Enticing young readers

Reading is one of the best ways to keep the mind agile and has myriad benefits, including increasing verbal and writing skills, improving vocabulary and helping children articulate their thoughts.

It also creates more creative thinkers and helps the brain focus on a single task.

To help get you started, here is a list of some of the most enjoyed children’s books, for readers aged six to 12 years, which your child might enjoy.

Sibo Fights Malaria

By Ginny Stone

Sibo and her family are going on another holiday, but she wonders why she has to take pills before she goes there. She soon finds out that it is a malaria hot-spot and that certain mosquitoes are to blame for spreading the disease. She learns all about malaria – the severe symptoms, what causes it and how to prevent it. This is the 12th book in a series written by the same author of our regular Sibo column.

Sibo Mixes Things Up

By Ginny Stone

Oh dear… Sibo has made a huge mess and has to clean it up before her Mum finds out. Thankfully, her friend Lennie comes to the rescue and helps clean up the mess with a chemical “magic potion”. A grateful Sibo becomes curious about chemicals and how they work, so her teacher invites a guest to school to tell her class all about chemistry and how it helps us in everyday life.

 

Aunt Alice And The Lion

By Lindsay Norman

Themba and his brother and sister are excited that Aunt Alice is coming to visit them in the village. When they arrive at the station to meet her, the children find her in a tree. She explains that a lion wants to eat her. There is no sign of a lion but as the days pass and to the family’s great amusement, Aunt Alice remains convinced that there is a lion lurking behind every bush, just waiting to pounce. Could Aunt Alice be right?

 

The African Orchestra

By Wendy Hartmann

“In the beginning, when all things began, these were the sounds which were music to man. Cicadas, crickets, beetles and frogs Seedpods, cocoons, hollowed out logs Crackling fires, the patter of rain. Thundering hooves on the African plain, birds in the air, in the trees – on the land. Wind in the grass through the leaves – over sand.” With magical illustrations from Joan Rankin and poetry from masterful storyteller Wendy Hartmann, the rhyme lyrically captures the magic of the African sounds of nature. From the clicking of crickets to the crackle of the fire, follow the journey that celebrates these sounds in the rhythm and music of Africa.

 

Brenda has a Dragon in her BloodBy Hiltje Vink

Three-year-old Brenda is an ordinary little girl who likes to fly a kite and look at the clouds, but people are sometimes frightened by the dragon (HIV) in her blood. It is a true story about Brenda who was born in Rwanda but landed up taking refuge in the Netherlands with her mother when her entire family was killed during the genocide in her home country. After her mother’s death she was fostered by Hiltje Vink, who wrote down Brenda’s story .

 

Nokulunga, Mother of Goodness

African Folk Tales 4

By Sindiwe Magona

The mother of a bride tells her daughter all there is to know about the duties of a wife and mother. When beautiful Nokulunga got married, her mother took her to one side and told her all she knew. She also gave her a special pot, saying: “This is our secret, use it wisely.”

 

Stronger than Lion

African Folk Tales 1

by Sindiwe Magona

Once upon a time, the animals of the jungle decided a meeting was long overdue. This was to be no ordinary meeting and it was extremely important that each and every animal attend. So the day, time, and place was set. All the animals were invited to attend. All except Lion …

 

Modjadji, the Rain Queen

By Donve

Based on African legend, Modjadji, the Rain Queen tells the story of Modjadji’s arrival in drought-stricken Venda land, where the young children have never seen rain. To everyone’s delight, Modjadji uses her magical powers to produce rain. Soon the land turns green, and the people of Venda land are healthy and happy again.

 

Lindiwe, our hero!

By Michele Schwartz

Tomas and Anneke are tourists who come to stay at Makhulu’s Bed and Breakfast. They are really enjoying their stay until Thomas loses his wallet! Where could it have gone? They search everywhere for it… Lindiwe wants to help but everyone says she’s too young and she’ll just get in the way. How does Lindiwe become the hero who saves the day?

 

Inkwelo Mountain

A Child’s Adventure in KwaZulu, South Africa

By Wendy Cumberland

Ten-year-old Joseph is an orphan who lives with his aunt and uncle on a small farm in KwaZulu-Natal. He dreams of a wonderful future, but doesn’t know how to bring his desires into reality. The young boy takes his family’s sheep out to graze on Inkwelo Mountain, only to find himself chasing a jackal pup that has also been orphaned. The events that follow test his courage and determination. In the end, he faces his fears and discovers the secret of the Mountain, making his dreams come true.

 

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll

Fall down the rabbit hole with this spectacularly imaginative children’s book about a very, very curious young girl. The little ones will adventure through a topsy-turvy world, complete with a white rabbit, a Cheshire cat and a vengeful Queen of Hearts. Adults will love it too – there’s plenty of mind-bending philosophy to keep parents on their toes.

 

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

By Roald Dahl

Golden tickets, Oompa Loompas, bratty children and poverty collide in Dahl’s best-known tale. When Willy Wonka decides to allow five children into his chocolate factory, he releases five golden tickets in five separate chocolate bars, causing complete mayhem around the world. The tickets start to be found, with the fifth going to a very special boy, Charlie Bucket.

 

Charlotte’s Web

By E.B. White

“Where’s Papa going with that axe?” The world’s greatest first line accompanies the animal tale, recounted with a child’s wisdom, that children remember and love long after they’ve put it down. Even if a young reader’s closest association with a pig consists of pork chops at dinner, all children can identify with Fern and Wilbur, and when they grow up and have children of their own they’ll find themselves identifying with Charlotte.

 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

By J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter’s life is miserable. His parents are dead and he’s stuck with his heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But his fortune changes when he receives a letter telling him the truth about himself: he’s a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, in the first of seven books about the boy wizard, his friends and their magical adventures.

 

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler

By E.L. Konigsburg

When suburban Claudia Kincaid decides to run away, she knows she doesn’t just want to run from somewhere, she wants to run to somewhere, to a place that is comfortable, beautiful, and, preferably, elegant. She chooses the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and takes her younger brother Jamie along. Once settled into the museum, Claudia and Jamie find themselves caught up in the mystery of an angel statue that the museum purchased at auction for a bargain. The statue is possibly an early work of the Renaissance master, Michelangelo, and therefore worth millions. Isn’t it? Claudia’s quest to find out leads her to Mrs Basil E Frankweiler, the remarkable old woman who sold the statue, and to some equally remarkable discoveries about herself.

 

Anna Hibiscus

By Atinuke

Set in modern-day Africa, Nigerian-born Atinuke’s charming heroine navigates her ridiculously large extended family, keeps an eye on her twin brothers, Double and Trouble, and comes to understand how lucky she is in a book that deserves to become a classic.

 

A Monster Calls

By Patrick Ness

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming… This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

 

A Wrinkle in Time

By Madeleine L’Engle:

This is a crazed amalgamation of religion, fantasy and science. It is a dark and stormy night and Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they are upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger. “Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger tells them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way.” Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the girl with the bad hair, glasses and braces must save him from a fate worse than death.

 

Wonder

By R.J. Palacio

A 10-year-old boy with a constellation of facial deformities struggles to navigate school for the first time. He braves comments from bullies about his appearance, but makes some true friends who defend him against the hurtful whispers. This novel is a wonderful way to teach children that “when given a choice between being right and being kind, choose kind”.

 

Tuck Everlasting

By Natalie Babbitt

Growing up is a difficult part of life, but if you had the chance to stay young forever, would you? When 10-year-old Winnie Foster meets the peculiar Tuck family deep in the woods near her home, they share the secret of a magical fountain with her, one that would allow her to freeze her childhood eternally.

 

 Pippi Longstocking

By Astrid Lindgren

The beloved story of a spunky young girl and her hilarious escapades. Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a flair for the outrageous. Follow Pippi Longstocking on her amazing adventures as she moves into Villa Villekulla with a horse, a monkey, and a big suitcase of gold coins.

 

Ballet Shoes

By Noel Streatfeild

Pauline, Petrova and Posy are orphans determined to help out their new family by joining the Children’s Academy of Dancing and Stage Training. But when they vow to make a name for themselves, they have no idea it’s going to be such hard work. Pauline is destined for the movies. Posy is a born dancer. But practical Petrova finds she’d rather pilot a plane than perform a pirouette. Each girl must find the courage to follow her dream.

 

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

By Anne Frank

This diary details approximately two years of the life a Jewish teenager, Anne Frank, during World War II. During much of this time, Anne and her family are in hiding in an attempt to escape Hitler’s anti-Jewish laws and genocidal desires. Anne’s diary ends abruptly in August, 1944. On that day, she and her family are taken into custody by the Germans and transported to concentration camps.

 

My Father’s Dragon

By Ruth Gannett Stiles

The first instalment of a series that’s as spellbinding as it was when it was released in 1948. Elmer Elevator (narrator’s father as a boy) runs away with an old alley cat to rescue a flying baby dragon being exploited on a faraway island. With the help of two dozen pink lollipops, rubber bands, chewing gum, and a fine-toothed comb, Elmer disarms the fiercest of beasts on Wild Island.

 

Island of the Blue Dolphins

By Scott O’Dell

Based on the true story of The Lost Woman of San Nicolas, Scott O’Dell’s first children’s book tells the tale of a young woman who lives on the Island of Ghalas-at with her tribe. After an encounter with a ship of strange visitors, her life will change forever.

 

Encyclopedia Brown

By Donald J. Sobol

A children’s version of Sherlock Holmes, this series lets curious readers delve into the detective genre through young sleuth, Leroy Brown. Nicknamed Encyclopedia for his vast range of knowledge, he welcomes neighbourhood kids to present their cases in his garage before setting out to solve the mystery.

 

Anne of Green Gables

By L.M. Montgomery

Everyone’s favorite redhead, the spunky Anne Shirley, begins her adventures at Green Gables, a farm outside Avonlea, Prince Edward Island. When the freckled girl realises that the elderly Cuthberts wanted to adopt a boy instead, she begins trying to win them and, consequently, the reader, over.

 

Artemis Fowl

By Eoin Colfer

Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius, and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn’t know what he’s taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren’t the fairies of bedtime stories, they’re dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.

 

The Hobbit

By J.R.R. Tolkien

The idea of leaving your cozy home for adventure and possible death is beautifully conveyed in Tolkien’s English classic. More kid-friendly than the later Lord of the Rings sequence, this tale of trolls, orcs, a smooth-talking dragon, hungry spiders, giant eagles and more balances literary excellence with good old-fashioned action.

 

The Lightning Thief

By Rick Riordan

Getting kids interested in Greek mythology is easy, just read the first book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series. The first of Rick Riordian’s popular adventure novels, The Lightning Thief introduces readers to the protagonist, a 12-year-old boy who constantly runs into trouble due to his unique and odd abilities. Turns out his family ties to Poseidon might have something to do with his behaviour issues.

 

The Secret Garden

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

A wild mix of mystery and Gothic underpinnings, this delightful story reads like a child-friendly version of Jane Eyre. It also happens to contain the most unlikable, spoiled protagonist you’ve ever met, at the beginning, anyway.

 

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

By C.S. Lewis

It may always be winter and never Christmas in this magical land, but Narnia’s lure has always enthralled young readers. When four kids stumble into a new world, the evil White Witch who rules there has no idea what she’s in for.

 

The Golden Compass

By Philip Pullman

Orphaned Lyra Belacqua’s care-free life among the scholars at Oxford’s Jordan College is shattered by the arrival of two powerful visitors. First, her fearsome uncle, Lord Asriel, appears with evidence of mystery and danger in the far North, including photographs of a celestial phenomenon called Dust and the dim outline of a city suspended in the Aurora Borealis that he suspects is part of an alternate universe. He leaves Lyra in the care of Mrs Coulter who offers to give Lyra the attention her uncle has long refused her. However, nothing is as it seems.

 

Pollyanna

By Eleanor H. Porter

When orphaned 11-year-old Pollyanna Whittier comes to live with austere and wealthy Aunt Polly Harrington, her philosophy of gladness brings happiness to her aunt and other members of the community, somewhat to their surprise. This timeless classic expresses the universal message that every aspect of life should be looked at in a positive way.

 

The Wind in the Willows

By Kenneth Grahame

Meet little Mole, wilful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad and follow their misadventures in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood which continue to capture readers’ imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up. The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie.

 

Little Women

By Louisa May Alcott

Following the lives of four sisters on a journey out of adolescence, Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women explores the difficulties associated with gender roles in a post-Civil War America. Jo, Meg, Beth, and Amy March are four sisters living with their mother in New England. Their father is away serving as a chaplain in the Civil War, and the sisters struggle to support themselves and keep their household running despite the fact that the family recently lost its fortune.

 

The Black Stallion

By Walter Farley

A young boy Alec Ramsay finds a wild black stallion at a small Arabian port on the Red Sea. Between the black stallion and young boy, a strange understanding grows that leads them through untold dangers as they journey to America.

 

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase

By Joan Aiken

Wicked wolves and a grim governess threaten Bonnie and her cousin Sylvia when Bonnie’s parents leave Willoughby Chase for a sea voyage. 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. 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?

* Primary source of books written in Africa: www.puku.co.za and sibo.co.za

* Primary sources of classics: www.goodreads.com and shmoop.com