Book picks similar to
Clarice Bean: Think Like an Elf by Lauren Child


middle-grade
kids-books
beautiful-naked-cover
childhood-faves

St Clare's: The Final Years (St Clare's Collection)


Enid Blyton - 2014
     'Mam'zelle beamed. 'You will like the little Claudine! For she is French. She is my niece!' But Mam'zelle is in for a shock! Out to break every school rule, new girl Claudine is no teacher's pet...'     The twins of St. Clare's and their friends are back in this volume collecting their final three years at the famous school.   There's plenty of action, adventure and drama as a new girl causes havoc, and a first former has a mysterious secret...and who will become head girl?

Harry Potter: A Journey Through A History of Magic


British Library - 2017
    Rowling, magical illustrations from Jim Kay and weird, wonderful and inspiring artefacts that have been magically released from the archives at the British Library. This spellbinding book takes readers on a journey through the Hogwarts curriculum, including Herbology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Divination and more. Discover the truth behind making the Philosopher's Stone, create your very own potion and uncover the secret of invisible ink. Learn all about the history of mandrake roots and dragons, discover what witches really used their brooms for, pore over incredible images of actual mermaids and read about real-life potions, astronomers and alchemists. The perfect gift for aspiring witches and wizards and any Harry Potter fan. Celebrating twenty years of Harry Potter magic, and produced in association with the British Library to support their major exhibition, Harry Potter: A History of Magic.Contents:The magical world of Harry Potter --The journey --Potions and alchemy --Herbology --Charms --Astronomy --Divination --Defence against the dark arts --Care of magical creatures --Past, present, future --The British Library --J. K. Rowling.

Daisy and the Trouble with Burglars


Kes Gray - 2013
    Two houses and the fish and chip shop have been broken into (and lots of cods and haddocks have been stolen). Anyone could be next!Daisy wants to help. Together with Gabby and Dylan, she forms her own detective agency. Armed with a notebook, a magnifying glass, a camera and a box of icing sugar, she sets out on the burglars' trail.Trouble is, detective work is hard when you're not allowed to go further than the end of the road.

Loving Spirit


Linda Chapman - 2010
    Now she must live in England with family who are more like strangers.Life on her uncle's farm seems so lonely - until Ellie meets Spirit. She's never seen the grey horse before, but she has the strangest feeling they've always known each other.Like Ellie, Spirit is alone in the world, and they form an intense bond. And as the weeks go by, Spirit helps Ellie to discover an incredible talent that changes both their lives forever.

Back Home


Michelle Magorian - 1984
    When she returns in 1945, she finds a country and a family she neither understands nor likes, and vice versa.

Short or tall doesn't matter at all: A story about being different and what's important in life (Mindful Mia #1)


Asaf Rozanes - 2018
     Every child goes through struggles to fit in or find their place in a world that is often confusing and sometimes cruel.  In this insightful and inspiring book, children will learn what is really important in life: Kindness Acceptance Learning to be themselves  This lesson is universal and applies to both children and parents alike.

Knights of the Borrowed Dark


Dave Rudden - 2016
    Sure, in storybooks orphans are rescued from drudgery when they discover they are a wizard or a warrior or a prophesied king. But this is real life—orphans are just kids without parents. At least that’s what Denizen thought. . . .             On a particularly dark night, the gates of Crosscaper Orphanage open to a car that almost growls with power. The car and the man in it retrieve Denizen with the promise of introducing him to a long-lost aunt. But on the ride into the city, they are attacked. Denizen soon learns that monsters can grow out of the shadows. And there is an ancient order of knights who keep them at bay. Denizen has a unique connection to these knights, but everything they tell him feels like a half-truth. If Denizen joins the order, is he fulfilling his destiny, or turning his back on everything his family did to keep him alive?

The Greatest Spy Who Never Was


David Codd - 2019
    Schoolboy turned super spy. Both stupidly dangerous and dangerously stupid. Thirteen year old Hugo’s life is turned upside down (or is it downside up?) when his part-time job as a toilet boy in secret organisation, SICK, is unexpectedly upgraded eight levels to that of a spy. His first assignment - to go deep undercover with Agent One and assist him in any way he can. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Very wrong. A robbery at the Bottle Bank. Diamond smuggling at the Pearly Gates Cemetery. The theft of priceless artifact, Coocamba’s Idol. Hugo is there on each and every occasion, but then so, too, is someone else. Wrinkles, the town of Crooked Elbow’s oldest criminal mastermind. She needs to be stopped and fast. No, quicker than that. Double fast. Before it's too late. In a battle of good versus evil, young versus old, ugly versus even uglier, there can only be one winner ... and it better be Hugo otherwise we're all in trouble! A laugh-out-loud, thrill-a-minute adventure story for children aged 9-12.

Queenie


Jacqueline Wilson - 2013
    Elsie Kettle can't wait to go to London with her beloved nan to see the Coronation Day celebrations. Then tragedy strikes. Nan and Elsie both fall ill with tuberculosis and Elsie is whisked away to the children's ward of Miltree Hospital. Confined to bed for months, Elsie misses Nan desperately, and struggles to adapt to the hospital's strict rules. But every night after lights-out she tells magical tales of adventure to the other children on the ward. For the first time, Elsie finds herself surrounded by true friends - including Queenie, the hospital's majestic white cat.Finally Elsie is well enough to leave the hospital. But before she does, she has one very special, very unexpected visitor ...

The Girl of Ink and Stars


Kiran Millwood Hargrave - 2016
    As a cartographer’s daughter, she’s equipped with elaborate ink maps and knowledge of the stars, and is eager to navigate the island’s forgotten heart.But the world beyond the walls is a monster-filled wasteland – and beneath the dry rivers and smoking mountains, a legendary fire demon is stirring from its sleep. Soon, following her map, her heart and an ancient myth, Isabella discovers the true end of her journey: to save the island itself.

The Trials of Morrigan Crow


Jessica Townsend - 2017
    Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks--and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday.But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organization: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city to confront her deadly fate.

The Messenger Bird


Ruth Eastham - 2012
    He works for the Ministry of Defence and is accused of leaking top secret information. But as he is dragged into a police car, he gives Nathan a message. It leads to a riddle, but it's not from Dad. It's from Lily Wilson, and was written in 1940.

LEGO Ninjago: The Search for Zane (Chapter Book #7)


Kate Howard - 2015
    But finding Zane will be more challenging than they know, and Master Chen's island is filled with deadly traps. They will need to work together in order to overcome this new enemy, or risk being knocked out of the tournament--permanently.

Switched


Sienna Mercer - 2007
    Then she meets Ivy Vega. At first, Ivy, pale and dressed all in black, looks like Olivia's opposite. Then the girls look beyond the glittery pink blush and thick black eyeliner to discover they're identical--identical twins!Olivia and Ivy are brimming with plans to switch places and pull every twin trick in the book. But Olivia soon discovers that she and Ivy aren't exactly the same. Ivy's a vampire. And she's not the only one in town.

Kensuke's Kingdom


Michael Morpurgo - 1999
    But he soon realises there is someone close by, someone who is watching over him and helping him to stay alive. Following a close-run battle between life and death after being stung by a poisonous jelly fish, the mysterious someone--Kensuke--allows Michael into his world and they become friends, teaching and learning from each other, until the day of separation becomes inevitable.Morpurgo here spins a yarn which gently captures the adventurous elements one would expect from a desert-island tale, but the real strength lies in the poignant and subtle observations of friendship, trust and, ultimately, humanity. Beautifully illustrated by Michael Foreman, Kensuke's Kingdom is a stylish, deceptively simple and magical book that will effortlessly capture the heart and imagination of anyone who reads it, ensuring that Morpurgo continues to stand tall amid the ranks of classic children's authors. (Ages 9 and over) --Susan Harrison