Books for daughter

super41

dumpy wrote:

I liked the Susan Cooper Dark is rising series, it starts with Over sea and under stone. Could be a bit young for her, but the main charcaters are her age. The series runs for 5 books. If she likes HP she might like these are they are a bit mysterious and magic based.

I was going to suggest the Dark is rising books by Susan Cooper too! I read them about 30 years ago about your daughter's age and thought they were fantastic. Haven't read them since so they may seem a bit dated now. Far superior to Harry Potter IMHO. Also Alan Garner, though I found some of his stuff a bit scary!

ailuro2

Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett.

Try https://www.bookhopper.com a website for people to swop books, all you pay is postage to post out your old books,and you can request books from other people at a rate in line with how long you have been a member/how many books sent out, which keeps it all fair.:D It has a young adult section.

Contains_Mild_Peril

I'd wait another couple of years before getting her Adrian Mole: a lot of it is much funnier once you've reached the stage of adolescence when you can really relate to it (even if you're a girl!) Still classics, and highly recommended.
My 12-year-old is really into Lemony Snicket, Anne Fine and Terry Pratchett, as well as the Harry Potter books. My favourites around that age included Joby by Stan Barstow and Black Jack by Leon Garfield. I also recall reading Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca when I was about 11, then about 5 years later, I decided to re-read it, but worried that maybe the reason I'd enjoyed it so much the first time was that it was so different from my other books which were aimed at kids. I wasn't disappointed: I liked it even more the second time.

hex2

Diana Wynne Jones has written some brilliant childrens fantasy books. Start your daughter on any of the chrestomanci ones eg http://www.amazon.co.uk/Charmed-Chrestomanci-Diana-Wynne-Jones/dp/0006755151/sr=8-22/qid=1159793321/ref=sr_1_22/202-6425328-5036655?ie=UTF8&s=books, they are very similar to harry potter which will hook her in, from there she can move into the more adult (but not sweary or sexual) fantasy, or into her animal based books. I started reading hers at about ten when my dad (a primary school teacher) brought some home, and I still enjoy her books at 33. Incredibly well written and will improve her vocabulary and reading comprehension.
They turn up in remainder shops every so often, and the library should have the Chrestomanci ones. I have a spare copy of Archers Goon in paperback that I can post to you if you PM me your address.

jellyhead

has she read the 'waht katy did' books? i loved them but they're very old fashioned, the girls wear boots and bonnets

cupid_s

When I was that age I loved books by John Wyndham. Still do actually.

I read Chocky first and then the Chrysalids which I think are both great

Gingham_Ribbon

Michael Morpurgo is a great writer. I read a couple of his books with year 7 classes in English. They always went down well.

Also, there is a lovely book called 'The Monster Garden' by Vivian Alcock was a big hit.

The James Herriot books are a hoot and the series by Laura Ingles Wilder that the tv show 'little house on the prairie' was based on are very good and great for the imagination.

Roald Dahl's 'Boy' is good for that age range too.

Ones I loved when I was around that age and later realised were quite advanced in terms of vocabulary but still beautifully childlike in content were the Carbonell books. V Drummond. There were 2 that I remember. Carbonell prince of cats and Carbonell's kingdom. About a girl who gets a cat and a broomstick and that cat can talk. very magical.

emg

Another vote for Lemony Snicket - a great read for kids (and adults!) and 13 books in the series so should keep her going for a while.

Contains_Mild_Peril

jellyhead wrote:

has she read the 'waht katy did' books? i loved them but they're very old fashioned, the girls wear boots and bonnets

I enjoyed those too.
Another recommendation: Does This School Have Capital Punishment? by Nat Hentoff. I read it when I was about 12 and loved it.

ruthyjo

My ten year old is reading Oliver Twist as a set text in English and surprisingly quite enjoying it. I used to read Bronte sisters/Jane Austen at around that age so you could always try the classics! I also think John Steinbeck, John Wyndham, Laurie Lee (Cider with Rosie), Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) are "adult" books that tend to appeal to younger children.

Of contemporary children's literature my sons have really enjoyed the Mortal Engines quartet by (I think) Philip Reeve. This is slightly reminiscent of His Dark Materials but less heavy going. It's £4.99 for the first three books on The Book People. "Private Peaceful" by Michael Morpurgo made a big impression on them both recently. Other impactful war books for this age group include "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" by Judith Kerr, The Diary of Anne Frank, My Name is David, The Silver Sword. These are all challenging but not in a modern worldly wise way. They also like Gillian Cross ("The Demon Headmaster" and many more).

The books that have had them and all their friends really gripped recently have been the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. I've never known kids read so fast but you may well not like the content.