Back-to-school time doesn’t mean textbooks alone; it also offers an opportunity to weave in recreational reading. Each academic year, publishers reach out to teachers and schools to learn firsthand what captures students’ interest—from Primary through Baccalaureate—and to make their recommendations.
According to publishers SM, Anaya, NubeOcho and the Penguin Random House labels, in early childhood and Primary reading continues to feature typefaces tailored to each stage, illustrated picture books, and discovery titles; in the upper ranges of Primary, comics, adventure, and mystery make a strong showing; while in Secondary and Baccalaureate classics and books that reflect on identity, current events, and social issues dominate.
For the head of school literature at Anaya Infantil y Juvenil, Pablo Cruz, there is growing interest in topics such as mental health, bullying, identity, environmental stewardship, and the impact of artificial intelligence, but also in timeless, classic books that endure for many years.
From SM, its editorial head, Berta Márquez, emphasizes that classroom realities have changed a lot in recent times, with students from diverse backgrounds, which is why she recommends the El Barco de Vapor collection for its books adapted to different reading levels.
NubeOcho likewise highlights a catalog tailored to different social realities and to topics of equality and bullying, with the aim of conveying positive emotions through humor, illustration, and narrative.
Next, here are some of the titles these publishers are recommending for the start of the new school term across the various educational stages:
PRESCHOOL (ages 3 to 6)
—Perla y la princesa, by Isabel Allende. Penguin Kids imprint. An adventure about loyalty and the bond between children and their pets.
—Un mono especial en un cole genial, by Carmen Gil. Part of the SM “Learn to Read in the Land of Letters” series.
—No he hecho los deberes porque…, by Davide Cali and Benjamín Chaud. NubeOcho.
—Los robots del profesor Tornillo, a new comic of humor and adventures from the Artur Laperla series, (Beascoa).
—Te queremos, profe, by Luis Amavisca and Mar Ferrero. NubeOcho.
PRIMARY (ages 6 to 12)
—No entres al parque, by Juan Gómez-Jurado and Bárbara Montes, B de Blok publishing.
—El Quijote en verso, by Juan Muñoz (SM).
—Prohibido leer a Lewis Carroll, by Diego Arboleda and illustrated by Raúl Sagospe (Anaya).
—El club de los raros, by Jordi Sierra i Fabra (El Barco de Vapor collection, SM).
—Feliz Feroz, by El Hematocrítico, the pseudonym of teacher and humorist Miguel López and illustrated by Alberto Vázquez (Anaya).
—Ibáñez: Un país en viñetas, a tribute to Francisco Ibáñez and the cultural footprint of characters like Mortadelo y Filemón, with texts by Antoni Guiral.
—Ringo y Oti en el cole misterioso, by Gabriela Keselman (SM).
SECONDARY (ages 12 to 16)
—Cuentos españoles del siglo XIX, by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón (Tus Clásicos de Anaya), an adapted anthology of essential nineteenth-century tales by major authors such as Leopoldo Alas “Clarín”, Larra, Valle-Inclán, or Emilia Pardo Bazán.
—Frankenstein, by Mary W. Shelley (Tus Clásicos de Anaya), an adaptation of the classic that brings teens closer to one of world literature’s great works.
—Around the World in Eighty Days, by Jules Verne (Tus Clásicos de Anaya).
—El nuevo viaje del Principito, by Eloy Moreno (Salamandra).
—El partido más largo (Game Changers 6), by Raquel Reid, a romance novel where sports take center stage (Montena).
BACCALAUREATE (ages 16 to 18)
—Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley (Anaya).
—Maus, graphic novel by Art Spiegelman recounting the Holocaust using anthropomorphic animals (Reservoir Books).
—The Odyssey, by Homer (Tus Clásicos de Anaya).
—The Death of Time (Time Keeper 3), a young adult fantasy saga by Iria G. Parente and Selene M. Pascual (Molino).
—Nada, by Carmen Laforet (Cátedra).
—Lazarillo de Tormes, anonymous (Anaya).
—Ivory and Ebony, the romantic suspense duology by Mercedes Ron (Montena).