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Original poster

Chalet school book advice please!

56 replies

Itshouldntmatter · 30/09/2015 20:46

My DD ADORES boarding school books. In the summer she read all of Malory Towers, the Naughtiest girl in School and St Clares. She has begged me for more boarding school books, so I thought I'd see if she likes the Chalet School. I didn't read them as a child and assumed they were as safe as the Enid Blyton ones. However, a very helpful MNetter has told me they may not all be suitable, and has sent me here for expert advice!

My DD found Heidi too emotionally raw (in her defense Heidi does get anxious and depressed in the middle - this is where she gave up). She is a very good reader but she is only 6, and hates anything to do with parents dying.

I have bought her a bulk buy of the Chalet School books (first 20 I think) on eBay, and was really hoping the Chalet School experts could give me an idea of which of the books might be safe for a sensitive boarding school book fan! Thanks so much!

OP posts:
EElisavetaOfBelsornia · 30/09/2015 21:46

I lost my kingdom to the Nazis Barbour Sad.

MrsHenryCrawford · 30/09/2015 21:52

I read the chalet school books years ago, all what I can remember is that they were quite goody two shoes with moral messages? Dead parents, nazis, sick children all passed me by. Didn't like them as much as mallory towers

Liomsa · 30/09/2015 21:55

Antonia Forest's books are completely brilliant, but are quite demanding on the reader in terms of having a big range of cultural reference and exploring complex issues like religious belief, courage, cowardice etc etc. I would say they were far above even an advanced, mature six year old. But bear them in mind for later.

I do actually rather enjoy the Chalet School books. But then I am 43 and inclined to giggle at Robin's continually-threatened TB and all those magisterial doctors dosing everyone every time something mildly alarming happened.

Smurfingreat · 30/09/2015 22:02

I loved the Chalet School as a child and still have a nearly full collection, but I think 6 is a bit young for them.

I was a pretty advanced reader, but when I started reading them at around 8 I really didn't understand half of what was going on, due to the dated language, cultural references etc.

Can't think of any alternatives at the moment, but will now probably spend half the night happily reminiscing about favourite childhood books, so I may come up with something!

Mamagin · 30/09/2015 22:14

I'm just re-reading the Dimsie series by Dorita Fairlie Bruce - about a boarding school set just after the first world war. They will be quite hard to get hold of though.
www.ggbp.co.uk/dorita-fairlie-bruce/ has the first book in the series in print, and if you have a browse through their books in print you may find others suitable.

YorkshireTeaDrinker · 30/09/2015 22:21

I started on the Chalet School at about 9. First one I read was Eustacia goes to the CS. She's an orphan, shipped off to school in Austria because her Aunt, with whom she is living, finds her unbearable. Parental death and family rejection were mere background noise. The appeal was that school (which is a common enough experience) took place in such an unusual and exciting setting. I moved onto CS from St Clare's and Malory Towers and found it much more satisfying (became a collector, got the whole set now).

Your daughter may be a bit young, but if she has already gone through the Enid Blyton school stories, then I would say CS is a logical next step. There's nothing in them that you wouldn't let the Robin read (you'll need to read 'em to get the reference Wink).

Geraniumred · 30/09/2015 23:16

Try hunting up some second hand Angela Brazil books. Glitterwings academy might be good - fairy boarding school series and certainly age appropriate and reasonably well written.
I'd leave CS for now - so many near fatal accidents and illnesses.
Jennings would be a lot of fun.

Liomsa · 30/09/2015 23:23

I don't know, I think Eustacia is a good example of some of the stuff I would find dubious for a very young reader. The title character is seen as odd primarily because she's brought up by her 'lady doctor' mother, is suddenly orphaned when both parents die in quick succession, and is almost immediately sent to boarding school abroad by an aunt, isn't granted a grain of sympathy by the narrator or the other characters when, not surprisingly, she doesn't fit in. And is punished for not conforming by being invalided.

It's a pretty grim message about the cost of non-conformity.

Original poster
Itshouldntmatter · 30/09/2015 23:27

The Dimsie series look perfect, but they are rather expensive. I'll try the Jennings ones.

She tried a fairy detective series a while back, and whilst Heidi was 'too real', the fairy detective 'wasn't real enough' Smile, so don't think glitter wings academy will work.

I will try the Angela Brazil ones, if I can find them cheaply enough. And I'm going to hope I can get her interested in the famous five (she is currently resisting). That would keep her busy for a while.

OP posts:
Geraniumred · 30/09/2015 23:30

Hmmm, a tricky customer... I'll have another think ...

LittleBearPad · 30/09/2015 23:36

Exploits / Camp / New House are probably all fine for her to read although I think I was about 7 when I started reading them. Still have them all and am collecting the ggbp new versions

LittleBearPad · 30/09/2015 23:38

Trebizon is a good bet.

Has she tried Anne of Green Gables etc? Not school stories but great.

Original poster
Itshouldntmatter · 30/09/2015 23:43

I know Geraniumred! That was why I was so pleased when I thought I'd cracked it with my 15 chalet school books!!!! I think classics are generally the way forward because mostly books for 9 or 10 year olds from 50 years ago are quite safe, but it is finding them in print, cheaply (and hoping the racism/sexism isn't awful), that is the challenge. One of you chalet school/boarding school book fans needs to pen a new series for little girls who like safe real world escapism Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
Itshouldntmatter · 30/09/2015 23:46

X-post...I was worried anne of green gables might be tricky, but I have only ever seen the tv mini-series! My dd is a much younger reader than I was, so she will have read hundreds more children's books than me!!

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Geraniumred · 01/10/2015 00:01

Angela Brazil generally has quite lively and socially aware heroines - although I've not read them all.
your dd might enjoy 'just Patty' by Jean Webster' - set in an American Girls' boarding school. Again an old one.

Witchend · 01/10/2015 10:28

Dd2 is very sensitive (famous five were too scary for ages) but she loves the Chalet School, and has done since she first tried them. She started reading them aged about 8yo.

My favourite as a child was The Princess, which is one of the earlier ones, which dd2 also started on. However she generally prefers the later ones really after Exile (don't give her that if she's easily scared!) although she has come round to the earlier ones slowly, and now she'll 11yo she's also reading the fill ins. It's such a hardship for me when she lists them on the Christmas list and she hasn't complained yet about them being pre-read

I think her favourite is Problem, which is fairly conventional school story:
Poor child gets offered a scholarship, thinks she'll be out of place after reading school stories and finds she's not. Added to it a "common" friend from home comes after granddad winning premium bonds or similar and doesn't fit in. At end friend swears to be a proper Chalet School girl. Good one to start with, and it's quite cheap in Armada on ebay.

Liomsa · 01/10/2015 11:35

Anne of Green Gables is lovely, but be warned there is a beloved character death at the end of the second in the series, Anne of Avonlea. (And a stillbirth and a WWI death in two much later books in the series.)

Problem for me is one of the more problematic (see what I did there? Grin) Chalet books - it's essentially 'aspirational/respectable working-class girl (we know this because of her 'dainty' clothes and speech, because her mother used to be a lady's maid and picked up niceties from her 'young lady') fits in, at Swiss boarding school and feckless nouveau riche working-class girl ( wears make, swears, hangs around with boys) is demonised.'

Having said that, it has a lot in common with some of the social class subplots in Malory Towers and St Clare's, like the nouveau riche first former whose father is a road hog with no hs, or whoever it was in St Clare's who was always boasting about her bathrooms at home to cover up her very humble origins.

Liomsa · 01/10/2015 11:36

Sorry, typos. Wears make-up.

hels71 · 01/10/2015 12:13

My DD also loves boarding school books and I will be introducing the chalet school soon..she is 8 though. I really think 6 is too young. I will add my vote for Jennings...
And Antonia Forest, while being brilliant, is definitely best for older readers.

Sadik · 01/10/2015 16:42

Yet another vote for Jennings - absolutely perfect for a 6 year old. I still love Jennings' Little Hut and I'm 45!

LittleBearPad · 01/10/2015 23:22

Has she read the 'naughtiest girl in the school' books.

AndNowItsSeven · 02/10/2015 00:37

I remember Dimsie and Jennings, I loved them both.

Original poster
Itshouldntmatter · 02/10/2015 14:25

She has read The Naughtiest girl books. Loved them but not as much as St Clares and MT. First Jennings book arrives tomorrow. Got the first Antonia Forest one too. I'll give it a read. What she likes is the characters and friendships so I think she might like it. There must be such a market for them - given the popularity of the St clares and MT etc. They are such perfect fodder for strong young readers.

OP posts:
Witchend · 02/10/2015 14:34

Antonia Forest I'd say is too old for a 6yo. There are themes such as racism for example (In End of term Miranda, who is Jewish, talks about it quite openly, in a "some people don't like me because of it" type way), and nasty fallings out aren't always resolved and certainly not by the end of each book!

Have you tried ones such as the Olivia series? it's a stage school, can't remember who the author is, but dd2 used to love them. There are plenty of school story variants around, if you try the library/local big book shop and have a look.

Some of the earlier Dimsie's aren't too bad price if you look around.

hels71 · 02/10/2015 18:23

Yes, please don't try a 6 year old with Antonia Forest. they are so good they need to be waited for until she is old enough to appreciate them. Also, you really need the family holiday books that come between the 4 school stories to actually follow the plot fully.

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