'Happy' books for clever 8 year old girl

Mrs pepperpot?

My 8 yr old DD has just finished The Little White Horse with me and LOVED it. Its very happy and lots of fabulous descriptions of food and clothes. WHats not to like? Its by Elizabeth Goudge and has just been reissued.

SHe has also loved The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe the peril is milder in the book than the film versions. The Story of The Treasure Seekers is going down well at the moment. Swallows and Amazons have been a firm favourite for a year or more.

Lined up are:
Swish of the Curtain
First Harry Potter
Anne of Green Gables

All of these we read together. On her own she devours Famous Five, St CLares and Mallory TOwers. SHe also likes The Clumsies and Clarice Bean.

What about something like Milly Molly Mandy, or My Naughty Little Sister? Family From One End Street is a bit more challenging to read.

We've read a lot of Eva Ibbotson recently - The Abominables (mild threat for about a chapter), One dog and his boy, Beasts of Clawstone Castle and in the middle of Ogre of Oglefort - they all seem to go off in a direction that you did not really expect, but I and DS2(8) love them. DD has read a couple, and loved them too.

I'd second the Helen Moss series. DS1 has devoured them!

The Helen Moss adventure island books are great - very Enid Blyton/famous five-y but modern, and no sexism or racism... DD absolutely loved them at 8 (still rereads them now at 10)

Minor peril/murder mystery, but she didn't blink.

The Roman mysteries are great, but DD did have nightmares about the dog beheading, so not really to be recommended for everyone!

The Railway Children (happy ending)
Alice in Wonderland

If it's still in print, there's a lovely short book called the Ordinary Princess by MM Kaye which I have read countless times. Plus my favourite childrens book of all is the Box of Delights by John Masefield - one of those books that gives you a warm glow. Best read at Christmas time though.

"The Secret Garden"
"A Little Princess"
Anything by Noel Streatfield

I was sorting out some of my old children's books last night and thought of this thread.

The ones that your DD might like are A Necklace of Raindrops that a pp poster mentioned, The Practical Princess, lots of Dick King Smith and also Mr Majeika by Humphrey Carpenter. I loved those

Just remembered that DS1 also enjoyed the Wombles series (6 books) which, although they were written in the 60s and 70s are timeless and just lovely (I enjoyed them too!).

Ah Domino if I only knew where my copy of The Little Girl & the Tiny Doll had gone! I loved that book

Also love the Old Nurse's Stocking Basket and The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon. Some of the stories are a bit melancholy but there are some lovely, heartwarming ones in there.

Jane Blonde & the Sprite Sisters books.

I found Phantom Tollbooth really boring & depressing when I reread it as an adult, my kids find it kind of weird, too.

Yes my DD was the same. Some books eg Swallows and Amazons she'd be away after a couple of chapters, but others eg When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit I'd read almost all of it and she'd just read to herself the last quarter or so.

Don't know any of the ones you listed, but I think my DD would have rejected anything with the word Phantom in it because it might have scary ghosts! Laughable as she's now obsessed with The Hunger Games!

Just remembered she absolutely loved Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson.

She sounds exactly like my dd at that age. She only dared read harry potter last year age 12!
At 8 her favourite book was swallows and amazons. She read it over and over and read the whole series.

She also enjoyed secret garden, the railway children and similar classics.

jacqueline wilson and cathy cassidy were also popular.

she was still very much into malory towers at that age although she was growing out of famous five.

Oh and if she's interested in dolls houses at all, Rumer Godden's doll books are lovely. Little Plum I think is particularly good as the children in it do row & fall out but all gets resolved happily in the end in a very satisfying way.

The Armourer's House by Rosemary Sutcliff was a favourite of mine at that age.

Cynthia Harnett books are good too (if still in print!) if she likes historical fiction- they are very good on the history but also the children in them are recognisably 'real' children.

A Necklace of Raindrops by Joan Aiken
Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Miss Bianca by Margery Sharp
Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden
Green Smoke by Rosemary Manning
A Little Princess and Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Maybe Little Women?
Betsy by Dorothy Canfield

DD enjoyed the first three Harry Potter at this age.

She also liked Pippi Longstocking and Finn Family Moomintrol.

Has she read Milly Molly Mandy? dd1 is 6 and just into them.

My bright 8 year old loved Pippi Longstocking and Olga da Polga. Princess Mirror-Belle was popular with both her and her sister.

Books my DD loved at this age were:

Ballet shoes /white boots / theatre shoes - any of the Noel Stretfields
Pony Club Rivals series by Stacey Greig
Alice-Miranda series by Jacqueline Harvey
Any Eva Ibbotson esp Journey to the River Sea
Princess Mirror-Belle by Julia Donaldson for laugh out loud funny
Dream of Sadlers Wells, Veronica at the Wells etc by Lorna Hill

Will have a look at her bookcases in the AM and post again if I have any more suggestions.

Judy Moody?