Book picks similar to
The Bettanys of Taverton High by Helen Barber
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Wishing for Tomorrow: The Sequel to A Little Princess
Hilary McKay - 2009
But Sara is much missed - and most acutely by best friend Ermengarde, who laments that 'nothing is the same as it was before'. But life must go on at Miss Minchin's as new friendships are made, rivalries continued, lessons learned and, most importantly, fairytale endings are had.
The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43
Harriet Goodwin - 2009
If it had come down on any other patch of ground Finn would simply have been another statistic. Death by dangerous driving. But the car hit the surface of the Earth at Exit 43. It slid through the membrane like a hot knife through butter, plunging into the darkness and catapulting Finn from its shattered windscreen as it fell. Finn Oliver knows he'll never come to terms with his father's death, but joy-riding over the moors in his mum's beat-up old car is a quick fix of freedom and forgetting. Until the accident happens - and Finn finds himself hurtling through the wafer-thin divide between the worlds of the living and the dead. Adventurous, charming and poignant by turns, "The Boy Who Fell Down Exit 43" is a quirky debut novel laced with humour and a dollop of magic.
Treasure Island
Robert Louis Stevenson - 1883
From the moment young Jim Hawkins first encounters the sinister Blind Pew at the Admiral Benbow Inn until the climactic battle for treasure on a tropic isle, the novel creates scenes and characters that have fired the imaginations of generations of readers. Written by a superb prose stylist, a master of both action and atmosphere, the story centers upon the conflict between good and evil - but in this case a particularly engaging form of evil. It is the villainy of that most ambiguous rogue Long John Silver that sets the tempo of this tale of treachery, greed, and daring. Designed to forever kindle a dream of high romance and distant horizons, Treasure Island is, in the words of G. K. Chesterton, 'the realization of an ideal, that which is promised in its provocative and beckoning map; a vision not only of white skeletons but also green palm trees and sapphire seas.' G. S. Fraser terms it 'an utterly original book' and goes on to write: 'There will always be a place for stories like Treasure Island that can keep boys and old men happy.'
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Joan Aiken - 1962
Left in the care of the cruel Miss Slighcarp, the girls can hardly believe what is happening to their once happy home. The servants are dismissed, the furniture is sold, and Bonnie and Sylvia are sent to a prison-like orphan school. It seems as if the endless hours of drudgery will never cease.With the help of Simon the gooseboy and his flock, they escape. But how will they ever get Willoughby Chase free from the clutches of the evil Miss Slighcarp?
The Glass Bird Girl
Esme Kerr - 2014
But what Edie uncovers instead is a dangerous mystery that only the girls themselves can solve.
Best Friends
Mary Bard - 1955
Someone to vent to, giggle with, and someone to help her face Millicent and the Select Seven at school every day. Those girls are boy crazy, talk in codes, and call Suzie “teacher’s pet.” It’s not easy being a teacher’s kid! And it’s not easy being eleven, going on twelve, without a best friend. Then Co Co Langdon moves in next door. Suzie has never met anyone like Co Co. First, she’s from France and has traveled all over the world. And second, she’s never been to school, having been tutored by the ultra-strict Mademoiselle. But now that Co Co is in America, she will go to school for the very first time. And Suzie will finally have a best friend by her side! First published in 1955, Best Friends follows two girls through one unforgettable school year as they take on mean girls, a cranky neighbor, boys, and a missing beloved neighborhood dog—but most of all, as they find out what it truly means to be best friends.
The Master of the Fallen Chairs
Henry Porter - 2008
Skirl has a house within a house and it teems with terrifying creatures.This is the domain of the ageless Alba Hockmuth, who glides with demonic ease between the dead and the living, the past and the present, and is hellbent on Kim's demise.But help arrives in the most unusual form of Iggy Ma-tuu Clava. In a race against time, he and Kim must discover the secrets of the curse which lies in a painting by the Master of the Fallen Chairs.This is to say nothing - well, as little as possible - about the Great Auk, the last and undoubtedly the most indignant of her species, who somehow manages to remain alive and flipping in the strange conditions of the House at Skirl.
Meet the Malones
Lenora Mattingly Weber - 1943
Mary Fred spends the fifteen dollars that is intended for a new formal to buy her beloved Mr. Chips, a lame horse. Elizabeth's husband, Don, is sent overseas, and a weak and wan Elizabeth arrives at the Malones' with her two-week-old son, Martie. When Mr. Malone is called away on business for the Call, the children's step-grandmother, Nonna, arrives to "run" the household and shower them with gifts. It is quickly evident that Nonna has earned her title as "the iron hand in the velvet glove." When Nonna provides Mary Fred expensive new clothes and relieves her of her household responsibilities, will Mary Fred be able to manage her confused priorities?
Viking Quest Series
Lois Walfrid Johnson - 2006
After the young Viking prince Mikkel sets Devin free on the Irish coast far from home, Bree and Devin embark on separate journeys to courage. Readers will be captivated by the unfolding drama as Bree sails to Norway on the Viking ship and Devin travels the dangerous road home. They both must trust their all-powerful God in the midst of difficult situations. In "Mystery of the Silver Coins," Bree finds herself in a physical and spiritual battle for survival. With another young slave, she makes a daring escape from the ship as soon as it reaches harbor. They hide in the woods as Mikkel and his Viking sailors begin a relentless search, certain that Bree is responsible for a missing bag of silver coins. Bree must face her unwillingless to forgive the Vikings, and Mikkel begins to wonder: Is the God of these Irish Christians really more powerful than our own Viking gods' In "The Invisible Friend," Bree arrives in Norway and is sent to work as a slave for the family of Mikkel, her Viking captor. She struggles to adjust, feeling worthless and disrespected, and wondering why God wants her in Norway. Her prayers are answered when she is given the opportunity to teach Mikkel's grandparents to read using an illuminated Bible stolen from an Irish monastery. In the "Heart of Courage," Bree learns that her brother, Devin, her sister, Keely, and her friend, Lil, will set out for Ireland. She longs to go with them. Instead, Mikkel asks her to be a cook for voyage to Greenland. Somehow her excellent food becomes inedible and the Vikings think she's trying to sabotage their voyage. Join Bree and Devin for more adventures in this fourth installment of the "Viking Quest" series.In "The Raider's Promise," Bree, Devin, and Mikkel enter a new world with the explorer Leif Erikson. Their first task: build a shelter to survive the winter. But danger lurks from within the shadows on the horizon of a life where everyone needs the courage to win. Can Mikkel conquer his enemies and find new purpose for his life' Will he keep his promise to Bree and Devin to take them home to Ireland' Will he keep his pledge of honor, even if it means death'
Birrung the Secret Friend
Jackie French - 2015
What is his secret about Birrung, the Indigenous girl who was adopted by the colony's first clergyman, Richard Johnson?First book of the Secret History series.
Carrie's War
Nina Bawden - 1973
Carrie and Nick are billeted in Wales with old Mr Evans, who is so mean and cold, and his timid mouse of a sister, Lou, who suddenly starts having secrets. Their friend Albert is luckier, living in Druid's Bottom with warm-hearted Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny, who can talk to animals but not to human beings. Carrie and Nick visit him there whenever they can for Hepzibah makes life exciting and enticing with her stories and delicious cooking. Gradually they begin to feel more at ease in their war-time home, but then, in trying to heal the rift between Mr Evans and his estranged sister, and save Druid's Bottom, Carrie does a terrible thing which is to haunt her for years to come. Carrie revisits Wales as an adult and tells the story to her own children.
Flambards
K.M. Peyton - 1967
Christina discovers a passion for horses and riding but finds herself part of a strange household, divided by emotional undercurrents and cruelty.
The Dancing Bear
Michael Morpurgo - 1994
High in the mountains, in a tiny village, an abandoned bear cub is adopted by a lonely orphan child. Soon they are inseparable, beloved by the whole village – safe, until the arrival of a glamorous film crew who need a dancing bear…