7 year old girl - classic

[CharlotteBog]

Apologies for not trawling through the board to see if there are answers already (MN search stinks!).

I would like get my 7 yo niece a book for Xmas. She is a good reader (Malory Towers etc). I was thinking something like Heidi, Sleeping Beauty or Anne of Green Gables, but think the older language might be a challenge. Actually, those books might still be a little old for her.

I remember my older son going through the phase of being able to read chapter books w/o pictures, but still being at the age to enjoy Flat Stanley level books.

I would prefer paperback as they are easier to handle.

Thanks

The magic faraway tree Enid Blyton
any Roald Dahl chapter books . ( fantastic mr fox is a good one )
“little people “hardback bio books , some really interesting , new people in these to learn about eg Chanel , Tesla etc
Black Beauty .

My 7 year old DD is very in to the Famous Five at the moment.

I remember enjoying The call of the Wild and Harriet the spy about that age. My elder DS just never enjoyed things like the secret 7 and the famous 5, he enjoyed Harry Potter and more modern books but his friend was the opposite so it's hard to tell.

Thank you all. I should have said, it needs to be something she's not likely to already have. She has an older brother so already probably has Roald Dahl waiting for her, and many of the Blyton sets. I'm pretty sure my sister will have the Faraway Tree series ready for her, as we all enjoyed those growing up ourselves.

I will look at the two you suggest BigBoys, and the Little People, Big Dreams books HydrangeaRose. I'm a scientist so this might be a good way to introduce her to Women In Science.

Hmmm, the Little People Big Dreams series might be a little young for her. She'd read it once or twice and then it would sit on the shelf. It has given me some ideas though.

Eva Ibbotson has written some books which might be suitable, Journey to the River Sea, The Dragonfly Pool might be worth a look.

Did Eva Ibbotson write Which Witch? I remember enjoying that at around 7 or 8.

Harriet the Spy and The Call of the Wild were written a while ago so have the same issue as Heidi etc - older language.

The first few books in the Laura Ingalls Wilder series are great for that age group (might need a little bit of help with context etc to get started but plenty of interesting/exciting things happen once you get into it).

Ronja the Robber 's Daughter, Astrid Lindgreen
Thimble Summer, Elizabeth Enright
The Ramona Quimby series, Beverley Cleary

Yes I think so!

Definitely Ramona, my 7 yo loves those.
or Ralph S Mouse
stewart little
the borrowers
the moomins
mrs pigglewiggle
worst witch
pippi longstocking
ottoline and the yellow cat

Yeah should have said I'm 57 but I thought you were looking for classics. I think Harriet the spy was modern in the 70s 😂

Yes, I did say that in my title, and then backtracked quite nicely!

I read Heidi as a young girl and don't remember being baffled by the language, but I think I was older than 7, more like 10 or 11.

i'm 52 - the 70s is indeed modern!

Charlotte sometimes by penelope farmer
Little grey men by bb

Modern classics

As I say my own DS really didn't enjoy older classic books but his friend loved them. His family were definitely posher and middle class so maybe the whole thing just clicked better with him 😂

Any Enid Blyton or maybe Ursula Le Guin or Alan Garner

At 7 I read and loved A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley
Also Miss Happiness and Miss Flower by Rumer Godden

The dolls house by timer godden

noel streatfield? Ballet shoes? Theatre shoes? White boots etc?

Not a fiction book, but as a scientist you may enjoy for her ' The bedtime book of impossible questions'. My son is just turned 8 and loves reading, however has moved from fiction to devouring books of this kind instead. This is a lovely example of something to read independently but also instigates lots of lovely chatter about the book too! Some of the content is amusing, whilst other quite thought provoking!

So many great suggestions, thank you.
I shall be going to Amazon shopping over the w/e.

My daughter loved Milly Molly Mandy at 7.

Sarah Crewe (The Little Princess) by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Thimble Summer or The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
They're classics with more accessible language

At 7 my girls loved the Fudge series by Judy Blume.

How to train your dragon series
Some of the Jacqueline Wilson books though beware that she has written for a range of ages and some themes in some of them will be too old.
Yes to Noel Stretford books and also Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf though both of these will have language issues.
Mr Penguin books ( funny stories about a penguin detective)
Judy Moody books are great fun though you may have to explain some of the Americanisms