“The more you read, the more things you’ll know.
The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go”– Dr. Seuss
I love this saying and the message it conveys hence have this quote up in my sons’ room right above where they keep their not-so-organised stack of books. When you instill in a child, the love of reading, you are giving them the best gift that will come in handy everytime the social stimulus is a bit too much for them to handle, everytime they need to relax, every time they are in situation which makes them homebound and also when they want to have a relationship with someone without being judged – Books indeed offer that companionship.
Let your kids’ imagination run wild, let them explore the magical world of Hogwarts, whisk them away to Middle Earth, take them to Wonderland down the rabbit hole, to the icy snow covered lands of Narnia, or let them see & feel the emotions & resilience of a young girl in hiding for 2 years during WWII.
Growing up in the 80s & 90s, we didn’t have as much screens/video games like the kids of today. With playing outside, the other thing that occupied most of my time was reading. And boy am happy that I did. When I moved to London, to see so many places & monuments I had read about in books, in reality was surreal, as if I already knew this place. The same with many places I travelled later on & still want to travel to, one of them being Bergen in Oslo & Alice Springs in Australia- I recently read a series which transported me to these places for a few days, made me smell, hear, see them virtually & instilled in me a longing to see them in real. One day I will InshAllah.
The point is if you hear your kids saying they are bored during a school break and you can’t take them out, it doesn’t mean you make a dash for the TV/Video games/Ipads. Make them read a book instead of watching a movie on the same. Let them imagine a world themselves rather than someone imagining it for them. Let them learn new words, new ways of thinking, a newer & slower pace of life without rushing to after school activities, birthday parties, constant pick ups/drop offs – just like back in our days.
Following is a list of books to read before you leave primary school (aimed at kids aged between 8 to 11) as recommended by my son’s school. A few of the popular classics are available as free downloads on Amazon’s Kindle Store and if you prefer paper books then your local library is another great budget freindly option. Or you can start a book club with other school mums or freinds so you don’t have to spend a fortune on this hobby.
1 Matilda, by Roald Dahl
2 Kenzuke’s Kingdom, by Michael Morpurgo
3 The Crossover, by Kwame Alexander
4 Phoenix, by S F Said
5 Charlotte’s Web, by E B White
6 Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
7 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, by CS Lewis
8 Stig of the Dump, by Clive King
9 Artemis Fowl, by Eoin Colfer
10 Diary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff Kinney
11 Five Children and It, by E Nesbit
12 Beetle Boy, by M G Leonard
13 Clockwork, by Phillip Pullman
14 The Secret Garden, By Frances Hodgson Burnett
15 Wonder, by R J Palacio
16 The Borrowers, by Mary Norton
17 The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore,by William Joyce
18 Skellig, by David Almond
19 A Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snickett
20 The Girl of Ink and Stars, by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
21 Holes, by Louis Sachar
22 Demon Dentist, by David Walliams
23 Goodnight Mr Tom, by Michelle Magorian
24 Inside Out and Back Again, by Thanhha Lai
25 The Suitcase Kid, by Jacqueline Wilson
26 The Boy in the Stripes Pyjamas, by John Boyne
27 Firegirl, by Tony Abbott
28 The Many Worlds of Albie Bright, by Christopher Edge
29 Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, by Rick Riordan
30 Coraline, by Neil Gaiman
31 Journey to the River Sea, by Eva Ibbotson
32 Five on a Treasure Island, by Enid Blyton
33 Time Travelling with a Hamster, by Ross Welford
34 Room 13, by Robert Swindells
35 A Monster Calls, by Patrick Ness
36 Millions, by Frank Cottrell Boyce
37 Street Child, by Berlie Doherty
38 Cogheart, by Peter Bunzl
39 Cloud Busting, by Malorie Blackman
40 Trash, by Andy Mulligan
41 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, by J K Rowling
42 The Imaginary, by A F Harrold
43 Once, by Morris Gleitzmann
44 Groosham Grange, by Anthony Horowitz
45 The Indian in the Cupboard, by Lynne Reid Banks
46 The Nowhere Emporium, by Ross Mackenzie
47 Oranges in No Man’s Land, by Elizabeth Laird
48 Roof Toppers, by Katherine Rundell
49 George’s Secret to the Universe, by Lucy Hawking
50 Shadow Forest, by Matt Haig
51 The Diamond of Drury Lane, by Julia Golding
52 The London Eye Mystery, by Siobhan Dowd
53 The Silly Book of Side-splitting Stuff, by Andy Seed
54 Dream Snatcher, by Abi Elphinstone
55 Animal Farm, by George Orwell
56 Flour Babies, by Anne Fine
57 The Worst Children’s Jobs in History, by Sir Tony Robinson
58 The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents,by Terry Pratchett
59 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, by Joan Aiken
60 The Queen’s Nose, by Dick King-Smith
61 Who Let the Gods Out? By Maz Evans
62 The Hobbit, by J R R Tolkien
63 Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell
64 The Demon Headmaster, by Gillian Cross
65 Lion Boy, by Zizou Corder
66 The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
67 The Wind Swinger, by William Nicholson
68 When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, by Judith Kerr
69 How to Train Your Dragon, by Cressida Cowell
70 A Library of Lemons, by Jo Cotterill
71 Bubble Boy, by Stewart Foster
72 Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
73 The Boy Who Sailed the Ocean in an Armchair, by Lara Williamson
74 Pax, by Sara Pennypacker
75 My Brother is a Superhero, by David Solomans
76 The Brilliant World of Tom Gates, by Liz Pichon
77 Black Powder, by Ally Sherrick
78 Sweet Pizza, by G R Gemin
79 Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome
80 Strange Star, by Emma Carroll
81 A Long Walk to Water, by Linda Sue Park
82 Sad Book, by Michael Rosen
83 The Arrival, by Shaun Tan
84 Ballet Shoes, by Noel Streatfeild
85 Watership Down, by Richard Adams
86 Swimming to the Moon, by Jane Elson
87 Carrie’s War, by Nina Bawden
88 Peter Pan, by J M Barrie
89 The Diary of Anne Frank, by Anne Frank
90 Winter Magic, by various authors
91 What to do when you worry too much, by Dawn Huebner
92 The Secret of Nightingale Wood, by Lucy Strange
93 The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
94 There May Be a Castle, by Piers Torday
95 Skulduggery Pleasant, by Derek Landy
96 Howl’s Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
97 101 Poems for Children, by Carol Ann Duffy
98 The Goldfish Boy, by Lisa Thompson
99 The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, by Kate DiCamillo
100 The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L Frank, Baum
On that note (rather list), ta da! Happy Reading Everyone.
