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11 Plus (11+) reading list

Advice 5 min read
Table of contents
  1. Accessible starting points
  2. More demanding reads
  3. Adventure and fantasy favourites
  4. Top tips
  5. How to prepare

Reading widely builds the vocabulary and the feel for how sentences and stories work that a comprehension paper is testing, in a way isolated exam-style questions can’t.

Comprehension extracts for the 11+ lean heavily on classic fiction, and children who have read widely in that style have usually met the vocabulary and sentence structures before, even if not that exact passage. The same reading feeds verbal reasoning, which leans heavily on vocabulary.

The fifteen titles below span a range of difficulty, so you can pick books that suit where your child is now and books to grow into over the following months. It isn’t an exhaustive list; plenty of other novels work just as well.

Five of these are available as Examberry Children’s Classics editions, each with the full text plus comprehension and vocabulary exercises built around it; those covers are shown beside the books below.

Accessible starting points

A Christmas Carol - Examberry Children's Classics
A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. Ebenezer Scrooge’s ghostly Christmas Eve is short enough to read in a week and dense with the kind of figurative language, metaphor, personification, that comprehension questions like to ask about.
The Wind in the Willows - Examberry Children's Classics
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame. Gentle countryside adventures with Mole, Ratty and Toad, written in flowing, descriptive prose that rewards close reading without a difficult plot to follow.
Treasure Island - Examberry Children's Classics
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson. A pirate adventure with plenty of narrative pace, plus period vocabulary that’s a step up from most books aimed at this age.
Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery. An orphan’s new life on a Canadian farm, told in warm, character-driven prose; good for a child ready for a longer novel with real depth of feeling.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. Mischief along the Mississippi in straightforward, readable prose, a good bridge book for a child not yet ready for denser Victorian writing.

More demanding reads

Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. British schoolboys stranded on an island, and how quickly their attempt at order breaks down; complex themes and sophisticated language make this a stretch even for the strongest readers.
Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift. An 18th-century satire that’s demanding in its historical context and vocabulary, but rewards a confident reader with sharp wit and inventive settings.
His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman. A three-book series following Lyra across parallel worlds; long, with a plot that branches and reconnects, with vocabulary and themes well above the average children’s book.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Examberry Children's Classics
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll. Wordplay and nonsense logic that’s directly useful for verbal reasoning, wrapped in a plot most children already half-know from adaptations.
Five Children and It, by E. Nesbit. An Edwardian sand-fairy grants wishes that always go wrong; older-fashioned language than most modern books, good practice for period vocabulary.

Adventure and fantasy favourites

Kensuke’s Kingdom, by Michael Morpurgo. A boy washed up on a Pacific island discovers he isn’t alone; simple language carrying mature themes, a good choice for a strong reader not yet ready for denser vocabulary.
Holes, by Louis Sachar. A wrongly-punished boy digging holes in the desert, told across two timelines that eventually connect; the structure is more of a challenge than the language, which builds a skill comprehension questions often test.
The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien. Bilbo Baggins sets off with Gandalf and thirteen dwarves to reclaim a stolen treasure; an accessible entry point into fantasy with a classic story structure.
The Secret Garden - Examberry Children's Classics
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A neglected girl finds a hidden garden and changes because of it; closely described, with a satisfying arc.
The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis. Seven accessible books that build in complexity; a good series for a child who wants to read widely without a difficult vocabulary barrier at the start.
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Top tips

  • Choose books a step beyond comfortable; that’s where the new vocabulary is.
  • Talk about the book afterwards, a few questions about what happened and why, before moving on to the next one.
  • Keep a running list of new words your child meets while reading, and check back on them occasionally.
  • Alternate genres rather than reading five adventure stories in a row; comprehension extracts come from a wide range of styles.
  • Whole novels matter as much as extracts. Pacing and how a character changes only show themselves across a full story.
  • Don’t force a book that isn’t landing. A title your child enjoys does more good than one they’re struggling through out of duty.

How to prepare

Several of the titles above are covered by our Children’s Classics series: illustrated study guides with comprehension questions, creative writing prompts and vocabulary lists built around the text. Pair them with our subject packs for building comprehension skills more broadly.

Key Recommendations

Further Recommendations

Key Recommendations

Further Recommendations

Free GL Assessment style Maths paper cover

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