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Children's books

Join in for children's book recommendations.

Chapter book for me to read to 9 and 7?

51 replies

FusionChefGeoff · 27/03/2022 20:51

Tend to do classics from my childhood but drawing a blank!

Ronald Dahl
Lion Witch and Wardrobe
Secret Garden
Little princess

DS is 9 and DD is 7 - no particular cross over in interests although they both enjoyed Wimpy Kid.

What have your best chapter books been??

OP posts:
Closedlips · 27/03/2022 20:52

Harry Potter is good for those ages if you're into it!

Picklesandbeans · 27/03/2022 20:52

Famous five, secret seven- mine are 8 &6

EmmaGrundyForPM · 27/03/2022 20:53

My two loved Stig of the Dump at those ages. Also HP.

Matildatoldsuchdreadfullies · 27/03/2022 20:53

At about that age I read The Silver Sword to my dc. They enjoyed it. I struggled to read the last couple of chapters through tears.

lljkk · 27/03/2022 20:55

Charlotte's Web or The Trumpeter Swan, EB White

LaTomatina · 27/03/2022 20:59

Ronja the Robber's Daughter by Astrid Lindgreen
The Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Henry and Ribsy series, Ramona series, Beverly Cleary

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2022 21:00

We have been reading chapter books at bedtime for a few years, good ones have been:
Five children and it and sequels
The treasure seekers
Redwall
The Hobbit
Charmed Life and the Lives of Christopher Chant
Go saddle the sea
The load of unicorn (and then we went to visit Westminster abbey and see all the places in the story)
Alice in Wonderland (too weird to read alone!)
The phantom tollbooth

Kids are 8 and 10 now and I have a few lined up to come:
Hitchhikers Guide
Little Men
Equal rites
David Copperfield (or maybe great expectations)
The three musketeers

Xiaoxiong · 27/03/2022 21:00

Oh yeah we did farmer boy by Laura ingalls wilder too!

Talipesmum · 27/03/2022 21:06

Great suggestions above.

V v good for that age also:

Ramona books

Fudge books (beware one of them has father Xmas spoilers, def not the first one). “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing” is the first one.

If you haven’t already - clever Polly and the stupid wolf (more Individual stories than chapters though but essential reading)

Swallows and amazons

Aroundtheworldin80moves · 27/03/2022 21:08

The Adventures on Trains series.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 27/03/2022 21:09

We are currently doing the "Last Kids on Earth" series and my two enjoy them. They are American, and jammed with monsters, zombies, cool gadgets, adventure. Easy to read, they aren't winning any literary awards Grin but they are fun.

AiryFairy1 · 27/03/2022 21:11

How to train your dragon series - I loved it almost as much as they did!
The Borrowers - there's about 4-5 books you can get in 1 volume
Yes to Famous Five and the Adventure Series by EB
Five Children and It, and the semi-sequel The Phoenix and the Carpet (or something - we enjoyed it almost better than the first one)
101 Dalmatians (& the sequel The Starlight Barking - it's a bit weird though :-))
Personally I'd wait for Harry Potter, or just read the first 3 books - there's a definite shift from book 4 onwards (as he grows into moody teendom)
Another one fairly well-received was The Wheel on the School (one of my childhood favs) set in Holland (it's a translation from the Dutch original)
My kids were completely stoney-faced when I was in tears reading Charlotte's Web

LowlyTheWorm · 27/03/2022 21:12

david baddiel has written a few good ones. and the other tv guy… Ben Millar?
old classics- Goodnight Mr Tom, The Midnight Garden, Stig of the Dump… Bambi is also a great novel or 101 dalmatians if they’re animal lovers. oh and animals of farthing wood…
Beverly Clearly, Nina Bawden…also great authors.

DancingChairs · 27/03/2022 21:18

Wolf Brother! Cracking series.

Cyclingforcake · 27/03/2022 21:19

The boy who grew dragons has been a huge hit here.

JurassicPerks · 27/03/2022 21:24

That's about the age my two got into Wings of Fire. Adventure series with Dragons.

Personally, I'd say 7 is too young for Harry Potter. It's only been that last few months that my 10 yr old has got into it, although he is one of the latest at school to get hooked. Some great ideas above tho.

Pegasussnail · 27/03/2022 21:26

I've read Charlottes Web, BFG and Wizard of Oz most recently

CatChant · 27/03/2022 21:29

The Voyage of QV66 by Penelope Lively

Burgerqueenbee · 27/03/2022 21:29

Howl's moving castle by Diana Wynne Jones

HeySeamus · 27/03/2022 21:30

The Mr Gum series of books by Andy Stanton. Hilarious. I was recently recommended these by a friend and my two DC's aged 8 and 11 love them.
The 11 year old is probably older than the target age for these books but she enjoys me reading them just as much as the 8 year old.
Furthermore, I actually enjoy them too. Such a relief to read something original and well written after struggling with David Walliams forced drivel

theAntsareMyFriends · 27/03/2022 21:32

Just about to add The Boy who Grew Dragons but see I have been beaten to it
The Train to impossible places and The Silver Arrow were good
Have also enjoyed books by Holly Webb
We went through a stage of reading all the children's books that have won an award (think it was the Costa Award) which led us to Asha and the Spirit bird which was amazing and The Explorer which was a bit dark but good.

MargaretThursday · 27/03/2022 21:33

What I read to ds from about that age:

Cue for Treason (Geoffrey Trease)
Lone Pine Series, Marston Baines Series (Malcolm Saville) (his favourite)
Storm Ahead, The White Riders, Hidden in a Dream (Monica Edwards)
The Players Boy, The Players and the Traitor (Antonia Forest)
The Black Riders, The House of the Paladin (Violet Needham)
The Adventure series (Enid Blyton)
Biggles
The Chronicles of Narnia (CS Lewis)
The Chrestomanci Series (Diane Wynne Jones)
The Children of Primrose Lane, Tennis Shoes, Party Frock, Curtain Up, The Fearless Treasure, The House in Cornwall (Noel Stratfeild)
Swallows and Amazon Series (Arthur Ransome)
Farmer Boy, The Long Winter (Laura Ingles Wilder)
Stalky and Co (Kipling)

AndMiffyWentToSleep · 27/03/2022 21:34

I read the Ickabog to my 9yo and we enjoyed it. Also Harry Potter (when aged 10yo) and How to Train Your Dragon when he was 8-9yo. The Marvellous Land of the Snergs was another good one.
(I'm excited to be reminded of the Fudge books - I LOVED them as a kid!)

axolotlfloof · 27/03/2022 21:35

Mine loved Harry Potter from 6 onwards.
DS too loved the Fright Forest etc series by Marcus Sedgwick, we read them over and over.

HeySeamus · 27/03/2022 21:36

As mentioned above, The Explorer by Catherine Rundell is very good. We have also read Roof toppers by her which was also a great read.