Barrington Stoke (dyslexia friendly)

Barrington Stoke are one of the main publishers in the UK that produce books for children and teens in a dyslexia friendly format. There is no compromise on the quality of the titles produced (some having been shortlisted for and won children’s literature prizes such as the Carnegie Medal) and they have a stable of some of the most well-loved children’s authors writing for them. The books are published on different shades of paper, there are bigger spaces between words and lines and specific fonts are used in order to make the text more accessible. The idea is that anyone can enjoy these books whether you have dyslexia, are a reluctant reader or just want a shorter book.

There are:

• Picture books for under 5s - great if a parent or older sibling with dyslexia wants to share a story with a little one.
• Little Gems for emergent readers - very short chapter books.
• Fiction for older children and teens - the teen selection is shelved with the rest of the teen books.

Bookstart

Bookstart gives free books to every child in England and Wales at two key stages before school, as well as free packs for children with additional needs, tips and guidance on reading together, resources and activities, and much more.

Bookstart is based on a simple premise that children who have an early introduction to books benefit educationally, culturally, socially and emotionally. As the world's first national book-gifting programme, Bookstart aims to encourage a love of books, stories and rhymes in children from as young an age as possible.

Bookstart Baby Pack (0-12 weeks)

Given out between 6-12 weeks via baby’s health visitor. The pack consists of a canvas bag containing two books and a parental guidance booklet.

Community languages

We have a small collection of dual language picture books and some chapter books in various languages from Arabic to Welsh. These are great for multilingual households.

Read about the books we have in languages other than English on this web page.

Early readers

We have a large selection of books for beginner and emergent readers. There are very basic books for those at the very beginning of their reading journey all the way up to short chapter books for newly independent readers.

While we don’t necessarily stock the same series as schools, they are comparable. Series such as Reading Champions, Reading Ladder and Maverick Arts use the same banding system as school readers and you can find out more about a couple of the newer series by clicking the links.

Large print

All libraries stock a range of large print books for both adults and children. 

Parent's shelf

The parent’s shelf is a collection of fiction and non-fiction books that either explain or show through story some of the big questions and issues that may affect children.

Read for Empathy

Book collections from EmpathyLab with a diverse collection of books for children aged 4-16 years old selected to improve children's empathy skills.

Reading Well Shelf Help

Reading Well for children provides quality-assured information, stories and advice to support children’s mental health and wellbeing. Books have been chosen and recommended by leading health professionals and co-produced with children and families.