Tag: Middle Grade

Hitler’s Daughter

Hitler’s Daughter

by Jackie French (HarperCollins, 1999); audiobook read by Caroline Lee (Bolinda, 2014)

French_Hitler's Daughter

The framing narrative of this cleverly structured middle grade book sees three rural Aussie kids sharing a story while waiting for their school bus. The tale of Hitler’s daughter raises the disturbing question: should children be held responsible for their parents’ beliefs.

 

 

George’s Marvellous Medicine

George’s Marvellous Medicine

by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape, 1981); audiobook read by Derek Jacobi (Penguin, 2013)

Dahl_George's Marvellous Medicine

Despite this being one of Dahl’s less substantial (yet somehow belaboured) stories, the freewheeling absurdity of George’s concoction and the subsequent karmic comeuppance to his grandma will appeal to middle grade readers. Derek Jacobi narrates with the glee of a mischievous grandparent.

 

 

The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows

by Kenneth Grahame (Methuen, 1908); audiobook read by Michael Hordern (BBC, 2007)

Grahame_Wind Willows

This classic children’s book nowadays seems far-removed in both content and language, its wordy and bucolic idle verging at times on the truly soporific. Then the Toad of Toad Hall comes increasingly to the fore and one can appreciate all the fuss!

 

 

Matilda

Matilda

by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape, 1988); audiobook read by Kate Winslet (Puffin, 2013)

Dahl_Matilda

If Roald Dahl is one of the great middle grade writers, and Matilda one of his greatest books, then Kate Winslet takes us into the greatness stratosphere with her brilliant and definitive reading, making Matilda, Miss Honey and the Trunchbull truly unforgettable.

 

 

Horse Pie

Horse Pie

by Dick King-Smith (Doubleday, 1993); audiobook read by Andrew Sachs (Bolinda, 2014)

King-Smith_Horse Pie

Dick King-Smith knew his animals and knew how to write for children, crafting a gentle middle grade story of an old donkey whose morals save the day. Andrew Sachs pitches his reading nicely, bringing distinct personality to horses, donkey and humans alike.

 

 

The Nimbin

The Nimbin

by Jenny Wagner (Thomas Nelson, 1978)

Wagner_Nimbin

Australian middle grade story The Nimbin shows that books don’t have to follow elaborate plot arcs or contrive to manufacture character conflicts and resolution. Instead it serenely explores its scenario: Philippa’s beach holiday turns unusual when she adopts a strange little creature.

 

The Return of the Antelope

The Return of the Antelope

by Willis Hall (The Bodley Head, 1985)

Hall_Return of the Antelope

Hall excels in depicting minor characters and incidental detail, yet there remains a largely untapped visual element to this children’s fantasy of Lilliputians who have ill-fatedly retraced Gulliver’s Travels back to England. The book reads like — and is — an adaptation from television.

 

Derelict Space Sheep