Reading Chest

When our daughter was in Reception, she realised one of her friends had started reading chapter books and she hadn't. She spoke to me and asked when she could start reading them. A quick Google search later and I stumbled across Reading Chest. From May half term 2013 (Reception) to December 2013 (Year 1), and several hundred books later, she had jumped from level 5 - green, to level 11 - lime. We took them everywhere with us - on tubes, buses, to ballet, sport and music lessons. 

I always recommend Reading Chest to friends, colleagues and families I work for.

Reading Chest has over 1,100 fiction titles, and over 700 non fiction titles.  

Step 1 - Choose your subscription package. I would always recommend the gold (unlimited service). The packages are designed to meet different needs, depending on how many times you think you would like to swap your books and how many children are sharing the account. (It is only the silver and gold packages that can be shared between siblings, as they allow more than one book list to be created).

Step 2 - Choose your child's books. The books are sorted into reading levels, known as book bands. You may be familiar with book bands as they are used in many schools. When you know your child’s book band, you will be able to select books from different reading schemes with confidence, knowing that they are the right level for your child. We always chose a book band one level ahead of the books given at school. 

Once you have done this, there is no need to make any more choices. They will simply send you a selection of books from your chosen band. However, if you would like to be more specific about the books you receive, then you can login to your account later and edit your preferences.

You can choose to receive just fiction or non-fiction, or particular reading schemes. If there are any individual titles that you don’t want to receive, you can add these to your ‘book bin.’