Extra special book for 7 year old DS

[HeisenbergsHat]

I'm looking for a nice special edition type book for DS for his 7th birthday. He's a good reader (currently finishing the Harry Potter books) and I'm struggling a bit to find anything nice that's also suitable for age & reading ability. He likes adventure type stuff - Famous Five & Willard Price, but I'd like something a bit more modern maybe. He tends to sound like a little Enid Blyton character when he speaks.

[VesuviusPoovius]

Roald Dahl, Mr Gum, Michael Murpurgo?

The Book People have lots of collections

[HeisenbergsHat]

Thanks vesuvius, he has a special Roald Dahl book that he got last year. I was after more of a hardback fancy edition of something he can keep forever rather than a boxed set - although one of those book people sets will probably make it to under the Christmas tree.

[vesela]

The House of Arden

The Box of Delights

The Wind in the Willows (unabridged with EH Shephard illustrations)

Classic Tales of Oscar Wilde

Kensuke's Kingdom (a bit old?)

The Wizard of Oz.

[TummyMummy36]

A Letter for the King by Tonke Dragt is a wonderful book of adventure. Would have thought it is for a 9+ group, but if he is going thru Potter books, then it sounds appropriate. Also a classic to treasure and re-read.

If you're ok with a non-fiction adventure, then Maps (author Aleksandra Mizielinska) is such an amazing treat to get really lost into and preserve for ages!!!

[TummyMummy36]

And if he is a Wimpy kid fan, you could get the book autographed by Jeff Kinney - if you live anywhere near Kingston, that is, as he is doing a signing event @Waterstones Bentall this saturday. Perhaps you could request the store to get a book autographed and posted to you!

[vesela]

Swallows and Amazons etc. in hardback (could be too hard for him to read on his own, but I'm reading Swallowdale to DD at the moment and she's enjoying it).

The Folio Society have some lovely children's books, but they're a bit more expensive (£20-£30). That said, when I look at the state of my old paperback books today it makes me feel like buying hardback where possible. Where I live (in the Czech Republic) children's books are hardback as a matter of course - very few are paperback.

[VworpVworp]

Tintin?

The Hobbit?

[HeisenbergsHat]

Thank you, some fab suggestions - The Letter for the King looks great, and a bit different. The Wind in the Willows would be good too. He has all the Tintin books already (he's big fan!), I was thinking of The Hobbit but it's ages since I read it so I wasn't sure if he'd follow it. He hasn't read any Wimpy Kid books so they might be good to get too since they're a bit more modern. He refused to read Swallows and Amazons, I'm not sure why - I thought he'd love it. I think most of these will make it onto suggestion lists when grandparents etc ask what to get him

[changejustforyou]

yes, tonke dracht , read this as a child, brings back memories

[maillotjaune]

Russell Hoban's How Tom Beat Captain Najork and his Hired Sportsmen has just been reissued in hardback and is a lovely story about a slightly old fashioned boy who likes messing about. My older 2 loved having it read to them from about 6 but still read it at 9/10.

[HeisenbergsHat]

I managed to get a copy of the new Michael Morpurgo Pinocchio in the giveaway on here, it arrived today and is really lovely, not as complex as a lot of the books he reads but I think he'll really enjoy it. I also got him a really nice edition of The Hobbit since he was going on about the film at the weekend. I've got all the other recommended books in my amazon basket though, I can't resist books so I'm sure he'll end up with most of them at some point.