The Takeoff! 2023 list is 20 great books for children in years 3 and 4 published (paperback) between April 2022 and April 2023.
These books are selected each year by Schools Library Services librarians and aim to cover a diverse range of authors, subjects and genres.
For new primary fiction for years 5 and 6, see our Must Read booklist!
Posters for the 2022 booklists will be delivered to subscribing schools!
See the full list of books
| Wigglesbottom Primary: The talking Lamb | The strangest things happen at Wigglesbottom Primary! A school trip to a farm introduces Year 2 to a lamb like no other. IT CAN TALK! And it’s about to get them all into big trouble! |
| Dimple and the Boo | Dimple the gnome having a bad day – mum serves up yucky cabbage pie for tea, Mrs Miskin next door won’t throw his balls back, and all his classmates are laughing at him when he can’t spell ‘gnome’. He doesn’t say much, but The Boo in his pocket, a fuzzy, fizzing little thing, yells, shouts rude words and stamps with rage and gets him into trouble – perhaps he needs to find another way to express himself? |
| Flember: the power of the wildening | On the magical island of Flember, Dev is trying to protect himself, his brother and Boja, his larger-than-life robot bear. A scary creature is on their trail, their new friends are counting on them, and Boja is behaving very strangely. Will the trio find their way home? |
| Anisha: holiday adventure | Anisha is still accidentally finding problems that need solving! This time, she’s on holiday with Manny and new friend Cleo when the park mascot, Delilah the duck, get vandalised and everyone thinks Cleo is the culprit – can Anisha prove otherwise? |
| Kate on the case: the headline hoax | Kate is excited to receive an invitation help her hero, top reporter Catherine Rodriquez, but things go wrong when it appears someone has been tampering with the famous newspaper. Can Kate and her mouse, Rupert find out what is going on? |
| There’s a dog in my brain: dog show disaster | Another hilarious episode as Dudley the dog magically manages to swap bodies with Danny, his owner so that he can eat all the cakes in the kitchen – and this time, it’s off to the dog show where Danny must be on his best behaviour – but disaster strikes… |
| Unicorn seekers: the map of lost unicorns | In a world where magic is forgotten and unicorns walk the world unseen, Elodie discovers she is a unicorn seeker – able to see the unicorns and feel their magic,but having to protect the unicorns brings Elodie face to face with danger… |
| Leonora Bolt | Leonora Bolt makes amazing gadgets from any old junk. And her inventions have already stopped villainous Uncle Luther TWICE, though she hasn’t rescued her super-scientist parents from him – yet. Leonora and her pals find clues that lead them to Luther’s latest evil plan. It’s an amusement park called Brightworld built in a desert, under a massive snow globe – and it’s terrible for the environment! |
| Sona Sharma: a friend indeed | When Miss Rao announces there is going to be an election for Class Leader, Sona is excited to stand as a candidate – until she finds herslef standing against her best friends, Joy and Renu. Sona must decide what matters most – winning the election or being a good friend… |
| Action Dude (graphic novel) | Action Dude is always jumping out of helicopters, running along tops of cranes and walking out of buildings just before they explode, so when the robots in the new theme park go crazy, it’s time to call for …. ACTION DUDE! |
| Barb the brave: the ghost blade (graphic novel) | When the evil Witch Head captures all the adult Berzerkers, Barb, Prokchop the Yeti and their band of wannabe zerks must cometo the rescue – will Barb’s fabulous Shadow Blade sword be a match for Witch Head A second adventure for Barb and her gang. |
| Agent Moose: operation owl | Another adventure for Agent Moose and Owlfred! Strange flas floods are maving waves all over the forestand Madame HQ is kidnapped. Can Agent Moose and Owlfred wade throught all the clues in time to get her back before the forest floats away? |
| The worst class in the world goes wild | Stanley and Manjit didn’t really mean to explode fizzy foam all over the classroom, it just seemed to happen but Mrs Bottomley-Blunt isn’t so sure and thinks it just goes to prove that class 4B is just the worst class in the world |
| A Robot squashed my teacher | Discover the mad-cap world of Esha Verma, amazing inventor, who didn’t really mean to turn her teacher into a pigeon, and must battle giant robots, killer plants and shrinking machines to turn him back again before it’s too late! Sequel to “A dinosaur ate my sister” |
| Armadillo and The hare and the flamingo affair | Armadillo is usually quite grumpy and likes sit eating tomato jam and cheese and Hare is cheerful, energetic and sporty but they are best of friends and used to each other’s ways. So when Flamingo arrives, singing, dancing and sitting in a giant bath tub in the middle of the forest, the other animals don’t quite know what to make of her! |
| Aziza’s secret fairy door and the magic puppy | The fifth magical adventure for Aziza and her brother, Otis. Stepping through the secret fairy door, they find themselves at the S[pring Fete. The town clock that marks the arrival of Spring is broken but Otis and the naughty fairies haven’t noticed as they are too busy playing with their new pet dog and Spring can’t come if the clock is broken… |
| Mort the Meek and the perilous prophecy | The Queen of Brutalia is convinced the inhabitants of nearby island of Bonrock are enemies, but pacifist Mort thinks this could be a chance to make new friends. Setting out with Weed to investigate, Mort finds a perfect paradise – but something terrifying is lurking and Mort might not be able to prevent war. Meet Mort and Weed in “Raven’s Revenge” and “Monstrous Quest” too. |
| Space Blasters: Suzie and the moon bugs | Suzie Wen loves gadgets and things, but her inventions don’t always exactly work, so its not surprising that her Super 3DTV gismo ends up transporting her into her favourite TV show, the Space Blasters! She loves exploring new planets and meeting weird aliens, but when moons start disappear, can Suzie save the universe? |
| Accidental diary of BUG: sister act | Billie Upton Green’s two mums are adopting a baby and B.U.G. is excited to prove she is the perfect big sister – but it’s not as easy as all that… |
| Knight Sir Louis and the sorcerer of Slime | Third hilarious tale of Knight Sir Louis, this time King Bart the Not Bad is thrilled by the arrival of Squire Lyme at the castle, with his piercing green eyes and charming smile. But Knight Sir Louis is not so sure, and along with this friends Reader Catalogue and Pearlin and his trusty steed Clunkalot, sets out to get the the slimy bottom of things |
