January Reading List: Inspiring Inventions

Start the new year with these books full of impressive inventors and their inspiring inventions. They’re bursting with ideas to help your class think outside the box and get creative, and will help them see just how exciting careers in STEM can be!

The Zipbot

The Zipbot
Hero Academy
Oxford Level 2 (Reception/P1)

Ben invents a Zipbot – a transportation gadget to help Pip go fast – but when she tests it out, the Zipbot hits a bump that sends it crashing out of control. Who will rescue Pip? This fully-decodable book supports Letters and Sounds Phase 3.

Take a look at the whole Hero Academy Level 2 pack or buy The Zipbot on Amazon.

This book is also available as part of the eBook Library for Letters and Sounds subscription.

What's on the Box?

What’s on the Box? 
Project X Origins
Oxford Level 9 (Year 1-3/P2-4)

Discover the history of television with micro-friends Ant and Cat and get to the bottom of how TV really works. Like all of the Project X series, this non-fiction book is full of gadgets – great for motivating reluctant boys to get reading!

Take a look at the whole Project X Origins Level 9 pack or buy What’s on the Box? on Amazon.

Owl

This book is also available as part of the Oxford Owl eBook Library subscription.

A Speck of Stardust

A Speck of Stardust
Word Sparks
Oxford Level 10 (Year 2/P3)

Meet two great pioneers who wanted to soar above the clouds: a pilot called Mary Ellis and an astronaut called Mae Jemison, and find out about their fascinating stories. This Word Sparks book includes focus words, selected by experts from the world’s largest known database of writing for and by children, to develop vocabulary and tackle the word gap. 

Take a look at the whole Word Sparks Level 10 pack or buy A Speck of Stardust on Amazon.

The Life of Leonardo

The Life of Leonardo
Oxford Reading Tree inFact
Oxford Level 10 (Year 1-3/P2-4)

Discover extraordinary facts about the life and times of the great artist Leonardo da Vinci in this book that chronicles his famous paintings, inventions and his understanding of human anatomy. It also explains his position in the Renaissance as a talented master of the arts and science.

Take a look at the whole Oxford Reading Tree inFact Level 10 pack or buy The Life of Leonardo on Amazon.

Gizmo

Gizmo
TreeTops Chucklers
Oxford Level 12 (Year 2-4/P3-5)

Your junior readers will love this collection of laugh-out-loud stories about a boy whose family are inventors. He wants to follow in their footsteps but his inventions never seem to go exactly as planned. Find out what happens to the rampaging Robo Mouse, the terrifying Turbo Tidy and the chaotic Kickbot. 

Take a look at the whole TreeTops Chucklers Levels 12-13 pack or buy Gizmo on Amazon.

Owl

This book is also available as part of the Oxford Owl eBook Library subscription.

Scrapman and the Incredible Flying Machine

Scrapman and the Incredible Flying Machine
TreeTops Fiction
Oxford Level 12 (Year 2-4/P3-5)

Winston invents an aeroplane that uses pedal power instead of petrol but he just can’t get it to fly. When Scrapman gets Winston’s Incredible Flying Machine up into the air, the question is, can he get it down again?

Take a look at the whole TreeTops Fiction Level 12 More Pack C or buy Scrapman and the Incredible Flying Machine on Amazon

William Kamkwamba: Bright Spark

William Kamkwamba: Bright Spark
TreeTops inFact
Oxford Level 14 (Year 3-5/P4-6)

Find out about the amazing inventor William Kamkwamba and his passion for creating things to improve the daily lives of people in Africa, including his innovative use of solar power in his village in Malawi. These series of non-fiction books have been designed to go beyond fact-finding, so that they engage children in reading for pleasure as powerfully as fiction does. 

Take a look at the whole TreeTops inFact Level 14/15 pack or buy William Kamkwamba: Bright Spark on Amazon.

How to Change the World

How to Change the World
TreeTops inFact
Oxford Level 19 (Year 5-7/P6-S1)

If the other books in this list have encouraged your class to get inventive, they’re going to need to know where to start, and this is the book for them! Spark their curiosity as they read about some of the world’s greatest scientific feats and the scientists behind them, and find out about living with chimps, experimenting with exploding eggs and how to become experts in dinosaur dung.

Take a look at the whole TreeTops inFact Levels 18-20 pack or buy How to Change the World on Amazon.


What a pioneering bunch! We hope that list has inspired your class to go out and invent the next big thing.

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