What are the PRC book lists? 

The NSW PRC provides curated booklists tailored to different student year groups to encourage diverse and engaging reading experiences. Every title that features on the book list is reviewed by the PRC review panel. 

The booklists cater to Years K-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-9, and a special 9Plus list for Years 7-10, which includes books with mature themes and advanced language. 

To complete the Challenge, students are required to read a set number of books from specific book lists based on their current grade. Please refer to the rules of the PRC for more information.   

Booklist Levels & Content

  • K-2: Mostly picture books, not categorised by genre.
  • 3-4, 5-6, 7-9: Books arranged by 22 categories (e.g., adventure, historical fiction, poetry).
  • 9Plus: For Years 7 and above, features mature content and complex language.

Each book has an annotation summarising its content and tone (e.g., scary, funny), aiding selection. New books are added at the start of Terms 1, 2, and 3 annually.

Using the PRC Booklists

Students, teachers, and parents can search books by Challenge level, author, title, category, series, or PRC ID on the Student Experience site or the PRC website. Students may read books at or above their Challenge level and students in Year 5 and above can also read down one level if preferred. 

The Student Experience site’s discover tool allows filtering by multiple categories and Challenge levels.

PRC ID and Book Identification

All books on the PRC website have a unique PRC ID. However, to confirm if a book is on an official PRC booklist or is a Personal Choice title, search the Booklist page. Note the main PRC website requires placing "The" or "A" at the end of titles in search (e.g., Hunger Games, The), while the Student Experience site does not.

Book Categories and Topics

Books (except K-2) are grouped into categories to diversify reading. 

Categories are referred to as "genres" on the Student Experience site.


Series Books and Limits

When 5 or more books from the same series are approved for inclusion on the PRC booklists, they become PRC-approved series. 

For PRC-approved series, only five titles can count towards a student's PRC titles; any additional titles from the same series count as Personal Choice books. This rule promotes variety in reading.

Individual series titles

If you are downloading PDF or excel versions of the book lists, please note that only the names of approved series will appear.

Individual titles in approved series are listed separately from the five booklists. They are located in Booklists on the website. Scroll down to Series books, listed for each Challenge level.

Series titles are listed separately so that new titles can be added as they are published. The new titles are 'live' immediately for student reading records. Separate listings help to keep PRC series up to date for students reading a favourite series. 

Suggesting Books for Inclusion

To suggest books for inclusion on the PRC, email the following information to prc@det.nsw.edu.au
Title:
Author:
ISBN:
Publisher:
Publication year: 


Authors and publishers may send physical copies for review at NSW Premier's Reading Challenge, GPO Box 33, Sydney NSW 2001.

Accessing and Downloading Booklists

Booklists are downloadable in PDF and Excel formats from the PRC Booklist page, viewable alphabetically, by author, or title, with short and full versions available. The PRC team also publishes a separate spreadsheet that tracks recent updates on the booklists page.