Christina Hardyment reviews middle-grade novels for The Independent. Six books make her list. They are:
- The Penderwicks, by Jeanne Birdsall ("a slim charmer of a book, and a page-turning read")
- The Book of Everything, by Guus Kuijer, translated by John Nieuwenhuizen ("an unforgettable fable about how closely cowardice and cruelty are linked, and how both can be overcome by brave, united action")
- The Mob, by Clem Martini ("a fine tale of upstart younglings who flout the rules but, when danger threatens, succeed where their more cautious elders fail") Published in the U.S. in 2004
- The Time Apprentice, by Val Tyler ("Tyler offers clever pseudo-science, attractive characterisation and well-sustained suspense") Second in the Greenwich Chronicles series, The Time Apprentice, as the first volume in the series, The Time Wreccas, hasn't been published in the U.S. yet.
- Transform! How everyday things are made, by Bill Slavin. Non-fiction, U.K.
- LionBoy: The Truth, by Zizou Corder ("there is nothing an energetic boy, a circus and the King of Bulgaria can't cope with, and happy endings for all")
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Also in The Independent, Christina Hardyment finds, "children's audiobook listening is becoming ever more compelling, with classy readers, snappy sound effects, appropriate music and unabridged titles."
Isn't that the truth! Take a look at her selections (knights, castles, and lots of adventure).
