Great children's novels - a booklist

[Thora]

I'm home educating two of my children (6 and 9) and want to read some good books to/with them. Ideally books set in some different historical/geographical contexts and with diverse protagonists so we can do some learning around them.
We've recently read Kiki's Delivery Service, Mrs Frisby & the Rats of NIMH, Call of The Wild and currently The Hobbit so that's the kind of thing we're after. No Harry Potter or Roald Dahl of David Walliams though.
Any suggestions?

 

[May Kasahara]

The Hounds of the Morrigan. Deep, funny, scary, exciting, silly, suffused with Irish mythology. It's still one of my favourites.

E2A maybe a bit complex for the 6yo yet though.

 

[clicker]

We read Phillip Pullman - The Scarecrow and his Servant, either just before or after the Hobbit. It was a while ago, but definitely one of the best books we read.

 

[May Kasahara]

The Farthest Away Mountain. This was my favourite book for years as a child, I've read it with both my kids and they both loved it too. A cracking adventure story with a no nonsense heroine.

 

[May Kasahara]

Daughter and I have read several Sophie Anderson novels, they're excellent. The House with Chicken Feet and The Girl who Speaks Bear were my favourites.

Also currently reading My Friend The Octopus by Lindsay Galvin which is great too.

 

[Sue]

Not sure about ages but...

When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
The Silver Sword
I am David
Anne Frank's Diary
Anything by E Nesbit
The Little House on the Prarie books
Emile and the Detectives
The Chronicles of Narnia
Anything by Frances Hodgson Burnett

 

[Thora]

They're both quite sensitive so I think anything about war or the holocaust might be a bit much at the moment. Nothing too scary or upsetting.

 

[Sue]

They're both quite sensitive so I think anything about war or the holocaust might be a bit much at the moment. Nothing too scary or upsetting.

Narnia and E Nesbit FTW.

Oh, and the My Naughty Little Sister books and Pippi Longstocking.

 

[Storm Fox]

We read Phillip Pullman - The Scarecrow and his Servant, either just before or after the Hobbit. It was a while ago, but definitely one of the best books we read.

I think His Dark Materials might be a bit old for 6 and 9-year-olds especially if they are sensitive. Once they hit their teens, it's a must.

 

[May Kasahara]

Neither of my kids could get into the Narnia books. Same for The Little White Horse. All books I loved and read over and over, but I think they're just a bit too old-fashioned to catch most kids' attention these days.

 

[Sue]

Neither of my kids could get into the Narnia books. Same for The Little White Horse. All books I loved and read over and over, but I think they're just a bit too old-fashioned to catch most kids' attention these days.

I loved the Elizabeth Goudge books.

The Narnia books were written in the 50s and that's less than the gap when I was reading E Nesbitt in the 80s (written early 1900s?)

I mean it was obviously a way different time but that was part of the interest.

 

[Santino]

Not exactly a novel, but a series of stories with a framing narrative: King of the Copper Mountain

 

[Kevbad the Bad]

Alan Garner's "The Weirdstone of Brisingamen" and "The Moon of Gomrath", for the 9 year old anyway.

 

[Silas Loom]

Anything by Diana Wynne Jones, but particularly the Dalemark quartet and the Chrestomanci series
My Friend Mr Leakey by J B Haldane
The Uncle books by J P Martin
Helen Cresswell for The Piemakers and the Bagthorpe saga

 

[Silas Loom]

The Dark is Rising sequence by Susan Cooper
Anything by Joan Aiken: Arabel and Mortimer for the six year old, the alternate histories for the nine year old

 

[Silas Loom]

All the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. You wanted diversity, and they will learn about small beasts in Finland, and how they behave when threatened by comets.

 

[planetgeli]

Stig of the dump is still a classic, no? Freedom, friendship, recycling about 100 years before its time. What's not to like?

 

[A380]

Still can’t go wrong with the two Alice books.

Other oldies.

The phantom toll booth

The changes trilogy.

Sone of the Heinlein juveniles. Have Space Suit will travel is the best.

John Christopher’s tripod trilogy ( plus the ‘new’ prequel).

 

[Silas Loom]

For the nine year old, at least: Nicholas Fisk, Leon Garfield, Henry Treece’s Vikings, Rosemary Sutcliffe and Geoffrey Trease too if they bite on historical fiction.

 

[Silas Loom]

John Christopher’s tripod trilogy ( plus the ‘new’ prequel’.

Absolutely. And the Prince in Waiting trilogy. Maybe when they are a bit older though.

 

[Sue]

Oh and the TH White stories (The Sword in the Stone etc).

 

[Yossarian]

Angie Sage's Septimus Heap books

 

[T & P]

The Never Ending Story is a fantastic read, as well as an innovative one due to its dual timeline structure- orders of magnitude better than the film. Deserves a far higher profile and acclaim (in this country at least) than it has.

And another of Michael Ende’s books, Momo, is also brilliant. Great and highly original premise.

 

[Sue]

Also let them loose in the library. I practically lived in my mine as a kid and read all sorts of stuff. (Pretty much everything and anything tbh.)

 

[Saffy]

Daughter and I have read several Sophie Anderson novels, they're excellent. The House with Chicken Feet and The Girl who Speaks Bear were my favourites.

Also currently reading My Friend The Octopus by Lindsay Galvin which is great too.

The Snow Girl by Sophie Anderson is supposed to be very good as well. It's on my list to read with my children's book club in December.

We also enjoyed How I saved the world in a week by Polly Ho-Yen.

 

[hash tag]

Wind in the willows. A classic, but more importantly great fun to read.

 

[Serge Forward]

The Giggler Treatment by Roddy Doyle is funny as fuck. My kids read it and laughed themselves silly.

There's a couple of follow ups. They're good as well.

 

[bluescreen]

It's a long time since I and my son read The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, but it may be worth a look. I mean, it's daft - but exciting, well written, well intentioned and thought-provoking, and should suit your age group.

The Iron Man (novel) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[weepiper]

It's a long time since I and my son read The Iron Man by Ted Hughes, but it may be worth a look. I mean, it's daft - but exciting, well written, well intentioned and thought-provoking, and should suit your age group.

The Iron Man (novel) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This was my middle boy's favourite book.

 

[hitmouse]

Big second for the Moomins, and the Uncle books if you can find them. I was gonna say the Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, but maybe it might be too upsetting?