Tag Archives: 10 and up

Tongue-in-cheek dragonlore: The Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base

Posted on April 22, 2018 by jenny

The Discovery of Dragons by Graeme Base is another delightful Australian picture book that works on multiple levels. Detailing the unlikely tale of how four unlikely people discovered dragons with beautiful illustrations, funny comic strips along the bottom of each … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Australian, Fantasy, Picture Books | Tagged 10 and up, 20th Century, adventure, Australian, epistolary, fantasy, fiction, Graeme Base, humour, illustrated, there be Dragons | Leave a comment

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Posted on July 31, 2017 by jenny

These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder is the last of the Little House books that Wilder completed and also my favourite. At the end of Little Town on the Prairie Laura received her teaching certificate. Now Laura has … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century YA, Young Adult | Tagged 10 and up, 19th Century, American, character-driven, children's classic, coming-of-age, courtship, education, farming, fiction, good out loud, historical, Little House Book, North Dakota, pioneering America, prairies, school, semi-autobiographical, YA classic, young adult | Leave a comment

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Posted on March 30, 2017 by jenny

Little Town on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder continues the Little House books. The Long Winter is over, the prairie is filling up and Laura is old enough to get summer work sewing in the growing town. When winter … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, 20th Century YA, Children's Classics | Tagged 10 and up, 19th Century, American, character-driven, children's classic, coming-of-age, education, farming, good out loud, historical, Little House Book, North Dakota, pioneering America, prairies, school, semi-autobiographical, young adult | Leave a comment

The Door in the Air and Other Stories by Margaret Mahy

Posted on December 24, 2016 by jenny

The Door in the Air and Other Stories is my favourite book by Margaret Mahy, a fantastic (in both senses) kiwi children’s author. I have two favourite stories from this book. The first is The Work of Art, which makes … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 years and up, 20th Century Children's, Children's, Fantasy, New Zealander, Short Stories | Tagged 10 and up, 20th Century, adventure, art critics, fantasy, fiction, humour, illustrated, Kiwi, satire, short stories, whimsical | Leave a comment

Goodnight, Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian

Posted on September 6, 2016 by jenny

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 | Leave a comment

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Posted on March 21, 2015 by jenny

Wonder by R.J. Palacio is the story of ten-year-old August who likes Star Wars and Halloween and who just wants to be ordinary as he starts attending a regular school for the first time. But August isn’t ordinary and an … Continue reading →

Posted in 10 years and up, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Contemporary Children's, Family Drama, Novel, Young Adult | Tagged 10 and up, 21st Century, American, coming-of-age, disability, facial deformity, fiction, good out loud, high school, humour, overcoming adversity, siblings, the movie lives up to it, young adult | Leave a comment