Tuck
  • What Feelings Do at Night by Tina Oziewicz
  • Everybody Has a Fear by Koleka Putuma & Amanda Mijangos
  • The Cave Downwind of the Café by Mikey Please
  • The Search for Our Cosmic Neighbours by Chloe Savage
  • Whoosh!: Adventures with Grandad by Sam Usher
  • Dance of Resistance by Catherine Johnson
  • The Rebel and the Rose by Catherine Doyle
  • Thirst by Darren Simpson
  • The Wizard's Guide to Magical Experiments by Amanda Wood
  • Role Model by Elle McNicoll
  • Dead Yard: Seeds of Doom by P. J. Killburn
  • Fold-Out + Play: Doll's House by Ingela P Arrhenius
  • Where the Dead Live by Sam Fern and Romolo D’Hipolito
  • The Fear by Tom Palmer
  • Talk Like an Aztec by Tegen Evans & Nina Chakrabarti
  • A Tree is a Time Machine by Rob Sears & Tom Sears
  • No Escape by M.A. Bennett
  • By sea and sky by Lela Nargi & Xuan Le
  • The Incredible Pop-up Frog by Ben Hoare
  • Fright Club: Let's Boo This! by Sibeal Pounder
  • Letters from the Upside by Katya Balen
  • BUST OR TRUST by Small Wardour & Sam Peet
  • Mythical Tales by Laura Sampson & Lilla Bolecz
  • Champions of the Galaxy by Tola Okogwu
  • Make Me a Monster by Kalynn Bayron

September 2025 books of the month

  • Fiction: Everything Amplified by Sarah Lippett & Ziggy Hanaor
  • Nonfiction: The Incredible Pop-up Frog by Ben Hoare & Jasmine Floyd
  • Picture book: Oh Dear, Look What I Got! by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury

Part 2
Our rundown of new children's and YA books for Autumn 2025.

New book pitches: The Collaborator by TG Trouper, Sally the Spider’s new shoes by Clodagh Ryan, Anna Denton & The Water of Life by Vaughan Hawthorne-Nelson

Part 3
Books that rival screens and social media 

Credits & licensing
3rd party sounds are licensed. Audit: https://bit.ly/3TFkwsl

Support the show

Episode Artwork Episode 34 - Books that rival screens and social media 43:50 Episode Artwork Episode 33 - The UK National Year of Reading 2026 34:34 Episode Artwork Episode 32 - What are picture books, and why are they useful? 41:13 Episode Artwork Episode 31 - How reading between the ages of 11 and 16 can help teens get better jobs 35:42 Episode Artwork Episode 30 - Why Investing in Your School Library Can Boost Your School Inspection Grade 33:36 Episode Artwork Episode 29 - Do Children Read More Than We Think? 39:40 Episode Artwork Episode 28 - Is It Time To Rethink Dressing-Up For World Book Day? 43:22 Episode Artwork Episode 27 - Why teaching discrete subjects encourages reading for pleasure 36:39 Episode Artwork Episode 26 - Why Discount Book Packs Are a Bad Deal for Schools 35:30 Episode Artwork Episode 25 - What Are We Reading For? 45:47 Episode Artwork Episode 24 - Why DuckDuckGo is best for book searches 46:40 Episode Artwork Episode 23 - Should mobile phones be banned in schools? 38:53 Episode Artwork Episode 22 - What to read in the summer holidays 35:47 Episode Artwork Episode 21 - 2024 election and literacy: what are the main parties promising? 33:29 Episode Artwork Episode 20 - Drop Everything And Read (DEAR) 40:47 Episode Artwork Episode 19 - Choosing children's books: how do adults pick new children's books? 38:53 Episode Artwork Episode 18 - BookTok: a blessing or a curse? 38:53 Episode Artwork Episode 17 - Why school libraries are so important 39:20 Episode Artwork Episode 16 - Children's books and books for children - a growing disconnect 33:08 Episode Artwork Episode 15 - How to use Lego to encourage reading skills 34:35 Episode Artwork Episode 14 - How to organise an effective quiet reading time 41:25 Episode Artwork Episode 13 - The Reading Framework guidance from the DfE 34:42 Episode Artwork Episode 12 - How children's book series can kickstart reading for pleasure 36:15 Episode Artwork Episode 11 - Transitioning from picture books to short chapter books 33:20 Episode Artwork Episode 10 - How to halt the summer slide by encouraging students to read. 32:11