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15 must-read, inclusive children’s books for EYFS, KS1 and KS2, recommended by Scott Evans

By Sophie Hostick-Boakye

If you are looking for inclusive children’s book resources to replenish your stocks for the autumn term and support curriculum planning, then look no further.

We asked Scott Evans, children’s literacy expert, teacher and author, to recommend his favourite inclusive books for EYFS, KS1 and KS2, with an emphasis on texts he uses with his pupils and has enjoyed reading recently. Here’s what he chose:

EYFS

  1. Gina Kaminski Saves the Wolf, written by Craig Barr-Green and illustrated by Francis Martin
  2. Hats of Faith, written by Medeia Cohan-Petrolino and illustrated by Sarah Walsh
  3. I Love Me!, written by Marvyn Harrison and illustrated by Diane Ewen
  4. Let’s Play, written by Alex Strick and illustrated by Annie Kubler and Sarah Dellow
  5. What Happened to You?, written by James Catchpole and illustrated by Karen George

KS1

  1. Can Bears Ski?, written by Raymond Antrobus and illustrated by Polly Dunbar
  2. Eyes That Kiss in the Corners, written by Joanna Ho and illustrated by Dung Ho
  3. Is That Your Mama?, written by Patrice Lawrence and illustrated by Diane Ewen
  4. Look Up!, written by Nathan Bryon and illustrated by Dapo Adeola
  5. The Beautiful Layers of Me, written by Sophia Payne and illustrated by Ruchi Mhasane

KS2

  1. A Different Sort of Normal, written and illustrated by Abigail Balfe
  2. A Kind of Spark, written by Elle McNicoll
  3. Can You Feel the Noise?, written by Stewart Foster
  4. Supa Nova, written and illustrated by Chanté Timothy
  5. Wonderfully Wired Brains: An Introduction to the World of Neurodiversity, written by Louise Gooding and illustrated by Ruth Burrows

Discover more inclusive texts

You can find many of the children’s texts recommended by Scott on the IBC website. If you can’t find what you are looking for, we have hundreds more high-quality, inclusive books, handpicked by specialists just like Scott. Just ‘Search books’ or ‘Search booklists‘ to find the perfect texts for your class or whole school.

IBC Book Box

Alternatively, why not apply for a box of 100 free books through our IBC Book Box bookgifting scheme for primary schools? The scheme runs annually from June to July and if successfully you will receive your new books in September.

Sophie Hostick-Boakye is the IBC Awards and Book Box Coordinator and an avid reader of children’s books with her two sons, who always have lots of feedback on the books they read together.

Scott Evans is a neurodivergent primary school teacher and author of All Brains Are Wonderful and 100 Ideas for Primary Teachers: Reading for Pleasure. He is also a children’s books consultant and content creator. He reads, reviews and recommends children’s books on his website The Reader Teacher.

Scott regularly contributes to and writes for the BBC, offering insights into raising children as readers, and was the educational consultant for the 2024 World Book Day Live Lesson.

Before becoming a teacher, he worked as a librarian, and he has also partnered with BookTrust, Waterstones, Hay Festival and Literature Wales. He has also been on the judging panel for the Blue Peter Book Awards, the Laugh Out Loud Book Awards (The Lollies), the IBC Awards, the Wales Book of the Year Award, and the Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024–26 steering group, among others.

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