For me the one thing that I buy first for Christmas EVERY year is books. I get a big online shop in, hide them when they arrive and smugly think I’ve done my shopping so don’t do anything for the next 3 weeks. This happens EVERY year. So I am always looking for new books for my kids so was THRILLED when Allison Tait wanted to send me a copy of her brand spanking new book for the girls AND write me a list of books for them!
Allison Tait (A.L. Tait) is the bestselling author of (The Mapmaker Chronicles) series and the new series, The Ateban Cipher, both of which are perfect for kids aged 9+.
Her latest book, THE BOOK OF SECRETS (Ateban Cipher #1) is a rollicking adventure story about a boy who flees his monastery home with a coded book and runs into danger, intrigue – and unexpected friendship with four feisty girls. You can read more about Allison’s books here.
So over to Al…thank you for this amazing & comprehensive list that will have us all adding to cart and getting our shopping started (well mine at least)….
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I read a lot of books. I also talk a lot about books. Oh, and I write books, too. In fact, the job description for an author should simply read: “live books”.
So when it comes to book recommendations for birthdays, Christmas, graduation, or any other occasion you can think of, I’m your go-to girl.
How could I resist, then, when Beth asked me for some great Christmas book suggestions for Daisy (11) and Harper (8)?
Well, clearly I could not, because here they are!
With this list, I’ve stuck pretty closely to books with girl protagonists (main characters) – or cats, foxes or wonderlings… But it’s worth remembering that some of the BEST strong female characters can be found in books ‘for boys’.
Think of Hermione Granger in Harry Potter.
My two adventure series – The Mapmaker Chronicles and The Ateban Cipher – are ostensibly about boys on quests. But if you were to ask Ash from The Mapmaker Chronicles, or Merry, Gwyn, Scarlett and Midge from The Ateban Cipher, they’d be VERY quick to tell you that those boys would be NOTHING without them…
And they’d be right.
Books for Daisy (age 11)
Pax by Sara Pennypacker
The Wonderling by Mira Bartók
Nevermoor: The Trials Of Morrigan Crowe by Jessica Townsend
Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
The Other Side Of Summer by Emily Gale
The Secrets We Keep by Nova Weetman
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
Women In Science: 50 fearless pioneers who changed the world by Rachel Ignotofsky
A Most Magical Girl by Karen Foxlee
A Waltz for Matilda (book 1 The Matilda Saga) by Jackie French
Withering-By-Sea by Judith Rossell
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
The Turnkey by Allison Rushby
Sally’s Story (My Place for Younger Readers) by Sally Morgan
How to Bee by Bren Macdibble
A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay
Books for Harper (age 8)
Friday Barnes (series) by R.A. Spratt
Alice-Miranda (series) by Jacqueline Harvey
Warrior (series) by Erin Hunter
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo
Violet Mackerel (series) by Anna Branford
Flora and Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
Juliet Nearly A Vet (series)
Harriet Clare (series) by Louise Park
Ramona The Pest by Beverly Cleary
Ivy and Bean (series) by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
Pippa’s Island (series) by Belinda Murrell
Sisters (graphic novel) by Raina Telgemeier
Verity Sparks (series) by Susan Green
And if you’d like more book recommendations, join Your Kid’s Next Read, the Facebook group Allison runs with Megan Daley of Children’s Books Daily.
What’s on your book recommendation list for kids?
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Love the look of the A L Tait books! They’ll be going on the Christmas list for sure!! Does Al have any suggestions for boys same age??
Mikey would love the Map Maker Chronicles for sure. Check out my friend Megan’s blog (Children’s Book Daily) and then do a search for boys and ages and there will be HEAPS.
I’m on to it! Xx
Hi Nicole, thanks so much for the comment and really hope your kids like my books! For other suggestions for tween boys, there’s this list, which is in specific response to a query for a boy who is not that keen on fantasy, so it gives a different perspective as well: https://allisontait.com/2017/07/24-books-for-tween-boys-with-nothing-to-read/
A
thanks beth!
I shall give this list to my niece, who is the same age as you and her daughter is the same as harper! … and she loves reading too!
lovely!
much love m:)X
Great – hope they like them!
Aah books, my favourite subject. My daughter is now 17 but I highly recommend the author Lauren Child of “Charlie & Lola” fame. Her Clarice Bean series has a female protagonist and is so entertaining. I stumbled on it when I was searching for just the right books to try to get her interested in reading at about 10+ years (from memory). I discovered these books and we never looked back. Lauren Child has also written the Ruby Redfort series which my daughter moved onto after Clarice Bean. Ruby is an “undercover agent, code-cracker and thirteen year old genius”. She LOVED this series which you can buy in delicious hardcover versions. She just read the series finale (at 17 years) so you know it is a stayer! Ruby Redfort is actually the literary heroine of Clarice Bean and spawned her own series of books. A book within a book per say.
Thanks for these tips – agree that Ruby is a great series. daisy has that one.