Book recommendations
6-8 year olds
1. The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
When Joe, Beth and Frannie move to a new home, an Enchanted Wood is on their doorstep. And when they discover the Faraway Tree, it proves to be the beginning of many magical adventures! Join them and their friends Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy as they discover which new land is at the top of the Faraway Tree.
2. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lingren
Follow Pippi Longstocking on her amazing adventures as she moves into
Villa Villekulla with a horse, a monkey, and a big suitcase of gold
coins, and meets Tommy and Annika who quickly become her best friends.
They join her on her amusing escapades – joining the circus, dancing
with burglars and celebrating her birthday.
3. A Bear Called Paddington by Micheal Bond
Paddington, the brown
bear from darkest Peru, is found by the Brown family on Paddington
Station with his hat, duffel coat and marmalade sandwiches.
Paddington is a decidedly loveable eccentric and his various sticky scrapes will strike chords of recognition with any child. Whilst his intentions are always honourable, his over-literal interpretation of situations means that 'things' inevitably happen, whether at birthday parties or on visits to the theatre or seaside.
With a blend of humour, theatricality and clear prose style, each chapter forms a stand-alone story, perfect for newly confident readers. First published in 1958, this is a truly British classic.
4. Charlotte's Web by E B White
This is the tale of how a little girl named Fern - with the help of a friendly talking spider called Charlotte - saved her pig, Wilbur, from the usual fate of nice fat little pigs.
An unusual and witty story which provides a gentle introduction to questions of mortality, Charlotte's Web is a modern classic.
5. Clean up by Nathan Bryon
Rocket is SO EXCITED because her, her mum and her brother Jamal are going to visit her Grammy and Grampy in the Caribbean. Even more excitingly, Rocket’s grandparents run whale watching tours and have an animal sanctuary at the back of their house.
It’s brilliant finally seeing Grammy and Grampy - Grammy is a pretty impressive surfer, and Rocket and mum love building sandcastles - but when a baby turtle washes up, tangled in plastic, Grampy explains that plastic is ruining the island, and no whales have been sighted here for a long time.
Rocket decides that something must be done, so she enlists everyone on the beach into her Clean Up Crew. Finally, the beach is clean and Rocket knows she’s made a huge difference. Hooray!
The inclusion of simple facts – this time about marine pollution – alongside adorable heroine Rocket’s lovely family and her dedication and courage to do better for her community makes for a meaningful, relatable read. Clean Up also reminds us that there are always things we can do to make the world better, and that environmental issues aren’t separate from our everyday lives: plastic pollution is affecting Grammy and Grampy’s business as well as hurting turtles and ruining the beach for visitors.
Adeola and Bryon’s representation of an authentic, well-drawn black family is welcome in picture books, and especially so in a book about environmental issues, where people of colour have so frequently been in the vanguard of activism.