Recent Reading

Adventure stories, old books, Antarctica, Tudors

(This post was originally going to be called ‘Books we loved in June’, but owing to how long it’s taken me to write it, it now needs a less temporally-specific title!)

Why do good books go out of print?

One of our local schools has been giving away old books. I get it, kind of. They need to make space for new books, and old, tired books don’t always entice children to pick them off the shelves. But still, these books are great! One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We have been enjoying picking over the school’s unloved books, and found some gems we wouldn’t have come across in book shops, because they’re out of print. (So not everything is linked in this post. Presumably you already know about Bookfinder and eBay for getting hold of secondhand/out of print books.)

Hiding Out, Elizabeth Laird

My daughter (8) raced through this. A boy somehow gets left behind in France on a family holiday and has to fend for himself. My daughter loves an adventure story where children survive without adults, and this ticked all the boxes. One of the few Elizabeth Laird books not currently in print. Originally published in 1993, when it won the Smarties Young Judges Award.

Other adventure books she’s enjoyed this year:

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (Boy survives in the North American woods after his plane goes down killing the pilot, who was the only other passenger. Potentially a bit too scary for some 8 year olds)

The Explorer by Katherine Rundell (Another plane crash adventure, this time four children in the Amazon.)

My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. (Published in 1959, Sam Gribley has had enough to living in a too-small NYC apartment and heads off to the Castkills, making friends with animals and fending for himself.)

For real-life survival stories, check out Survivors by David Long.

And if you have adventure stories along these lines that you think my daughter should know about, please share in the Comments!

The Farthest-Away Mountain, Lynne Reid Banks

A short fantasy novel published in 1976 about a girl climbing a mountain, with talking gargoyles, a giant ogre, a sort-of dragon, a toad who lives in a magical pond, etc. I read this one aloud and my daughter and I both loved it. She’s now reading The Indian in the Cupboard trilogy by the same author.

Here Come the Twins, Beverly Cleary

Readers who’ve been here a while will know of my children’s love for Beverly Cleary. Another book given away for nothing, Here Come the Twins is a nice easy read about 4-year old twins Janet and Jimmy. Big text, lots of pictures, my daughter read it in about half an hour and then went straight back to the beginning.

The Scarecrow and his Servant, Philip Pullman

Not sure how strongly I can recommend this one. My daughter read it fast, but says it is only medium good. She’d give it 2.5 stars out of 5, but says it’s not terrible. Amazon has much more favourable reviews, so don’t take our word for it!

And some non-fiction

I’ve been slowly reading aloud from Scientists in the Wild: Antarctica. The book takes you on a scientific mission to Antarctica, explaining the real experiments that different sorts of scientists carry out, what they learn, and what can sometimes go wrong. Lots of good info on Antarctic wildlife. I’m desperate for the Galapagos version too. (And also want them to write one based on the International Space Station.)

In history we are currently on the Tudors. The Usborne books on Henry VIII and Elizabeth I had the children gripped (Elizabeth I is also out of print! Why?!). They’re pretty long and detailed, but the children were asking me to read chapter after chapter. Recommended.

Substack crops images in galleries and doesn’t give you any control over what they crop. But I think you can probably tell who these two are.

If you’re wondering why this post is all about my daughter, it’s because my son (6) is still gripped by endless rereadings of the Polar Bear Explorers’ Club series. Obviously I’m delighted he’s enjoying them so much, but it would also be nice if maybe one day he read something else.

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