Hidden Gems

[madamehooch]

The Children's Book thread is always the one I religiously click on first when I come on to Mumsnet. I always find it interesting to see what children (and, more often than not) their parents consider to be good books to read.

In our shop at the moment, we have a 'Hidden Gems' display. These are books which may be new or have been around a while, which may have been popular with children a few years ago or just not 'discovered' yet because they don't have the benefit of the same hype as, say, Harry Potter and Wimpy Kid. It's proving very popular, so I thought, therefore, that it would great to have a thread on this forum where we could share our own 'Hidden Gems.'

There are two books which I have recently read which I consider to be worthy of being called a 'Hidden Gem.' The first is 'Wonder' by R J Palacio. 'Wonder' is the story of ten year old August Pulman who has a severe facial disfigurement. After being home-schooled all his life, his parents make the decision that he should be sent to school. The book is how he tries to be accepted by his classmates and, needless to say, the prejudices he experiences.

This is a beautifully written book, which had me crying by the fourth chapter but not in an obvious, heart wrenching way. The book has wonderful moments of humour and is written from the perspective of all the children who have direct impact on August's life. The short chapters and the 'real life' feel would make this an ideal read for any fan of 'There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom' or even 'Wimpy Kid' and David Walliams. I have also given 'Wonder' to my Year 7 inschool reading group and have had extremely positive responses to it from dedicated 'Twilight' and Robert Muchamore fans.

The second recommendation is 'The Girl Savage' by Katherine Rundell. I picked this up because is was on the UKLA shortlist and, confess to say, made this my first read of the shortlist because it was about a boarding school! Wilhelmina Silver lives in Zimbabwe on a farm. Her life is spent outdoors with the farm boys and is a world of colours and freedom. Circumstances (and I'm not telling you what as I don't wish to spoil it for you) mean that she gets sent to a boarding school in London, where her life is intolerable. Once again, this is a book about differences and acceptance. The potential for a sequel is there and I, for one, hope that this is not the last we'll hear of Will.

Both 'Wonder' and 'The Girl Savage' are classified as 9-12 reads, although as a forty something woman, I loved them both!

I love lists like this as I have two nephews and a niece who live abroad and get lots of books from me!

Old ones I loved as a child:

The Worst Witch
The Dolphin Crossing
Oscar and the Ice Pick
Harry and the Wrinklies
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Pongwhiffy

I know two of those are out of print though.

Caterpillar Dreams by Jeanne Willis is just lovely, with a message about diversity that doesn't feel too sappy iyswim? I came across it in the library and fell in love with it but it doesn't seem very popular, I don't think I've ever seen it in a bookshop.

Watching with interest

They aren't exactly hidden gems, but some older books that my 10yo has really enjoyed lately and I don't see everywhere these days include Watership Down, Charlotte Sometimes, Wolves of Willoughby Chase.

I don't know how 'hidden' her books are - probably not at all to you, OP, but dd loved Fly by Night by Frances Hardinge which I rarely see in bookshop displays / mentioned on here.

Hairs in the palm of the hand by Jan Mark
Secrets from the school underground by Pete Johnson (recommended for older teens!)

These are exactly what I mean. It's so refreshing to see some wonderful books recommended here, which sometimes get overlooked because of our passion (deservedly so in some cases) for the usual suspects. Let us know what you think of any recommendations, should you be inspired to 'find' any of them in a book shop or library.

HugeFurry. Pete Johnson is one of my favourite children's authors. 'The TV Time Travellers' is an excellent way of introducing the genre of 'history' to, say, Jacqueline Wilson fans, as it combines WW2 evacuees with reality TV. My big recommendation for him though is 'How to Train Your Parents' - an excellent read for Wimpy Kid fans and highly rated by my Year 5 reading groups.

AKMD. I love Pongwiffy and confess to laughing so hard whilst reading one of the series that tea came out my nose!

Keep them coming. x

Another one - "Mammy Sugar Falling Down" by Trish Cooke. Dd found an old copy when she was maybe 7 or so and loved this, I looked around to see if there were any other books by the same author, but I could only find board books for very small children.

Takver. I 'discovered' Trish Cooke ('So Much') when it was read by Max on the Tweenies about 8 years ago!

Some good can come of children's tv.........

10yo also recently enjoyed two Michelle Magorian books, both set around 1947, "Back home" about a girl evacuated to the US and now living back in the UK with a fragmented family she hardly knows, and another set around then. I'd never heard of them, the author wrote Goodbye Mr Tom which is well known but also quite a few other books. DD found them really interesting.

I loved "Back Home" when I was in primary school!

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' for a teenage audience. It's an amazing story dealing with families, friendships, drugs, music and "fitting in". It's by Stephen Chbosky. I read it in my early 20s and always wished I'd read it sooner - since then I've recommended it to quite a few teens, all of whom have loved it.

Some more I've remembered:

Carrie's War
Roverandom
Warlock Watson

DS and I are reading Chocolate Porridge by Margaret Mahy atm. Its my copy from childhood, and everytime I read a Margaret Mahy I'm amazed by her use of language.
And I can't understand why she isn't hugely well known - she must be the only person to win the top awards for age groups from picture books to teens.

My son's class (age 11 & 12) recently read "Friedrich" by Hans Richter. We live in Germany but I have seen that this book is also available in English translation. In my opinion it's a much better story about the Jews during the Third Reich than the over-hyped "Boy in the Striped Pyjamas".

Have just read 'Moon Pie' by Simon Mason (author of The Quigleys). It's the warm and engaging story of 11 year old Martha, who has to cope with looking after her five year old brother Tug and her alcoholic father, following the death of her mother. It might sound a bit Jacqueline Wilsonish, (and will probably appeal to JW readers) but, IMO, it's much better written - warm and engaging, with touches of gentle humour.

Here are my latest recommendations:-

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. Set in 1935, Moose Flanagan's father starts a new job on Alcatraz Island and, consequently, moves his family to live next door to some of America's most hardened criminals. As well as the usual day to day issues such as making new friends, starting at a new school etc, Moose is responsible for looking after his older sister Natalie who is autistic (not recognised back in 1935.) This is a beautifully written book, which combines important issues with humour and 'real life'. Try it on anyone who likes Morris Gleitzman and Louis Sachar.

The No1 Car Spotter by Atinuke. This was a book recommended by another mumsnetter on a thread of gbooks for 6 good ear olds (I think(!)) Set in an African village, Oluwalase Babatunde Benson is known as the No 1 Car Spotter as he is the best at spotting the Mercedes, Peugeots, Porches etc than travel along the road by his village to the city. The book contains four short stories about 'No 1's' life in the village run by some very dominant women! I loved the way this book covered the traditional with the new and there is enough vehicular reference to make the book appealing to budding Jeremy Clarksons, although I think it would make a better 'read-aloud' book for emerging readers because of the complexity of some of the language used. One reviewer has described it as an excellent 'eductainment' book but the quality of the story writing is prevalent.

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Fuelled by the popularity of 'The Hunger Games,' dystopian fiction is definitely the new black in teen books. As with all bandwagons, some loads are definitely superior than others and 'Uglies' is one of these. Written prior to HG, 'Uglies' is set in a world where cosmetic surgery is given to all teenagers on their sixteenth birthday, whereupon they will become the beautiful people, universally adored and revered. Tally can't wait for the procedure, but a new friendship just weeks before her birthday makes her question everything she has been brought up to believe and presents her with an impossible choice.

As the mother of a 12 year old DD who is worried about standing out from the crowd, this is clever fantasy writing that asks whether it is worth giving up your individuality to become a beautiful but bland human being.

I meant to add another to this list! Its an old favourite from my childhood that I read to dd when she was younger, but just found in the cupboard & she's been reading again herself.

It's Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field, by Eleanor Farjeon, its a series of short stories linked by an overarching story. One of the stories (Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep) is one of my favourites ever, but they're all good.