Books for children.

Ok, my girls inhale books, especially the eldest. She's read the entire Harry Potter series 8 times (yes, intensity runs in the family).

She's recently read The Roman Mysteries (a series of 17 books) and now I need to find another series of books she can lose her head in.

Youngest has read Harry Potter off and on.

So some suggestions to keep them off my back for the next 6 months please. 

(they're 9&7 and don't get scared easily)

Oh and don't read this as 'My kids are brilliant and wonderful'.

It's just they love the fantasy world that good books feed the imagination with; I remember that as one of my most precious things as a child.

We all know that the film ruins the book, however good the film is.

I've neglected reading fiction for many years, I became disconnected with it for various reasons and haven't really helped my kids with their love of it. 

A few ideas :

 The Companions Quartet - Julia Golding

A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket

Touchstone Trilogy - Steve Augarde

Dark is Rsing series - Susan Cooper

Charlie Bone series - Jenny Nimmo

CS Lewis is a good idea.

I read the complete works of Shakespeare when I was 10, and all my friends had gone on overseas holidays for the summer, and I was bored and nosing around my dad's study, and spotted a set of matching books. I was into matching sets and things, so once I'd started I had to finish, even if I won't pretend to have understood everything that went on!

My 9 year old daughter loves Michael Morpurgo - not a series but he's written loads-and the beast quest series (hundreds of them) , also jaqueline wilson. Weirdstone of Brisingamen is great in the potter style.

otterline stories  for the younger one maybe?

agree cs lewis is great

Cake wrote (see)

KK what about C S Lewis?

Ironically cake, when we went up to Sheffield to see Ewan, they took us to a little village about 10 miles outside  where the village hall has a weekly film club in the afternoon (and even opens the bar for the adults).

Voyage of the Dawn Treader was playing and it was magical. I loved those books, and I'm sure my kids will read them but the writing style is different now...

So yes, a great suggestion, but what's new out there? The Roman Mysteries were a surprise to me and were sent anonymously to my daughter with no cost to us.

And yes, we did take that seriously and looked into where they came from.

Off Roader wrote (see)

And the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michele Paver

Take them to your local library, and introduce them to the children's section librarian. Ask which books are most in demand ... the librarian will probably be delighted to help.

Authors: Brian Jacques, Michael Morpugo are both great for kids.

Might be a little advanced for yours at their age, but the Mortal Engines series by Philip Reeve is superb.

Oh yes, and the Artemis Fowl books are a hoot.

Has anyone mentioned Roald Dahl?

M.ister W wrote (see)

The Hobbit. It'll be a tough read given their age but it sounds like they'd be up for it.

Just mentioned that to D, he has fond memories of his rather eccentric form teacher in school reading chapters out to him in form time, and he fell in love with it (first year of secondary, so 11/12 years old).

I asked what he thought and he just said that E at 9 could swallow that book because she's a much better reader than he was, also I think it's not just about that. She daydreams to an annoying extent (even for me), but at least if that's happening, I'd prefer the cogs to be whirring on her own interpretation of a good story.

I'll admit now that I've never read any of the Lord of the Rings stuff.

Muttley wrote (see)

Take them to your local library

I owe my library £25, can't afford to go back for a bit.

(Long story, well no, more a medium story of my scattiness)

The Borrowers? It might seem a bit old fashioned to them now, but it's a wonderful made up world. And there are about six books in the series. 

I loved Michelle Magorian's novels from primary onwards, and they feel like "grown up" books which might appeal to the nine year old. 

At the trashier end I used to inhale the Saddle Club books when I was 9 or so. And there are over 100 in the series. Probably will only appeal if they like horses though, as it's basically Jilly Cooper for girls who think horses are better than boys. 

Wobbled wrote (see)

At the trashier end I used to inhale the Saddle Club books when I was 9 or so. And there are over 100 in the series. Probably will only appeal if they like horses though, as it's basically Jilly Cooper for girls who think horses are better than boys. 

All girls think horses are better than boys, even if they don't have one!

I'm in waxing lyrical mood tonight as thinking about childhood books is taking me back to thinking about childhood. I loved animals (as my youngest does) and although we had cats, I yearned for a dog and a horse; ok a horse is out of bounds for most families, but I wanted a dog because of the loyalty, and being in the world of the Famous Five, I was George and NEEDED a dog.

Also, my childhood dreams consisted of living in Cornwall or Devon and on a farm, with the sea in smelling distance. So I've realised that as an adult, and we don't have a horse, but I have free access to exercising horses and we have a dog and... The beauty of having kids is that they just see normal as normal, and like us all, will probably yearn for something else in retrospect. Not that you don't appreciate what you have (in time) but somewhere along the line you lose your childhood, or imagination? Well I did.

QED, my brother doesn't like animals and his utopia is raising his kids in a city. 

DTB, Ultra Cake Pim.p wrote (see)

I read the complete works of Shakespeare when I was 10, and all my friends had gone on overseas holidays for the summer, and I was bored and nosing around my dad's study, and spotted a set of matching books. I was into matching sets and things, so once I'd started I had to finish, even if I won't pretend to have understood everything that went on!

That's good going Ditchy.

I *have* to love Shakespeare given how much I was dragged through it; but I had this conversation just on Friday. I DO love Shakespeare, but only the plays that I studied and understood and then saw performed. I could see the interpretation in those cases; everything else was just dross.

But isn't it the same with opera, ballet etc?

I wonder how much people really do enjoy it and how much they feel they should enjoy it? I'm not insulting people, again I think it comes back to exposure. I love King Lear, but that's because I studied it for A level and it came alive.

I love ballet because I love dance; but the interpretation bores me because I'm only there for they physical. So unless they're going to be modern, that would get boring too.

Opera, no way....