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Children's books

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Original poster

Ideas for dd1 who adores reading and is obsessed with history?

36 replies

scanner · 21/03/2008 19:51

She's borrowed most of the horrible history books from the school library. I was wondering if there were any childrens novels with a history element to them?

OP posts:
Bink · 21/03/2008 21:53

I'm a Book People addict (been trawling them today) and I'm not sure there's anything ideal for a proto-historian year 4 at the moment ...

Re Amazon etc. searches, I think Cynthia Harnett is the one that works best first - Wool-Pack, and Load of Unicorn, maybe. You might have to get them second-hand (shocking that they aren't currently in print). The others are more around the age 10 mark.

Original poster
scanner · 21/03/2008 21:33

Thank you, thank you, I've noted these all down.

Blink she's year 4 and has always enjoyed 'old fashioned' books like Milly Molly Mandy, Pippi Longstocking, Mrs Pepperpot etc, but is ready for something older. Her brief was something with adventure and history. Am off to look at the book people and amazon.

OP posts:
Bink · 21/03/2008 20:16

And then when's she 12 or 13 she can read Mary Renault's books set in ancient Greece & wonder rather innocently quite why there seems to be this sort of crackling excitement around the young heroes & their relations with each other ...

Waswondering · 21/03/2008 20:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bink · 21/03/2008 20:07

Oh, and of course Cynthia Harnett is another of that rich vein.

Bink · 21/03/2008 20:01

Depends on her age ... if she's yr2-3 or so the My Story series (link for helpfulness) is great.

Then, even better, there are all the marvellous authors from the 50s/60s/70s Puffin list who made historical fiction their specialty - Rosemary Sutcliff, Henry Treece, Geoffrey Trease - worth looking in your library to see whether they are the right level for her now. They are a fantastically rich vein when you're ready for them, masses & masses of wonderfully written atmospheric engrossing stories.

Blessed2 · 21/03/2008 19:57

Magic School Bus books.

Podmog · 21/03/2008 19:57

Message withdrawn

wheresthehamster · 21/03/2008 19:54

I can't remember what they are called but we have a series of books that are written from a child's perspective in different periods of history. I think one was a child growing up in Victorian England, another was living in London during the Great Fire, that sort of thing.

KatyMac · 21/03/2008 19:53

Sorry grace not gray

KatyMac · 21/03/2008 19:53

Lady Grey Mysteries?
Roman Mysteries?