Recommended reading for 11 plus
I would recommend for children to read from a wide range of genre, including classic fiction and modern fiction. Reading will help children to identify literary techniques such as similes, metaphors, onomatopoeias and personification to name a few. By spotting these and understanding how they are used will help children in their comprehension questions and also their continuous writing. Reading is also a brilliant way to improve your child's vocabulary.
The CSSE exam likes to have the reading comprehension based on a classic text. It is important for children to familiarise themselves with classic texts, so that they understand what is happening. and to improve their vocabulary of the words used in these texts.
Regular reading will help your child with their comprehension skills, it will also improve the quality of words that they use in their continuous writing.
Below is a non-exhaustive list of texts both modern and classic which will help your child prepare for their English CSSE paper.
Classic Texts
Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome
The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
Mary Poppins by P. L. Travers
Watership Down by Clive King
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Graham
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol
Black Beauty by Anna Sewel
The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
Heidi by Johanna Spyri
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathon Swift
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Modern Classics
What Is a Modern Classic Book?
A modern classic book is typically written after World War I, and possibly after World War II. This is because these two events marked the emergence of new ideas and ways of thinking, such as ideologies about gender, race, and class.
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aitkin
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
The Life of Pi by Yan Markel
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Carrie's War by Nina Bowden
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
One Hundred and One Dalmatians by Dodie Smith