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Category Archives: 20th Century
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas
Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox and Julie Vivas is a beautiful picture book about the nature of memory. It tells the story of Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge who lives next door to an old people’s home where his … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, Australian, Picture Books, Under 7 years
Tagged Australian, dementia, disability, fiction, good out loud, illustrated, memory, the elderly, under 7s
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Light a Single Candle by Beverley Butler
Light A Single Candle by Beverley Butler is a great book written in the early 60s that I discovered in high school. Cathy Wheeler becomes completely blind in her early teens when surgery to treat glaucoma goes seriously wrong. As … Continue reading
Posted in 11 years and up, 20th Century YA, American, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Light Fiction, Novel, YA Realism, Young Adult
Tagged 1960s, 20th Century, American, animals, blindness, coming-of-age, disability, dogs, fiction, guide dogs, high school, instituationalisation, society, young adult
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Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian is a historical novel and modern children’s classic set in World War II Britain. Billeting arrangements bring together Mister Tom, a gruff and grieving old man, and Willie Beech, a starved and abused child … Continue reading
Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Children's Classics
Tagged 10 and up, 20th Century, adoption, billeting, British, character-driven, children's classic, dogs, domestic abuse, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up, historical, home front, London's East End, mental illness, poverty, the country, wartime, well written, widowhood, WWII
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The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis is the 6th Chronicle of Narnia. As a child it was my least favourite Narnia book, despite containing a favourite character and a favourite scene. The drawbacks are that the main human characters spend … Continue reading
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis was my favourite Narnia book as a child – an exciting ocean journey discovering new lands in a quest to find seven missing lords of Narnia. It again features King Caspian … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics, Fantasy
Tagged 20th Century, 7 and up, action, adventure, animals, boats, British, C.S. Lewis, children's classic, Christianity, fantasy, fiction, food and fighting, good out loud, grace, Narnia, The Inklings, there be Dragons
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When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr is a semi-autobiographical account of her family’s flight from Germany in 1933 because of her father’s opposition to the Nazi party. They move to Switzerland, then Paris and finally England. The story … Continue reading
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder is the 5th of the Little House series about Laura’s pioneering childhood on the American prairies. It tells of the winter when the blizzards are so early, long and severe that the trains … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 7 years and up, Children's Classics
Tagged 19th Century, 7 and up, adventure, American, children's classic, classic, good out loud, hardship, historical, Little House Book, overcoming adversity, pioneering America, prairies, semi-autobiographical, survival, winter
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Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis is the fourth book set in Narnia. Caspian, the true king of Narnia has been usurped by his uncle, Miraz. Caspian longs for the olden days of Narnia when animals spoke, fawns danced, and two … Continue reading
Don’t judge this book by its Disney: The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith is so much richer than the movie! The story is basically the same, telling of two married people and two married dalmatians attempting to rescue their puppies from a woman who wants a dalmatian … Continue reading