Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is another author that I highly recommend to engage children with their reading and their imagination. He has written several picture books and novels which cross different age groups appealing to younger middle aged readers right up to upper primary and even adults. A great example of one of his novels that appealed to children and adults a-like was “The Graveyard Book” which won the Newbery Medal award in 2009. Before I started teaching (a few years ago), this was a book that captured my heart and began a love of children’s literature. Neil Gaiman has recently published a few new books which are listed below along with a few other books that I recommend.
The Sleeper and the Spindle
On the eve of her wedding, a young queen sets out to rescue a princess from an enchantment. She casts aside her fine wedding clothes, takes her chain mail and her sword and follows her brave dwarf retainers into the tunnels under the mountain towards the sleeping kingdom. This queen will decide her own future – and the princess who needs rescuing is not quite what she seems. Twisting together the familiar and the new, this perfectly delicious, captivating and darkly funny tale shows its creators at the peak of their talents.
Hansel and Gretel
The enduring story of the children, the breadcrumb trail and the gingerbread house is brought to life by master storyteller, Neil Gaiman. Who better to retell the Brothers Grimm’s greatest, and perhaps darkest, fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel? Coupled with breathtakingly haunting illustrations from Lorenzo Mattotti, you will be enticed into the world and into the woods … so beware.
Fortunately, the Milk …
You know what it’s like when your mum goes away on a business trip and Dad’s in charge. She leaves a really, really long list of what he’s got to do. And the most important thing is Don’t Forget To Get The Milk. Unfortunately, Dad forgets. So the next morning, before breakfast, he has to go to the corner shop, and this is the story of why it takes him a very, very long time to get back.
Instructions
The reader is invited on a lyrical journey peopled by a cast of mythical characters, with a set of instructions that is both intriguing and reassuring. The advice for travelling through a fairytale landscape might just save you from being eaten by wolves or being lost for ever, but it is also a charming metaphor for living courageously and taking risks.
Coraline
There is something strange about Coraline’s new home. It’s not the mist, or the cat that always seems to be watching her, nor the signs of danger that Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, her new neighbours, read in the tea leaves. It’s the other house – the one behind the old door in the drawing room.
The Graveyard Book
When a baby escapes a murderer intent on killing the entire family, who would have thought it would find safety and security in the local graveyard? Brought up by the resident ghosts, ghouls and spectres, Bod has an eccentric childhood learning about life from the dead. But for Bod there is also the danger of the murderer still looking for him – after all, he is the last remaining member of the family.
Odd and the Frost Giants
Odd’s luck has been bad so far. He lost his father on a Viking expedition, his foot was crushed beneath a tree, and the winter seems to be going on for ever. But when Odd flees to the woods and releases a trapped bear, his luck begins to change. The eagle, bear and fox he encounters reveal they’re actually Norse gods, trapped in animal form by the evil frost giants who have conquered Asgard, the city of the gods.
The Wolves in the Walls
When Lucy hears noises from behind the wall she tries to warn her parents that there are wolves banging about. But her parents don’t listen. When the wolves finally take over the house and Lucy and her family are evicted to live in the garden, her parents realise perhaps they should have listened. But Lucy is no shrinking violet…
Ursula Dubosarsky
Ursula Dubosarsky is the author of many great children’s books and of recent she has published information books under the title of The Word Spy. There are two books in the Word Spy series and I highly recommend them as they are a fun way of learning about the English language and many of its conventions. The books are also cleverly illustrated by Tohby Riddle another great Australian children’s author and illustrator. I highly enjoyed the style of writing in these books as it felt like I wasn’t reading a non-fiction book but rather a story due to the layout, style of writing and included activities. A fun way to learn about grammar also!
The Word Spy
Join the WORD SPY on an entertaining journey through the English language. Learn more about where the alphabet came from, find out what ATM stands for, make up your own palindromes (it’s easy!) and impress your friends by speaking Pig Latin. There are cartoons, riddles and a special code to solve along the way.
Awards: Winner – NSW Premier’s Literary Award, CBCA honour Book and Junior Judges’ Project Winner.
The Word Spy Returns
In The Return of the Word Spy she continues the fascinating journey through language, with chapters on language families, how we learn to speak, grammar and written forms of communication. In an accessible, engaging style, the WORD SPY explains the meaning of nouns, verbs, pronouns, ‘dead’ languages, word origins and other wordy wonders. Packed with cartoons, games, facts and puzzles, The Return of the Word Spy continues the WORD SPY’s fascinating journey through the English language.
Awards: Winner of the CBCA Eve Pownall Award for Information Books 2011
The Word Spy Activity Book
An activity book that has just been released allowing the children to write in it and further learning about languages.
Below is the link to the Word Spy’s blog which is updated regularly and allows you to leave questions or comments for the Word Spy. You can also join the Word Spy Club and get a free membership card, a badge and stickers! Make sure to go on her blog regularly as you learn more, it’s fun and you can leave comments which doesn’t seem to be happening very often. You can also email her about words and where they come from! Don’t be shy!
http://wordsnoop.blogspot.com.au/
Sonya Hartnett
Sonya Hartnett in my opinion is one of the best Australian authors out there for both adults and children. She has won many numerous awards and is exceptional at painting an image of what she is writing due to her rich vocabulary. It has been awhile since she has written a new children’s book but the wait is now over. Her new book is titled: Children of the King and I highly recommend it as an engaging read.
Here is a short description of the book: Three children have been sent to live in the countryside, safe from the war in London. When they find two boys hiding in a castle, the past and future come together to make an extraordinary adventure.
Other Sonya Hartnett Books:
The Silver Donkey: One bright spring morning in the woods of France, a soldier, blinded by the war, is found by a little girl named Coco, and her older sister Marcelle. In return for their kindness, the soldier tells the sisters marvellous tales, each story connected to the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a perfect, tiny silver donkey.
The Midnight Zoo: Under cover of darkness, two brothers cross a war-ravaged countryside carrying a secret bundle. One night they stumble across a deserted town reduced to smouldering ruins. But at the end of a blackened street they find a small green miracle: a zoo filled with animals in need of hope.
Our Australian Girl
Our Australian Girl is a fresh new exciting series by Penguin that is written by some great Australian authors. It is a highly recommended book series that is engaging and aimed at younger girls, with each character in the series focusing on a different era of Australian history and what it was like to be a girl in that setting. It has been praised by many teachers, lecturers and organisations with rumour of a boy series in the works due to its high success.
Check out the Our Australian Girl website for more information: