Recommendations for bright but sheltered 10 year old

[mumof2222222222222222boys]

I gave her Little White Horse last year which went down very well, but any ideas for this year??

She is bright, sporty and lovely, but her mum is a bit controlling, so it needs to be "suitable".

I joked to her mum about giving her the Twilight series (which I am enjoying at the moment) which I would think would be fine for 12/13 year olds. Her response was that she wouldn't want to have to explain about vampires - tbh I hadn't thought that would be a problem, more that teenage luurve woudn't really be a 10 year olds thing.

Would be great to get some thoughts / perspective.

thanks!

What about classics like Anne of Green Gables? Dd3 is 11 and loves it. She also likes the Little House series. Unfortunately, as an avid reader, she has also gobbled up dd2's 'Twilight' series - would have preferred her to be a bit older!

What about Henrietta's House if she liked Little White Horse. Also by Elisabeth Gouge, lovely story though it does have quite heavy Christian overtones, don't know if that would be a problem.
Also, if she already has Anne of Green Gables, the Emily of New Moon series by L M Montgomery is less well known but also very good.

Christian overtones are fine thanks! I will have a look at these...thanks very much ladies.

Gervaise Phinn is a popular author with the girls in my class... his books for adults are great too. They have all loved Black Beauty too ( as have the boys). The Hobbit?

the narnia books you can get the whole set

DS (10) loves the E Nesbit stories; The Railway Children, Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet etc.

We have some on CD too, and they are quite funny stories and quite readable, even though they are fairly old.

My rather sheltered 10-year-old ds is enjoying this at the moment. First Aid for fairies and other fabled beasts.

Marianne Dreams is lovely, although a bit dark...really gripping, nicely written and great pictures.

Charlotte's Web / Charlotte Sometimes.

Ballet Shoes

A really lovely copy of Alice In Wonderland?

Some poetry? Walter De La Mare or A Child's Garden Of Verse perhaps?

Spiderwick Chronicles - lovely slightly gothic-ish fairy tales with great illustrations.

I remember quite a few of those...thanks very much everyone.

My dd started reading James Herriott about this age. Or would the mother be upset by the cow's bottoms aspect?

'My family and other animals' - fabulous story, wonderfully told.

My perspective is that if SOMEONE doesn't take steps to enlighten this kid, secondary school is going to be living hell

I loved James Herriot - especially the gorey bits...there's an idea.

Colditz - she is actually a really nice kid and I think that she will probably be fine...it is the younger daughter who would worry me more...her mother's daughter and oh so wet. I am trying to do my bit in a slightly subversive auntie way...maybe Judy Blume??? Or maybe that is a bit dated?

My DD1 also 10 , also sheltered, also has a wee bit of a controlling mother!!!

enjoys Michael Morpurgo - lovely books try The Butterfly Lion.

Goodnight Mister Tom
Toms Midnight Garden
The Peppermint Pig
The Secret Garden
Mallory Towers
Spiderwick Chronicles
Spydog series
Stig of The Dump
Tiger Tiger
What Katy did/did next/did at school

Just a selection from her favourites. Much better than some of the rubbish her friends read IMO.

What does "sheltered' mean in this context?

I suppose I mean that she is quite young for her age. She is not into boys/make up like some of the more 'mature' girls in her class. She still loves playing Barbies with her sister.

Also I know I am a bit overprotective in the things I let her watch, for example some of her friends watch Coronation Street and Eastenders. I would never let her watch that sort of thing as she is way to young to understand the issues involved in the storylines.

Don't get me wrong I won't lock her away in the playroom until she is 25 but I will not let her be forced to grow up quicker than she is ready too because of pressure from others/the media.

So she is sheltered in the context that she is not as aware of the adult world as some of her friends.

Try the Warrior Cats series by Erin Hunter.

The Little House on the Prairie series is wonderful! Haven't actually read them all, but the ones I have have left me feeling I really need to finish the series.

My quite sheltered 10 year old likes to read:

Spy Dog
Wedding Planner's Daughter (after she got over the initial "strangeness")
almost any horrible sparkly fairy type books,
MAgic Mermaids
all those sad puppy/kitten type books (she has asked for All alone at Christmas for Christmas)
Stig of the Dump
Black Beauty
Famous Five
Norse Myths
Greek myths

Bizarrley, at the moment, she is quite taken with Skullduggery Pleasant, who actually belongs to my DS3. I think that it is a kind of sibling rivalry thing. I don't think that it would do, though, as it does have vampires in it and I'm not that happy about her reading it to be honest, but she really likes it.

She is really bright and a strong reader, but isn't ready within herself to move on to books with more challenging content. 10 is still very young, really. There is so much rush to turn little girls into mini adults when some of them still want to be little girls.

Try Anna Hibiscus. There are three books which all start "Anna Hibiscus lives in Africa, Amazing Africa." They are funny and sweet and also realistic books about a little girl growing up in modern Africa. And the illustrations are to die for!

Joan Aiken.

yes, def Joan Aiken.
John Masefield Box of Delights is v Christmassy and Little White Horse-ish

Kevin Crossley Holland: The Seeing Stone
(1st in lovely series of 4)
Eva Ibbotson
Cressida Cowell

My 10 year old has just enjoyed
Wolf Brother, Adolphus Tips and Magyk

Lauren Brooke's Heartland series is great. It's about a girl who heals horses, but also about family and friendships with just a touch of romance. My 9 year old dd is addicted to them.