Recommended English Books
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cafelatte:
Oh yeah, I third this one! I haven't read it, but my son enjoyed it.I second the above recommendation !
I am still trying to get my hands on Cosmic Treasure Hunt but George's Secret Key to the Universe is really cool ! Both my son and I love it.
There's this other series by Nury Vitachi called Jeri Telstar. There are a few books, and the first one is meant for young readers. The next one or two is, according to my son, meant or older kids (same level as George's Secret Key?) I'm not sure, but he says the later books are more interesting. They're all rather thin unlike George's Secret Key.
Very sorry, he reads books based on interest and not reading level, so I'm not clear about it. From an interest rating perspective though, he says they're good. -
Hi everyone,
There are a few more books that are rather good:
1) Survivor/Rat-catcher by Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan has a series for children called the Alpha Force, Survivor is one of them. In this series, 5 children team up to go to different countries to help children in those countries. In Survivor, they are marooned on an Indonesian Island and have to fight off Komodo Dragons. His books are action-packed as he was in the Special Forces before. He also leaves tips on how to survive in the wild after each book. His books also have a lot of good descriptions in them. if you want to start your child writing well, this series is a good start.
The only thing is the bookstores in Singapore do not bring them in, they used to have them in Kinokuniya and Borders but we can’t find them now. If you are interested in this series, you could pm us or just let us know as we do bring in some books and we might be able to help you out there.
2) The Declaration by Gemma Malley
This is a fantastic book, it is very thought provoking, gripping and well-written. It talks about people wanting to look young and how they will do anything to maintain their looks and youth, then the government takes control of a pill that is supposed to help you stop aging so if you are 50 and you take the pill, you remain 50 forever. It seems like the best invention the world has ever seen but then there are serious implications, adults stop having children as the Earth cannot cope with too many children, if everybody lives and continues to give birth, there would be too many people on Earth. However, some people feel that they should not have this right to live forever and that children should be seen on the streets again. Their children are subsequently caught and are made to go to a special school where they are indoctrinated with the belief that the best they can hope to achieve in life is to be a servant to the adults. This story is written from the point of view of one such child and how she breaks through this system.
The subject matter may sound a bit heavy but it is definitely worth a read especially if your child is mature for his age. You can spin off many discussions on man’s interference with nature from here.
3) Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
For those of you who love 39 clues, this series of Percy Jackson is written by the same author as the first installment of 39 clues. This series is very easy to read and interesting. Even adults will find it interesting. It weaves in Greek mythology into the plot and it is done very cleverly.
Rick Riordan started this series as a bedtime story for his own kids and they loved it so much, he made it into a series.
The first book has now been made into a movie and it is now showing in the cinemas. However, the book is much better than the movie.
The Alternative Story (TAS) -
Blobbi:
Just borrowed 'George's Secret Key to the Universe' from the library. I took a peek at it, awesome! I think my kid is going to like it, will be great for the coming hols. Thanks.
Oh yeah, I third this one! I haven't read it, but my son enjoyed it.cafelatte:
I second the above recommendation !
I am still trying to get my hands on Cosmic Treasure Hunt but George's Secret Key to the Universe is really cool ! Both my son and I love it.
There's this other series by Nury Vitachi called Jeri Telstar. There are a few books, and the first one is meant for young readers. The next one or two is, according to my son, meant or older kids (same level as George's Secret Key?) I'm not sure, but he says the later books are more interesting. They're all rather thin unlike George's Secret Key.
Very sorry, he reads books based on interest and not reading level, so I'm not clear about it. From an interest rating perspective though, he says they're good.
Will check out the others too. My kid also reads based on interest.
Cheers,
Chubby -
Hi parents,
Since there are some parents that want to know which books are good to get for their children, we thought we would recommend some here. The books that we recommend have 3 main ingredients: Interesting plots and good vocabulary usage as well as varied sentence structures. The plots will help engage the child and make him want to read more. The vocabulary and varied sentence structure will hopefully translate to better writing for the children.
These are some of the books that we find have these 3 ingredients. (These books are for upper primary children, we will do another recommendation soon for lower primary children)
1) Gone by Micheal Grant
It is about a town that experiences a very strange phenomena. One day, in class while the main character (Sam) was having his lessons, the teacher disappeared. Of course, everyone was rejoicing at first. However, panic struck the children when they realised that every teacher was gone and that their parents could not be contacted. Later on, they found out that everyone above the age of 14 was gone. They had to help rescue some of the babies and children who were crying at home. There was instances of accidents that occurred when the drivers disappeared. Later on, 2 main leaders emerge to help the rest make sense of their world that had gone horribly wrong.
This book is very gripping and interesting especially for upper primary kids.
Extract from the book:
One minute the teacher was talking about the Civil War. And the next minute he was gone.
There.
Gone.
No 'poof'. No flash of light. No explosion.
Sam Temple was sitting in third-period history class staring blankly at the blackboard but far away in his head. In his head, he was down at the beach, he and Quinn. Down at the beach with their boards, yelling, bracing for that first plunge into cold Pacific water.
For a moment, he thought he had imagine it, the teacher disappearing...
2) Survival by Chris Ryan (He has a whole series on the group of teenagers who battle problems together)
This book is about 5 children who are on board a sailing ship however, they get marooned on an island and have to battle komodo dragons and other dangers to stay alive. It is both gripping and also full of great vocabulary. :lol:
Extract from book:
Even under the water, Alex was overwhelmed by the impact. The breaker slammed him down and knocked all the air out of him with a casual efficiency that reminded him of his mother kneading dough.
3) Ark Angel by Anthony Horowitz (He has a whole series on Alex Rider, the main character in Ark Angel)
Alex Rider is a 14 year old spy. In this story, he is supposed to save a boy whose father is one of the richest man on Earth. The boy's father has been targetted by Force 3, a group of eco-terrorists who claim his project- Ark Angel - the first luxury hotel outer space- is a danger to the environment.
Alex needs to stop them before they bomb Ark Angel and kill millions of lives. The book is a page-turner. Both girls and boys will like it. It has been made into a movie as well.
Extract from book:
The corridor on the other side was well alight. There were brilliant red and orange flames tearing into the walls, leaping up through the floor, devouring everything in their path. Alex was shocked by their speed and elemental strength.
There are many other books that are good, we will recommend them soon.
Where to get them: Anthony Horowitz books can be gotten from most bookstores, Chris Ryan from MPH (few copies left) and for Gone, you could order it online. We also sell these books at a discount and we extract out the good vocabulary phrases from the books that we will give to you when you get the book.
Will get back soon on other books
TAS -
Thanks.My girl commented that its great books as she has read it before.
Should u have more recommendations, pls let us know.thanks again. -
Hi Joy,
It's great that your daughter has read through these books. She must be an avid reader.
Here are more books for the upper primary that your daughter might like.
1) Switch by Anthony Horowitz
2) Burning up by Caroline B Cooney
3) The book of time by Guillaume Prevost
4) Bang, bang, you're dead by Narinder Dhami
5) Hunger (sequel of Gone) by Michael Grant
6) Among the hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Some information on a few of the books that are listed above:
1) Switch by Anthony Horowitz
2 boys who live very different lives - one poor and another rich but lonely - wish one day that they could live different lives. They wake up the next day and realise that they are no longer in their own bodies. They have switched bodies with one another. They do not know that at that point, just that the poor boy is now living as the rich and the rich one as the poor.
Later, the rich boy discovers some secrets about his family by living out his life as the poor boy. A very interesting read with great vocabulary as well.
Extract:
There was a full moon that night. As Finn and Tad crossed the empty square, their shadows raced ahead of them as if searching for somewhere to hide (great example of personification). It was a few minutes after midnight. Tad had heard the church bells toll the hour. They had seemed far away, almost in another world. Here, everything was pale and grey, the buildings like paper cutouts against the black night sky.
2) Burning up by Caroline B Cooney
In this story, a girl goes to visit her grandparents in an idyllic town. She loves the place and her grandparents. However, one day, she discovers that there was a fire that took place many years back when her grandparents were younger.
In that fire, the whole town watched the house of an African American teacher burn to the ground. Nobody lifted a finger to help him because of his race. The girl comes face to face with racism and she decides that she will not let this piece of history be forgotten, she wants to make things right. It is a thought-provoking story and one where the children can be taught to think of issues bigger than themselves.
3) The book of time by Guillanume Prevost
How is a statue, a coin and an old book linked together? Sam finds out when he slips the coin into the statue in his father's antique shop and finds himself transported back in time. He has to find his father who has gone back in history but for some reason or another has remained stuck back in time. Each time, he travels back to a particular time, he needs to find another similar coin so that he can make his way back to his own time. A riveting read!
Extract:
Sam fell to his knees, his guts in knots and his body racked with spasms. His arm still burned as he vomited painfully, uncontrollably, onto the thick green grass under his hands.
Wait a minute...Grass?
4) Bang, bang, you're dead! by Narinder Dhami
It seems like just another school day for Mia when everything goes wrong. The school is being evacuated. There is a rumour that there is a gunman in the school. Mia has a horrible feeling that it is her twin brother. He had recently been saying that he was going to do something to be noticed, to do something to make people notice the plight both siblings were in.
The story is a page-turner and there is a twist in the ending that is quite unexpected. This is really a good read.
Extract:
I climb to my feet with an effort, like a shaky old woman. I take one step towards the door and then freeze, immobile, as I hear footsteps running down the corridor outside. They echo loudly in the empty building.
A teacher checking that everyone has left?
The gunman?
Jamie?
How to get the books: Most are available at Borders. The Book of Time is available at Popular. We have Bang, Bang, You're dead and Hunger. Hunger should be available at the Library as well.
Hope your daughter will have a great time devouring these books!
TAS -
Hello TAS
My girl is done with the books u recommende and she enjoyed it except book by Caroline B Cooney as she says the character’s view point kept changing. May I know do u have more books to recommend?thanks alot…have to keep her occupy during this holidays…
cheers -
Hi, TAS
I've tried asking DS to read some of those books you recommended (he's in P3 now) but I think they're too difficult for him He told me there're too many words that he didn't understand and stop reading them altogether. Maybe his standard of English is just not there yet... Ended up reading those books myself, and I must say there are really interesting :love:
Can you recommend some other books that is probably easier to read for P3? He doesn't really like to read and even if he does, he usually just sticks to one or two of his favourite titles (e.g. Beast Quest).
Thank you very much! -
Joy:
Hi Joy,Hello TAS
My girl is done with the books u recommende and she enjoyed it except book by Caroline B Cooney as she says the character's view point kept changing. May I know do u have more books to recommend?thanks alot...have to keep her occupy during this holidays...
cheers
Wow! That is fast! Your girl really loves books. :ugogirl:
These are further recommendations for the upper primary kids:
1) Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
It is a haunting story about a slave girl whose mother has just died, leaving her sister and her at the mercy of the slave traders and masters. This book talks about her brave struggle against slavery, it is the first of a series of 3 books. It not only is gripping but it provides insight into a time where people's lives were valued a little more than animals.
2) Among the hidden is the first of a series on the shadow children. If your daughter likes the first one, she can go on to read the rest, they all start with the word 'Among'.
3) The Declaration & The Resistence by Gemma Malley
These 2 books talk about a time in the future where everyone wants to continue to look young. So people go for surgery and take pills to ensure their looks do not fade. Then one day, some scientists discover some technology that helps people to retain their looks and it works so well that they actually start to live on forever and remain looking the age that they did when they first started taking the 'pills'.
However, this means that the world's resources start to deplete fast as there are babies being born and yet hardly anyone dying. Hence, the world turns against the young. And people do not give birth anymore and those who have children have to send their children to a place where the children are brainwashed into thinking that they should be servants to the adults. These 2 books focus on 2 children's fight against such a system and how they discover that there is an underground network of adults who want to help these children. Among the adults are one of the children's parents. A very interesting read!
TAS -
[Editor's note: Topic selected & edited for http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/content/books-9-year-olds.]
Hi sakura_2009,
Yes, these books are more for upper primary kids. You could save them for your child when he gets to Pri 5 and above We personally love these books, they are of the 'cannot-put-down' variety we feel and thus
we recommend them to the kids.
For primary 3 children, these are some of the suggestions:
1) Magic Treehouse series
This is a very common series that talks about 2 children who go back in time to interesting events that happen in the past. For example: the volcanic eruption in Pompeii and how they try to solve some puzzle there or help someone during their travels.
2) Tremors
This series is very interesting. There are not many words so a reluctant
reader will find it easy to read and yet the plot is interesting. Sometimes
books that are thin have boring and simple plots so this series is good.
However, one warning- the stories can be a little eerie.
One story is about a boy who wakes up and finds that he is back in the past and he has to help a great grand uncle or some distant relative survive a storm. Some stories are on ponds/camps that are haunted but the ghost is not really scary. The stories always have a twist in them as well.
Most children are not scared when they read them but if your child has an active imagination, he might be. So it would be good to look through the books first. The words used are also good. (there are quite good descriptive phrases in them)
3) Magic Mischief by Anna Dale
The shop owner encounters a stench in his shop that somehow turns to magic and his shop becomes the breeding ground of much magical mischief (thus the title)
4) Destined to live by Ruth Gruener
This true story is about a girl who survives the Holocaust. It talks about how her world turns upside down when the Germans invade her town and how she has to flee for her life. She later settles down in America and has to adapt to the culture there.
It is a good book to introduce your child to history and to some of the atrocities that happened and to also share with your child on racism.
5) 39 clues
It is a series of books that follow 2 children as they travel from country to country to try to retrieve some clues to piece together a puzzle that their deceased aunt left for them. However there are many others on that same hunt and the other parties try to sabotage their hunt. It is something like a book version of 'Amazing Race' but a bit more deadly one. Interesting!
Where to get the books: Most of the books are available at most bookstores except Tremors. We do carry in Tremors but have sold out our last batch and are now waiting for the new batch to arrive. If you are interested, you can email us your orders.
TAS