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Children's books

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Original poster

Recommendations please for story books that will appeal to my almost 9 year old dd (reads below her age) to stop her reading Horrid Henry!!

56 replies

Eniddo · 21/10/2008 11:29

She has to read to me every night and atm is ploughing through Horrid Henry, I didnt realise there were so many books and the school library seem to have them all. Now, far be it from me to discourage her reading (it has taken enough blood and tears to get this far) I would love to find something else that would appeal to her without looking too young (this is a consideration as her friends all read much more 'advanced' books) and prefereably something new rather than a classic ( she feels embarrassed taking my knackered old books in apparently)

OP posts:
VintageGardenia · 23/10/2008 14:16

Which Mr Gum did you get & why does your dh disapprove, other than not by RLS, obv?

Original poster
Eniddo · 23/10/2008 17:29

the first one

dh thinks Not Proper Literature

but ignore him, he has no idea really

OP posts:
VintageGardenia · 23/10/2008 17:50

Bad Man then. Hope your dd enjoys. If final family consensus at end is No Good I'll refund your cash!

NicRob1 · 24/10/2008 13:45

Hi,

Elk mentioned the Pony Mad Princess from Usborne. There are a few ranges from Usborne that might be of interest to your 9 year old daughter. They do Fame School, Oliver Moon (along the lines of Harry Potter), Summer Camp Secrets, Totally Lucy. Oliver Moon range and Summer Camp Secrets have web pages for even more fun with the reading! See my thread on Usborne Books at Home

motherinferior · 24/10/2008 13:51

I'm afraid I rather adore HH. I know I shouldn't, but I do.

I noticed that there are now Winnie the Witch chapter books - would this be too young for her? Also, the Ahlberg series about the Gaskitts is absolutely lovely: clear yet madly entertaining.

Blu · 24/10/2008 13:52

What about the Humphry Hamster books?The World according To Humphey is the first in the series

DS LOVES them - though the text is more dense and smaller than in the H Henry books.

NicRob1 · 24/10/2008 13:56

I've got a 4 year old son. A neighbour handed in some Horrid Henry books. Made mistake of reading a bit of one to him at bedtime and he loved it! Bit old for him though - putting too many ideas in his wee head!

Takver · 26/10/2008 16:56

If she likes Horrid Henry, what about Just William (I know, is a classic, but I think you can get 'modern' looking copies). He could teach HH a thing or two .
Also would second the Cressida Cowell 'How to tame a dragon' books, they seem to go down well over a big range of ages (DD age 6 likes them, as does my friend's son age 11 - can't imagine they have many overlapping tastes!) and they are great to read out loud.

BBBeeast · 26/10/2008 17:03

my naughty little sister
roald dahl
mossflower series

er, er, er, er, um - other stuff.

BBBeeast · 26/10/2008 17:04

no actually mossflower series is too big a jump. more harry potter than horrid henry.

sunnygirl1412 · 26/10/2008 19:43

There's a hilarious book called 'The Land of Green Ginger' by Noel Langley, which is a sequel to the story of Aladdin.

I remember reading this at about 9, and it was read to me before that, I'm sure - and it still makes me laugh today!

The villains are called Rub Dub Ben Thud and Tin Tack Ping Fu; there's a flying back garden, a magician who's a button-nosed tortoise, and a donkey who sits on a pin. Oh, and a genie, of course - but not a very good one!

Dttoydto · 26/10/2008 19:52

Fab thread Enid - I've joined you on various threads about reading and almost started a thread saying 'I love Horrid Henry and I don't care' because last week for the first time, ds1 (7 in a few weeks) asked to read a Horrid henry book in bed for himself!!

So I've got him a couple more and every now and then, not every night, he'll have a go at reading to himself.

I'm so proud of him I don't care that it's effing Horrid Henry...!

I showed him a Secret Seven book last week but he took one look at it in the bookshop and declared to look too hard, but I'll have a look at the recommendations in this thread.

Takver · 26/10/2008 20:02

Eniddo I reckon in 20yrs time Horrid Henry and Mr Gum will be Proper Literature. Back in the day the Famous Five (and all Enid Blyton) were distinctly not-proper-books . . . now they come with 'classic' covers from the library and seem to be considered quite classy.
Dttoydto are Secret Seven easier or harder than Famous Five? DD likes F5 and Five Findouters, wondered if S7 would be a good bet for xmas peace & quiet

Dttoydto · 26/10/2008 20:04

I think secret seven are easier than famous five, but they still seem quite a leap for ds1 at the minute.

Have read the thread properly and am quite intrigued by the Barrington Stoke books. But is the content quite adult-ish? Will have to go and have a look at a few.

sglat · 27/10/2008 12:41

I would shy away from Jacqueline Wilson - in my experience her books have turned off as many kids as they've turned on.
I would start her on the first Jimmy Coates book by Joe Craig. It's gripping enough to suck her in and has some feisty female characters she might like.
Jeremy Strong also writes some lovely, light, funny books that are a good progression from Horrid Henry.

Original poster
Eniddo · 27/10/2008 12:58

dttoydo - dd1 is a good 2 years older than your son so I really wouldn't worry - personally I think reading HH to yourself at 6 is bloody good!!

I ordered a copule of books from Amazon and the annoying thing is that now they have AGE RECOMMENDATIONS onthe front

so two good books say 7+ on the front which puts hger off and she doesnt want to take them to school

OP posts:
Original poster
Eniddo · 27/10/2008 12:59

barrington stoke are aimed at 8-12 year olds in terms of content but with a reading age of 8 - brilliant!

OP posts:
Dttoydto · 27/10/2008 13:01

Enid - I know - and to be honest I'm not sure how much he's reading because we're not allowed to talk to him about it - he gets very funny about it so it's kind of like a secret But it was the thought of him actually picking up a book to read - without the tears, tantrums, sulks etc that we usually have - that was amazing!

Will definitely have a look at Barrington Stoke.

Marina · 27/10/2008 13:02

Now you know this is happening enid, can you maybe sticker over the age thing on the front, or is it too obvious
What a shame
Another Mr Gum fan here

  • and might she like the Anthony Horowitz series The Falcon's Malteser etc? These are funnier and lighter than his more heavyweight fare
Original poster
Eniddo · 27/10/2008 16:06

dd1 says she enjoys Mr Gum as it has won an award

OP posts:
TooTIfYouAreScared · 27/10/2008 16:11

Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren (there are new versions out but the pictures aren't as nice as the originals)

Jeremy Strong books.

Vivian French is a brilliant author.

smellybunion · 27/10/2008 16:28

i used to LOVE judy blume books when i was younger...
not sure if they are a teeny bit old for your dd in their content. i can't remember how old i was when i read them....

(off topic, i do remember reading her book "forever" when i was a teen......we all had it because they had sex! )

LIZS · 27/10/2008 16:35

Sophie stories (Dick King Smith), Enid Blyton's Secret Seven and The Mystery of....(Burnt Cottage etc), Bel Mooney's Kitty series, Jack Stalwart

VintageGardenia · 27/10/2008 18:35

Just re the age banding thing I know it's a bit off topic but if anyone would like to support No to Age Banding you can do it here.

VintageGardenia · 27/10/2008 18:36

I mean there is an example of a little girl embarrassed to read a book because she's in the "wrong" band for it. Which is lousy for her.