Forgotten Classics

[beatricequimby]

Any recommendations for an 8 year old girl? I am a bit of a children's book hoarder so we have all the obvious ones - Katy books, E Nesbits, Frances Hodgson Burnetts, Little Women, Noel Streatfeilds etc.

Recently discovered Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald which I had never heard of. It's lovely and perfect for an 8 year old.

So has anyone got any forgotten classic recommendations? The

DD really loved the original Peter Pan and Wendy

I found a copy of All About the Bullerby children by Astrid Lindgren the other day. I used to love that book, as well as Pippi Longstocking of course, but she's alive and well!

Have you got the lesser known Noel Streatfields like Thursday's Child, Far to Go, The Bell Family etc?

The Moomins ??

I loved The Family from One End Street and Mrs Pepperpot at that age and my DD has enjoyed them too.

Some of the other l m Montgomery books are lovely..
Pat of silver bush
Jane of lantern hill
The Emily books...

Definitely Ramona!
Some really happy memories here...

Thanks for all these recommendations. I am going to make a list for dd's birthday. Some of them I know and it's lovely to hear other people like them too. All my dcs love Ramona. I absolutely loved yje Melendy family books as a child abd found them all second hand for dd. She read them but didn't fall in love with them like I did. Same with The Bell Family, much to my disappointment. Rumer Godden books have been more successful though.

Have those of you with similar tastes read I go by sea, I go by land by PL Travers (Mary Poppins). I bought it for dd then realised it was too old so read it myself. Definitely a forgotten classic. Made me cry.

'A Traveller in Time' by Alison Uttley, 'Charlotte Sometimes', 'A Stitch in Time', 'Astercote' - all books about girls of about the ages 8-10 going back in time. Reading them as a child is the reason I work in the heritage sector!

Seconding The Borrowers (as audiobook as well - CD). It is so imaginative - a miniature family live alongside a 'normal' one, in the sorts of places mice would live in. The best part (imho) is the way they recycle 'lost' things, eg matchboxes are used as beds, postage stamps as pictures on their walls (Mrs Borrower is very houseproud).

Eva Ibbotson, the Great Ghost Rescue.

If you like the Melendy books, Elizabeth Enright also wrote the Gone-Away Lake books, and Thimble Summer.

The Whispering Nights - Penelope Lively (I think).

I second the recommendation of Beverly Nicols' children's books, including The Mountain of Magic.

I adored Casilda of the Rising Moon by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino. It's out of print, but a great read if you can get hold of a copy.

I loved The Stream that Stood Still and the Tree that Sat Down that a PP mentioned, and The Diddakoi & other books by Rumer Godden. And all the Swallows & Amazons books.

Also suggest Violet Needham. My favourites were The Horn of Merlyns and The Bell of the Four Evangelists. They might be more suitable for slightly older girls, though. My copies were passed down to me by my mum, who read them in the 1940s.

The Carbonel books are lovely for that age group. Diana Wynne Jones too (the ones for younger children like The Magicians of Caprona and Witch Week).

Yes to almost all of the above (the names I remember), but don't fell bad if you don't feel as if you want to finish a particular book. Some of the "originals" have quite complicated language (but many are out of copywriter if you want to download e-books). Aged 7-10 I devoured Enid Blyton alongside the books my parents encouraged me to read.

Have you done CS Lewis (Lion Witch & Wardrobe etc), Alice in Wonderland, Heidi and classic fairy stories? DD (7) worked her way through Hans Andersen (some are really a bit dark) and the school has plenty of abbreviated classics (I think we've read 3 versions of Treasure Island). I'll throw Kipling and Swift into the mix if you can get abbreviated classics.

I second Elizabeth Enright, Rumer Goden and Carbonel books

Laura Ingalls Wilder 'Little House/Town ...' series (not remotely like tv series, beautifully, sparingly written)

The Armourer's House by Rosemary Sutcliffe

I definitely second The Armourer's House - absolutely beautiful book! (and special to me as my name is Tamsin - for a while I wanted to spell it Tamsyn like in that book!)

That puts me in mind too of Monica Edwards' Romney Marsh books - I LOVED Wish for a Pony around that age (and another variant spelling of Tamzin...) Does she like horsey books (eg. the Pullein-Thompsons, Ruby Ferguson), ballet books, school stories?

The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Five Children and It, and The Phoenix and the Carpet. I loved the Noel Stretfield books (Ballet Shoes etc) but suspect they'd be dreadfully old-fashioned now. I also adored the Oz books - not just the Wizard of Oz but the even weirder rest of the series (the sorceress who changes her head according to her mood, anyone?). When older, the Alan Garner books. And who remembers delighting in Stig of the Dump and Fungus the Bogeyman - surely modern classics? And I've recently read my 5-yo Pippi Longstocking, which was a succcess - hope she'll read it for herself in due course.

Wow, yes, Stitch in Time! Must return to that, remember it being a huge favourite.

A couple I remember enjoying reading when I was about that age are Witchdust by Mary Welfare and beautifully illustrated by Shirley Hughes, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat by Ursula Moray Williams and Enid Blyton's Naughtiest Girl in the School series (I dreamt of being able to go to boarding school after reading those!).

Thank you so much for all your recommendations. Given me loads of ideas for dd's birthday and reminded me of lots of old favourites.

Oh dear, every time I read these threads I make a list for dd of second hand books on amazon! I wasn't read to as a child, or given many books. I hope to give my DCs a good grounding in books and foster a love of reading - thanks for recommending these and helping me do that!

Flat Stanley. I loved it as a kid, and now DS loves it too. I am beyond delighted

Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton is one fo my favourites from childhood. I also loved The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, Noel Streatfield,
How about A Little Princess? Heidi? The Ghost of Thomas Kempe? Charlotte Sometimes? 101 Dalmations?

What's great thread. I second the Rumer Godden recommendations above. Also one particular Enid blyton book - red roofs.

I agree about the Ramona books - my DDs loved them at that age. I'm guessing from the OP's username that she might be familiar with them already!

Has anyone mentioned the Ursula Moray Williams books yet? Gobbolino the Witch's Cat and The Adventures of the Little Wooden Horse were firm favourites. Oh, and Ted Hughes' The Iron Man.

Please may I hi-jack this thread and ask if any of you remember an Enid Blyton book about four or five children who had great adventures living inside a huge hollowed out oak tree for the summer? (I seem to remember they were escaping from the odious presence of their aunt who lived in a farm house and hated children on site!!)

I absolutely loved this book as a child, and I would love my dd to read it, but have searched and searched for it without success so far!