Recommended English Books
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CMF:
Hi CMF,Hi TAS
My son is in P1 and is an avid reader of all types of books. Lately he is into reading about Greek myths, legends & mythology. Other than the books published by Usborne in these genre, are there other such books you can recommend which are age appropriate for him? Thanks.
For non-fiction books based on Greek mythology, I think
books by Usborne would be the best for your son's
age group.
There is one other book in this genre (non-fiction, greek
mythology) that we would recommend as well:
1) Oh My Gods!: A Look-it-Up Guide to the Gods of Mythology (Mythlopedia) by Megan E. Bryant
This book is a tongue in cheek look at the different gods
in the greek mythology. It is greek mythology meet the modern age.
For example, they show you what Apollo's blog would look like
and what another god's online profile would say about him.
Quite an interesting read especially if your son is into greek
gods.
For fiction books, there are a few books (fiction) that are
written around the central figures of Greek mythology.
These are some of them:
1) Percy Jackson series
One of the most famous books based on Greek mythology.
However, this series is more suitable for older kids (9-12)
2) Nobody's princess by Esther Friesner
This book is about Helen of Troy and it centres around her life
when she was young. The author writes about Helen from a
modern day perspective. Helen wants more out of life than just
being a princess and sitting around doing embroidery. She wants
to do combat training with her brothers and to live free
of the restraints of society on women. She goes on an
adventure where she discovers more of herself and how to
lead her country one day.
3) Iris, Messenger by Sarah Deming
Iris is a dreamer, she dreams to escape from her real life
problems. Her mother researches soybeans for an uncaring
employer and her crazy father lives far away and pays almost
no attention to her. Her classmates make fun of her and teachers
don't understand why she doesn't pay attention.
And then, for her 12th birthday, Iris receives an incredible gift:
Bulfinch's Mythology. It is based on Greek Mythology but then as
she reads the book,she is puzzled when mysterious messages
start popping up in the book's pages and then she discovers that
the gods are all living nearby at the New Jersey shore and in
the Philadelphia area. They desperately need her help. Poseidon
(who runs a seaside oyster shack), Apollo (owner of a cool jazz
club), and Aphrodite (stylist) all need her to help them solve
certain very pressing problems. It is an exciting and heartfelt story.
However, all these books are more suited for children who are
at least 9. You can let your son try reading the first few pages of
the books and see if he likes it. If he does, he may be able to read
these books.
Most of the books are not available in Singapore except for
Percy Jackson. We also do carry the Percy Jackson series.
TAS -
Leanne:
Hi Leanne,Hello TAS,
Could you please recommend my primary five son who loves to read but run out of title.His favourite story book is the one that u recommended to him, GONE by michael grant.Do u have any more books that is of similar kind to recommend?thanks.
Cheers
Leanne
We will come back soon to you about that. We agree that Gone is very
interesting and the plot different.
Has he read 'Bang, Bang, you're dead' by Narinder Dhami,
The Resistance by Gemma Malley, The Switch by Anthony Horowitz?
These were the reviews we gave about these books before:
1) Switch by Anthony Horowitz
2 boys who live very different lives - one poor and another rich but
lonely - wish one day that they could live different lives. They wake
up the next day and realise that they are no longer in their own
bodies. They have switched bodies with one another. They do
not know that at that point, just that the poor boy is now living
as the rich and the rich one as the poor.
Later, the rich boy discovers some secrets about his family
by living out his life as the poor boy. A very interesting
read with great vocabulary as well.
Extract:
There was a full moon that night. As Finn and Tad crossed the
empty square, their shadows raced ahead of them as if
searching for somewhere to hide (great example of personification).
It was a few minutes after midnight. Tad had heard the church bells
toll the hour. They had seemed far away, almost in another world.
Here, everything was pale and grey, the buildings like paper cutouts
against the black night sky.
4) Bang, bang, you're dead! by Narinder Dhami
It seems like just another school day for Mia when everything
goes wrong. The school is being evacuated. There is a rumour
that there is a gunman in the school. Mia has a horrible feeling
that it is her twin brother. He had recently been saying that he
was going to do something to be noticed, to do something to
make people notice the plight both siblings were in.
The story is a page-turner and there is a twist in the ending
that is quite unexpected. This is really a good read.
Extract:
I climb to my feet with an effort, like a shaky old woman. I take
one step towards the door and then freeze, immobile, as I hear
footsteps running down the corridor outside. They echo loudly
in the empty building.
A teacher checking that everyone has left?
The gunman?
Jamie?
3) The Declaration & The Resistence by Gemma Malley
These 2 books talk about a time in the future where everyone
wants to continue to look young. So people go for surgery and
take pills to ensure their looks do not fade. Then one day, some
scientists discover some technology that helps people to retain their
looks and it works so well that they actually start to live on forever
and remain looking the age that they did when they first started
taking the 'pills'.
However, this means that the world's resources start to deplete
fast as there are babies being born and yet hardly anyone dying.
Hence, the world turns against the young. And people do not
give birth anymore and those who have children have to send
their children to a place where the children are brainwashed into
thinking that they should be servants to the adults. These 2 books
focus on 2 children's fight against such a system and how they
discover that there is an underground network of adults who want
to help these children. Among the adults are one of the children's
parents. A very interesting read!
Where to get these books: We do carry them in or you could look
for these books in the libraries.
TAS -
Hi TAS,
Thanks, he has finished reading all that you have just quoted.
Should you have any more interesting books, do keep me posted.
Cheers
LeanneThe Alternative Story:
Hi Leanne,Leanne:
Hello TAS,
Could you please recommend my primary five son who loves to read but run out of title.His favourite story book is the one that u recommended to him, GONE by michael grant.Do u have any more books that is of similar kind to recommend?thanks.
Cheers
Leanne
We will come back soon to you about that. We agree that Gone is very
interesting and the plot different.
Has he read 'Bang, Bang, you're dead' by Narinder Dhami,
The Resistance by Gemma Malley, The Switch by Anthony Horowitz?
These were the reviews we gave about these books before:
1) Switch by Anthony Horowitz
2 boys who live very different lives - one poor and another rich but
lonely - wish one day that they could live different lives. They wake
up the next day and realise that they are no longer in their own
bodies. They have switched bodies with one another. They do
not know that at that point, just that the poor boy is now living
as the rich and the rich one as the poor.
Later, the rich boy discovers some secrets about his family
by living out his life as the poor boy. A very interesting
read with great vocabulary as well.
Extract:
There was a full moon that night. As Finn and Tad crossed the
empty square, their shadows raced ahead of them as if
searching for somewhere to hide (great example of personification).
It was a few minutes after midnight. Tad had heard the church bells
toll the hour. They had seemed far away, almost in another world.
Here, everything was pale and grey, the buildings like paper cutouts
against the black night sky.
4) Bang, bang, you're dead! by Narinder Dhami
It seems like just another school day for Mia when everything
goes wrong. The school is being evacuated. There is a rumour
that there is a gunman in the school. Mia has a horrible feeling
that it is her twin brother. He had recently been saying that he
was going to do something to be noticed, to do something to
make people notice the plight both siblings were in.
The story is a page-turner and there is a twist in the ending
that is quite unexpected. This is really a good read.
Extract:
I climb to my feet with an effort, like a shaky old woman. I take
one step towards the door and then freeze, immobile, as I hear
footsteps running down the corridor outside. They echo loudly
in the empty building.
A teacher checking that everyone has left?
The gunman?
Jamie?
3) The Declaration & The Resistence by Gemma Malley
These 2 books talk about a time in the future where everyone
wants to continue to look young. So people go for surgery and
take pills to ensure their looks do not fade. Then one day, some
scientists discover some technology that helps people to retain their
looks and it works so well that they actually start to live on forever
and remain looking the age that they did when they first started
taking the 'pills'.
However, this means that the world's resources start to deplete
fast as there are babies being born and yet hardly anyone dying.
Hence, the world turns against the young. And people do not
give birth anymore and those who have children have to send
their children to a place where the children are brainwashed into
thinking that they should be servants to the adults. These 2 books
focus on 2 children's fight against such a system and how they
discover that there is an underground network of adults who want
to help these children. Among the adults are one of the children's
parents. A very interesting read!
Where to get these books: We do carry them in or you could look
for these books in the libraries.
TAS -
Hello TAS,
Any comments on the books by Carl Sommer?
Regards,
gotcha -
Hi Leanne,
Sure, we will update you soon.
TAS -
gotcha:
Hi gotcha,Hello TAS,
Any comments on the books by Carl Sommer?
Regards,
gotcha
Carl Sommer books are really good for character education.
In his stories, he uses animals to talk about issues like obedience
and the importance of following rules.
We have not personally read his books but they seem suitable
for children who are in preschool or P1.
TAS -
Hi TAS,
My son really likes the books you recommended- Charlie Bone series etc. Can you make more of such recommendations (books like Charlie Bone) thank you very much -
Hi Leanne,
These are some recommendations we would like to make
for your son. These books are suitable for 11-12 year olds.
1) Reckless by Cornelia Funke
This is a very interesting read. Jacob, who is 12 years old, has been
trying to find out what has happened to his father. His father has
disappeared some years back. In trying to find his father, Jacob
comes across a mirror that transports him to an alternative reality-
a dark side of the fairytale world. It is a world in which his father
had disappeared into.
12 years pass and Jacob is still in Mirrorworld. Then he realizes that
his younger brother has now come into this world as well to look for
him. Through an injury, Jacob's younger brother is trapped in this
world and is turned into stone. Now, Jacob and his friends must
find a way to turn his brother back into a human and make things
right.
The storyline is interesting and the writing is very descriptive.
Here is an extract from the book:
The night breathed through the apartment like a dark animal.
The ticking of a clock. The groan of a floorboard as he slipped out of
his room. All was drowned by its silence, but Jacob loved the night.
He felt it on his skin like a promise, like a cloak woven from freedom
and danger.
There is fantastic use of personification and similes used in this
short paragraph. The author uses metaphorical language very
well and your child can pick this skill up through reading this book
as well.
2) Auslander by Paul Dowswell
In this book, Piotr (the main character) is orphaned when his
parents are killed and taken into an orphanage. However, one day
an important man from Germany comes and adopts him
because of his looks (he looks German because of his blond hair
and blue eyes). His adoptive father is a Nazi and wants to train
Piotr to also be one. At first, Piotr, desperate to be loved, does
whatever his new family tells him to. Then, one day he meets
a girl who tells him she is working for the underground and is
helping Jews to get away. He makes the decision to help her
and then one day they are found out. What would happen to them
and to the people they are helping?
It is a touching story and the author 'pulls' you into the story
effortlessly.
Where to get these books: We bring in Auslander, you can
get Reckless from most bookstores.
TAS -
jeestan:
Hi jeestan,Hi TAS,
My son really likes the books you recommended- Charlie Bone series etc. Can you make more of such recommendations (books like Charlie Bone) thank you very much
We will get back to you on this soon.
TAS -
Hi Tas,
My son whose in P4 is a very reluctant reader. His english is also quite weak. Any books to recommend ?? He does not like chronicles.
Thanks !
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