Books
Books for Older Readers
Rocky Witherspoon has a Plan
When Rocky Witherspoon’s super special holiday with Dad gets call off, what could be worse? I’ll tell you… Spending a miserable summer in Clifton-on-Sea with Aunt Finella, the weirdest, most awful aunt in the world
After the first boring day, Rocky is determined to find adventure and sets along the beach without Aunt Finella knowing. Rocky climbs a cliff and finds a cave where a hundred year old wizard has just moved in and knows almost nothing about the real world. From then on, there are more surprises, more excitement than you could ever imagine.
Barbara says: I always wanted to meet a wizard but when I never did, I thought it would be fun to write about one. But this wizard has his problems and doesn’t know much about the real world. That’s where Rocky comes in. You might think that ten year-old Rocky and hundred year old Ozwald would have nothing in common. But you would be wrong!
Secret Suffragette
Daisy is twelve years old and dreams of being a nurse, just like her hero Florence Nightingale. It seems like an impossible dream for a poor girl in 1912, until she meets the suffragettes. But being a suffragette is dangerous. What risks will Daisy have to take if she wants to join them?
Run Rabbit Run
When Lizzie’s dad refuses to fight in the War, the police come looking to arrest him. Desperate to stay together, Lizzie and her brother Freddie go on the run with him, hiding in idyllic Whiteway.
But when they’re forced to leave it becomes more difficult to stay together. Will they be able to? And will they ever find a place, like Whiteway, where they will be safe again?
WINNER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S YOUNG QUILLS AWARD
STOCKTON CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE YEAR
This book was also nominated:
The Carnegie Medal
The Northern Ireland Book Award
The Red House Book Award
The Redbridge Book Award
The Coventry Inspirational Book Award
The Stockton Children’s Book Award.
Barbara Says:
It was something my Aunt Sarah told me shortly before she died together with the gift of a brooch that led me to write Run Rabbit Run. The brooch contained a photograph of Fred, my aunt’s younger brother and she had kept Fred’s secret for over seventy years. Only as she lay dying did she reveal that he had been a Conscientious Objector.
Reviews
A great read for kids from about 8 upwards, and for much older readers who are interested in fiction set during WWII.
The Bookbag
A thought provoking but also a really engaging story that provides valuable insight into that dramatic period of history.
ReadingZone
A thought-provoking read which would be excellent background reading for pupils studying World War Two.
Parents In Touch
Page turner that tackles interesting issues about life choices and acceptance.
Angels & Urchins
This book will be a real hit with the many readers who love "Carrie's War" and "Goodnight Mister Tom".
Armadillo Magazine
Billy's Blitz
When War breaks out, Billy’s dad joins the army and most of his friends are evacuated from Balham, South London. But Billy’s mum doesn’t believe the bombs will ever fall on them and she refuses to send him and his and his sister Rose away.
Life in Balham has certainly changed for Billy: no school, no friends and, because of rationing, no treats.
But by September 1940, things are about to get a lot worse. Hitler has a plan for the destruction of London and soon Billy is caught up in the Blitz: an event so terrifying, it will take every ounce of courage for him to survive in war-torn Balham and keep his family together.
WINNER OF THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S YOUNG QUILLS AWARD
Road to London
When Thomas flees to London in search of life in the theatre, he meets his hero, William Shakespeare, and thinks his dream has come true. But Elizabethan London is a dangerous place full of scoundrels, treachery and murder.
Thomas and his friend, Alice – a feisty girl with ambitions of her own – soon find themselves caught up in a treasonous plot to kill the queen. The question is: will they be able to find the villains without putting their own lives at risk? And what will happen to William Shakespeare if they don’t?
A galloping adventure with all the stink, grime and noise of Elizabethan London.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S YOUNG QUILLS AWARD
A Twist of Fortune
The Pargeter children have a happy life in the country. But when Pa leaves for America to seek his fortune, things begin to go badly wrong. They find themselves in the care of Aunt Maud and miserable Uncle Bert living in the most dangerous and notorious part of London called Devil’s Acre.
When life in the city proves impossible, the three children decide to leave. Together with their small dog, Patch, they set out on a hazardous journey to find their long-lost grandfather.
An exciting story full of twists and turns set in Victorian London.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL SOCIETY’S YOUNG QUILLS AWARD
Dangerous Diamonds
After the shock of Dad’s sudden disappearance, Harry and Charlie scour Edinburgh to find him. But, as they step into a world of criminal activity, they soon discover that others are out to stop them.
Then the twins find themselves in terrible danger but use their grit and determination to outwit those who are holding their father. From the streets of Edinburgh to an ancient monastery and the wild Scottish coastline, Harry and Charlie are determined to survive and to find Dad.
WINNER OF THE JOHN LEWIS CHILDREN’S BOOK AWARD
Barbara Says:
Some friends live in a very interesting flat in a very old building in the middle of Edinburgh. It has a stone spiral staircase and some higgledy piggledy rooms. It was while I was staying there that I thought it would be a wonderful place to begin a book and so Harry and Charlotte, the children in the story, live in that flat.
Storm Runners
When dramatic storms batter a small Scottish island and reduce a village to ruins, Ally and Kirstie think they are the sole surviviors. But they meet Brad, the son of American scientists, and together uncover the terrifying truth about the storms and the evil man who controls them.
Barbara Says:
I've spent many holidays in Scotland and I love the mountains and rugged coastline in particular. I had no difficulty in imagining a small Scottish island where strange things are happening and so that's where I set my story, with children cut off from the mainland, having to fend for themselves and face up to terrible dangers.
Reviews
I got this book for my 9 year old son when he heard my husband and I discussing a book with a fast paced plot. He was desperate to move on to things with a bit more adventure and suspense, but had been put off by thicker tomes. This has danger, bravery and intrigue and even a bit that made him cry (you are led to believe for a few pages that the dog in the story has been killed by a man with a gun - mercifully she's ok!). He couldn't (and wouldn't!) put it down and said it was the best book ever.