Red Dove Posted May 30, 2022 Share Posted May 30, 2022 (edited) What are your favorite lesser-known children’s novels? Mine are: When Mischief Came to Town - Katrina Nannestad One-Handed Catch - MJ Auch Mio, My Son - Astrid Lindgren Edited June 3, 2022 by Red Dove More to title 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 I'll have to come back with my list, but I just want to thank you for not saying "chapter books." 🙂 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 The Miss Bianca series by Majorie Sharp, written back in the 1960s. Humorous, light and effortless writing, great vocabulary, wonderfully vivid characters. These are the books that Disney made into much harsher, frightening film versions (The Rescuers and The Rescuers Down Under) -- so do NOT be swayed by the Disney films, which are NOTHING like the lovely books: The Rescuers Miss Bianca The Turret Miss Bianca in the Salt Mines Miss Bianca in the Orient There are several additional titles written in the 1970s, but they were not as charming or well-written. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Some from my own childhood: Behind The Attic Wall - a struggling girl moves in with her aunts (great-aunts?) and has a friendship with dolls in the attic. Charlotte Sometimes- a girl at a boarding school goes to sleep and wakes up at the same school 40 years earlier. Daddy Long Legs - it's trite and predictable, but I loved the way it was written in letter form. The movie didn't do justice to it. An orphan is sent to school by a mysterious benefactor that she has dubbed DLL, after seeing his shadow and the exaggerated length of his body. She is required to write to this person to tell him how she's doing. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 1 hour ago, HomeAgain said: Daddy Long Legs - it's trite and predictable, but I loved the way it was written in letter form. The movie didn't do justice to it. An orphan is sent to school by a mysterious benefactor that she has dubbed DLL, after seeing his shadow and the exaggerated length of his body. She is required to write to this person to tell him how she's doing. The movie adaptation with Fred Astair and Leslie Caron is dreadful. Just dreadful. One of the things I appreciated about the book is that the letters seemed to show the main character's maturing over the years of education. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Charlotte Sometimes is a great read. Daddy Long Legs . . . the second book is just horrific. It's all about eugenics - literally. The main character gets massively into eugenics and changes the orphanage to kick out anyone with a disability. There's a long diatribe about the dangers of allowing them to breed. It's a brilliant historical document if you're wanting to look at how mainstream eugenics was, pre WW2. I actually find the plot in the first book a bit icky in terms of the power situation orphan/Father figure who fall in love. Here's a kids book few would have read - it's from a Kiwi (NZ) author, Gaelyn Gordon. It's the weirdest book ever but so good. Three kids have been brought up to believe they'll live till 500 or something, so at age 20, they're still 'little children'. The youngest escapes and finds out about the real world. It's so funny but also weird and heartwarming. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 3 minutes ago, bookbard said: Daddy Long Legs . . . the second book is just horrific. It's all about eugenics - literally. The main character gets massively into eugenics and changes the orphanage to kick out anyone with a disability. There's a long diatribe about the dangers of allowing them to breed. It's a brilliant historical document if you're wanting to look at how mainstream eugenics was, pre WW2. Boy, I must have been reading with only half my brain, because I totally missed that. o_0 I think I still have it, so I'm going to go back and read it again. I didn't think the first book was icky, but I see your point. I'll think about that next time I read it. 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 8 hours ago, bookbard said: Charlotte Sometimes is a great read. Daddy Long Legs . . . the second book is just horrific. It's all about eugenics - literally. The main character gets massively into eugenics and changes the orphanage to kick out anyone with a disability. There's a long diatribe about the dangers of allowing them to breed. It's a brilliant historical document if you're wanting to look at how mainstream eugenics was, pre WW2. I actually find the plot in the first book a bit icky in terms of the power situation orphan/Father figure who fall in love. Here's a kids book few would have read - it's from a Kiwi (NZ) author, Gaelyn Gordon. It's the weirdest book ever but so good. Three kids have been brought up to believe they'll live till 500 or something, so at age 20, they're still 'little children'. The youngest escapes and finds out about the real world. It's so funny but also weird and heartwarming. I can’t find the book by Gaelyn Gordon. Do you remember the title? The book sounds interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye - all of my DD's loved this book at some time 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 1 hour ago, historically accurate said: The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye 😍 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted June 5, 2022 Author Share Posted June 5, 2022 2 hours ago, historically accurate said: The Ordinary Princess by M. M. Kaye - all of my DD's loved this book at some time My daughter just read this one and loved it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Spider Palace (a collection of short stories) Good Night Mr Tom The Bears famous invasion of Sicily 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookbard Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 5 hours ago, Red Dove said: I can’t find the book by Gaelyn Gordon. Do you remember the title? The book sounds interesting. Damp Rat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 (edited) Some my kids liked: Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson The King of Ireland’s Son by Padraic Colum Along Came a Dog by Meindert DeJong Charlie’s Raven by Jean Craighead George Straw into Gold by Gary D. Schmidt A String in the Harp by Nancy Bond The Perilous Guard by Elizabeth Marie Pope Edited June 5, 2022 by ScoutTN 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted June 5, 2022 Share Posted June 5, 2022 Oh, a couple more that were hits here: Remarkable by Lizzie Foley Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George Jenny and the Cat Club by Esther Averill 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Dove Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 I just thought of another: Snow and Rose - Emily Winfield Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenecho Posted June 15, 2022 Share Posted June 15, 2022 (edited) Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John (Christian novel) Humorous ones.... The Ordinary Princess The Enormous Egg The Dragonbreath Series Edited June 15, 2022 by goldenecho 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Cows in Action series by Steve Cole The Wormling Series by Jerry B. Jenkins The Time-Traveling Cat books by Julia Jarman 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 My 11yo boy's top mention this year was The Louisiana Girls Trilogy by Jewell Parker Rhodes. Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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