World War II

Here are some snuggly reads for those cold yukky winter days ahead. These have all been suggested by librarians, so ask at your local library if you’re after more reading ideas.

The dark is rising by Susan Cooper

Book 2 in her Dark is rising series. On his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers he is the last of the Old Ones, dedicated to fighting the forces of evil. Will searches for the six magical signs that will be needed for the battle between the Dark and the Light.

Help! I’m a prisoner in the library! By Eth Clifford ; illustrated by George Hughes.

Two sisters -Mary Rose and Jo-Beth, spend an adventurous night trapped inside the public library during a terrible blizzard. First their car runs out of gas in an unfamiliar city and their father goes in search of a gas station. Then Jo-Beth makes Mary Rose go with her to find a bathroom and they stumble across a curious old library. And then, worst of all, they get locked in! But their troubles are just beginning. Is Jo-Beth right about the library being haunted by banshees? Or is there a logical explanation, as Mary Rose claims?

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

They begin an impossible journey across the frozen prairie in search of provisions, before it’s too late. Based on the real adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, THE LONG WINTER is the seventh book in the award-winning Little House series.

The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy took their first steps into the world behind the magic wardrobe, little do they realise what adventures are about to unfold. And as the story of Narnia begins to unfold, so to does a classic tale that has enchanted readers of all ages for over half a century.

The storm maker : a hair-raising adventure for all weathers by Alex Williams ; illustrated by David Roberts

Madeline and Rufus Breeze come from a long line of fantabulous fanmakers – they’ve been keeping people cool in style for centuries. And their eccentric inventor father has stubbornly continued the tradition . . . even though their village has been covered in snow for several years. Now the Breeze family is so in debt, local tyrant Bartholomew Tullock is threatening to take their home. Then a smooth-tongued stranger and his blue-haired dog arrive in town with a solution to the Breezes’ problem. Soon determined Madeline and her father are off on a death-defying journey to sell their breathtaking and breeze-making fans to the residents of the one nearby city that is (strangely) still hot. If only they didn’t have to face a mini-cyclone, stolen fans, enemy spies, eclectic elements and desert dunes hotter than an oven to get there . . . And in their absence it’s up to Rufus to keep his mother and their house safe from greedy Tullock and his nightmarish skeletal sidekick, Scratskin.

The Divide Trilogyby Elizabeth Kay.

The Divide, Back to the Divide, and Jinx on the Divide

The Divide is a magical place on a mountain ridge that separates two river systems – the watershed.

Felix visits Costa Rica with his parents. This will probably be their last holiday together as Felix is very sick and does not have long to live. He straddles The Divide, passes out, and wakes up to find himself in another dimension. In this place fabulous creatures are real, and Felix is the mythical being. He is befriended by Betony, a spirited tangle-child, and together they set out to find a cure for his illness, and the way back home.

The Puffin Treasury of Classics

A collection of excepts from some of the best-loved children’s stories ever written, together with many famous poems.

The Eleventh Hour by Graham Base

When Horace the elephant turns eleven, he celebrates in style by inviting his exotic friends to a splendid costume party. But a mystery is afoot, for in the midst of the games, music, and revelry, someone has eaten the birthday feast! Rhyming text and detailed illustrations provide clues to help readers find out who committed the crime. A puzzle/game book you’ll want to keep reading for hours!

Finn’s Quest: The Queenseekers by Eirlys Hunter

Finn gets absorbed in a computer game with amazing graphics, so absorbed that he finds himself actually in the game world, a world of magic, evil, war, and danger, where Finn embarks on a dangerous journey with a girl he meets, Gala. Eirlys Hunter is  a New Zealand Author who lives locally in Wellington City.

The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier

The night the Nazis come to take their mother away, three children escape in a terrifying scramble across the rooftops. Alone in the chaos of Warsaw, they have to learn to survive on their own. Then they meet Jan, a ragged boy with a paperknife, the silver sword that they recognize as belonging to their long lost father. The sword becomes their symbol of hope as, with Jan, they begin the hazardous journey across war-torn Europe to find their parents. Based on a true story

Inkheart Trilogy by Cornelia Funke (for older children)

Inkheart:  Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can “read” fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

Inkspell: Although a year has passed, not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of INKHEART, the book whose characters became real. But for Dustfinger, the fire-eater brought into being from words, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller with the ability to read him back, Dustfinger leaves behind his young apprentice Farid and plunges into the medieval world of his past. Distraught, Farid goes in search of Meggie, and before long, both are caught inside the book, too. But the story is threatening to evolve in ways neither of them could ever have imagined

Inkdeath: The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid’s, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy-tale land is in bloody chaos, its characters far beyond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost – lost between the covers of a book. Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of changing the cursed story – if only he can fill its pages fast enough.

Castle of adventure Enid Blyton

What is the secret of the old castle on the hill, and why are the locals so afraid of it? When flashing lights are seen in a distant tower, Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann, and Jack decide to investigate—and discover a very sinister plot concealed within its hidden rooms and gloomy underground passages.

Sea of adventure by Enid Blyton

When Bill takes Philip, Dinah, Lucy-Ann and Jack on a mysterious trip to the desolate northern isles, everything looks set for an exciting time. But then Bill is kidnapped and the children, marooned far from the mainland, find themselves playing a dangerous game of hide-and-seek with an unknown enemy

Circus of Adventure Enid Blyton

What on earth did Bill have to bring the wimpish Gustavus with them on holiday? Neither Jack nor Kiki the parrot like the boy at all. But when Gustavus is kidnapped, along with Philip, Dinah, and Lucy-Ann, Jack must bravely follow them to a faraway country and unravel a plot to kill the king.