Please suggests some other books for my 10 yr old DD, something with a bit more to them

[anniebear]

she is book mad, has read about 50+ books in the last month :o

But she is mad on horses and a lot of them are horse books, which is fine, she will read wimpy kid and some others, but I would like her to try some different ones

Her spelling and reading/writing is fab at school and I am sure her book reading has contributed to that. I can't really see her reading the likes of the Railway children and Anne of Green Gables, although I try!! so would like some suggestions of books that have a bit more to them, but she will like the look of

She won't even read Black Beauty!!

I have thought of Michael Morpurgo?

thanks

[Thzumbazombiewitch]

What about school books? Things like the Malory Towers or St Clare's series; or even (if they're available) the Chalet School.

[Thzumbazombiewitch]

Or would she cope with the Philip Pullman stuff - the His Dark Materials trilogy, for example? I presume she's not into Harry Potter either. If she does have a leaning towards fantasy, then Terry Pratchett's childrens' books are good.

Otherwise, what about things like Anne Frank's diary?

[anniebear]

thanks

Not into Harry Potter or similar

Anne Frank a good idea, thanks :) She has the set of malory towers, will try to get her to have another go of them

she gets it in her mind what she likes and what she wont like then its very hard to persuade otherwise!!

thank you

[TheGhostOfMrsWembley]

This might sound odd but I can remember reading James Herriot at her age (and younger). If she likes animals she'll find them there!

[Thzumbazombiewitch]

Oh yes, James Herriot - excellent idea!
What about Little House on the Prairie? Or is that in the same bracket as Anne of Green Gables?

I read so much at that age, including stuff that was really too old for me, it's hard to remember it!

[DeWe]

Look for Monica Edwards stories on ebay. There are some published by GGBP recently.
She was labelled a "pony writer", but after the first couple of books the ponies are there, but the adventure is the main part. Try "The White Riders" as a recommendation.

Chalet school, some are available in Armada, you can get lots on ebay, and again, GGBP has re-published a number. They can get expensive for unusual titles though.

[LIZS]

Check out the two series by Lauren St John - dd really enjoyed them.

[hanahsaunt]

I loved James Herriot at her age and read a lot of Agatha Christie then too. I'm assuming that she has whizzed through the 'Jill' pony books by now? My Family & Other Animals was great. I was probably into Dick Francis by then too so she could combine horsey and detection . Has she done the Little Women set yet?

[bruffin]

What about Eva Ibbotson. DD loved The Dragonfly Pool

[quirrelquarrel]

Drina books are fab. It's about ballet but more than that...and the main character (called Drina, funnily enough) is very real- although v. innocent and the whole series is quite dated, although there aren't an awful lot of pop culture references. I believe the first few are easy enough to get hold of via eBay etc- the later ones prove to be more elusive/expensive.

There's The Valley of Secrets by Charmiane Hussey, which is brilliant. A bit long and a bit morally in the middle (livelihoods of the Amazonian Indians in the 20s), but still great to read.

There's Adele Geras of Apricots at Midnight etc fame...and Anne Fine of course- Goggle Eyes, Book of the Banshee (about teenagers, but lighthearted) and Flour Babies.

A Long Way from Verona by Jane Gardam- fresh and original.

The Thief Lord and Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman.
Caddie Woodlawn- pioneer times in America, I think.
Patricia St. John- a bit preachy and Christian in parts, but Treasures of the Snow is good.

Noel Streatfield, obviously, Apple Bough/ Ballet Shoes/ White Boots/ The Painted Garden. Oh and Jennings is always good- funny, v. dated, very readable and there's about 24 books! Written from the 50s through to the 90s I gather.

A Solitary Blue by Cynthia Voigt- something to get her teeth into.

Janni Howker- Isaac Campion and some short stories.
Also Lynne Reid Banks- One More River. Canadian girl uprooted by her family to go and live in a kibbutz. At first she hates the idea, then she loves it.

There's always Judy Blume! She's amazing.

Purposely avoided Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl because they'd take forever, but if she hasn't already, let her plough through them.

[anniebear]

thank you al of you so much for taking the time to post all that , will take a look at your suggestions :)

Kind of lost count of the horse ones she has read. Its great that she is reading so much but is going through nearly 2 a day lol

Lol, ordered Anne Frank for her...she said "not that boring one, where she hides in a cupboard!!! lol looks liek she did a bit of it at school

[anniebear]

got given a box of books off a friend before, she had a great time wading through them. I picked up the Faraway tree out of it and starting reading outloud (suprised as I thought it was a younger book but the writing was quite small) the first chapter, putting loads of expression...works well...I then stop and she wants more lol so she is reading it ( with 'frannie' in it lol)

[anniebear]

Oh Treasures of the snow, I had that when I was younger :) Don't mind Christian books. Loved it and also had The Tanglewood's Secret

[cleanandclothed]

How about Cynthia Harnett? Really great children's historical fiction set in England with maps and details about the objects and places at the end. Or Swallows and Amazons? Or (from GGBP as others have mentioned above) Antonia Forest?

[MumPotNoodle]

Second Lauren St John and recommend Erin Hunterl.

[Crumbletopping]

Goodnight Mr. Tom

[TheGhostOfMrsWembley]

Ooh yes, Swallows and Amazons, lovely. And Christie too! Glad to know I wasn't the only precocious early reader with an adult taste.

I've just realised how much social history I picked up when I was really quite young from books like these. I hope your DD does too. It will stand her in great stead when she gets to secondary.

[notcitrus]

Diana Wynne Jones - fantasy/real world mixtures
Agatha Christie - the Poirot and Miss Marple short stories might grab her
Noel Streatfeild - similar children-need-money-and-pull-together plots to many of the horsy stories like Jill etc.
Cynthia Voight - Homecoming etc - kids finding their Gran in the eastern US - there's some horses making appearances
Possibly Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover books - set in medieval fantasy planet so lots of horses needed for transport!

I churned through almost all the Nancy Drew books followed by Hardy Boys and the Three Investigators, when I was 10-12. I certainly learned new vocab and stuff from the first dozen and the rest were consolidation.

Judy Blume and Paula Danziger might grab her - they're about growing up etc.

[picnicbasketcase]

Would she like anything funny? My DS (nearly 10) really likes the Mr Gum and the Wilma Tenderfoot books. When I was that age I loved Lois Lowry's books (especially Anastasia books) the Narnia series, Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton, and some classics like Little Women, The Secret Garden etc.

[Magneto]

Diana Wynne Jones is fantastic as is Eoin Colfer (and he does more than just Artemis Fowl).

[Elsjas]

Michael Morpurgo has lots of books about animals and my daughter loves them. She also loved Heidi, My Family and Other Animals and Carrie's War.

[member]

Micheal Morpurgo -War Horse is emotional. Non-horse-related, Kensuke's Kingdom

[quirrelquarrel]

My whole Y6 class fell in love with Michael Morpurgo's books after our teacher read us Kensuke's Kingdom...the bit about Nagasaki I didn't really catch onto. But I definitely second his books. "Cool" is good too.

[anniebear]

thanks :)

[mychildrenarebarmy]

Someone suggested Gerald Durrell books for my DD the other day and if your DD is keen on animal stories then I would imagine that might be a good option.