Books for kids

[Fnaar]

Any recommendations of good reading for children (girls, age range 8-15)
Fed up with them reading bl00dy Jacqueline Wilson tripe; was innovative at first, but now every blimmn' book has a single mum with a drug problem, a no-good dad, a kid being bullied, etc etc...just want them to read some classic kids' literature, without it being dated/hackneyed/dull...
suggestions folks?

 

[ChrisKH]

I dunno about that age range but my eight year old (boy) loves Famous Five (cripes, more ginger beer please!) definitely not PC!! Otherwise he likes anything not PC with a bit of humour in it like Captain Underpants. Together (aged eight and five) they like Horrid Henry and Dirty Bertie and my made up stories when I was in the war and stationed in 'Nam. That and stories about my childhood.

What about the Harry Potter series?

 

[rich p]

Classic bookks like The Famous Five, Secret Seven, Just William are bound to be dated but I loved them and so did my kids.

Judy Blume was a favourite author of my daughter. "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing"

 

[domtyler]

She could always curl up with a Clancy?

 

[Fnaar]

She could always curl up with a Clancy?

[non sequitur] No they have their own curtains from the chip shop?

sorry.... I take it you don't mean a recording of Irish traditional music by the Clancy brothers (with Tommy Makem), so who is Clancy?

 

[Maz]

so who is Clancy?

I'm guessing Dom is being facetious(!)...Tom Clancy me'thinks. He writes spy/espionage stuff. Not for kids tho.

 

[Aperitif]

How To Be Topp - by Ronald Searle. And others of course.

Any fule kno that!

 

[PrettyboyTim]

My older two loved the Swallows and Amazons books (they're 15 now, but I think they read them when they were 8-10) by Arthur Ransom.

 

[Trillian]

My older two loved the Swallows and Amazons books (they're 15 now, but I think they read them when they were 8-10) by Arthur Ransom.

got the lot sat on my book case!

collected them between the age of 13 and 20, still read them too.

the best part is, they are based on real locations in the lake district (bowness on windermere, coniston water, coniston old man etc) so it can make for an outdoors holiday going looking for places.

just hang on tightly to the camera if you sail to the island

 

[tdr1nka]

The Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber spyglass. A strong female lead character as well!

 

[yorkshiregoth]

My youngest has just started to get into J Wilson, so any old books going cheap, send me a PM.

Cheers

 

[beancounter]

The Philip Pullman 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber spyglass. A strong female lead character as well!

I used to work for the company that publishes those books.

A clever clever man is Mr. Pullman.

bc

 

[summerdays]

I can't get my girls to read anything of any substance. Both the girls are good readers (the middle one has just come out of her reading sats test today and said it was easy) but as she won't read any texts that might stretch her a little (that is something that isn't Ms. J. Wilson), school have commented that her writing is reasonable but has leveled off in terms of ability.

Youngest - the boy, completely different ........ can't get him to read full stop.

 

[striker]

the CHERUB series by Robert Muchamore is excellent
also the Spiderwick Chronicles by Holly Black (i think)

My boys also like the Alex Rider series but thats a bit more for boys I think.

 

[striker]

oh I forgot, the MAXIMUM RIDE trilogy by James Patterson is good as well. though maybe for teens rather than younger.