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junior book club favourites 2012 title the wonderful story of henry sugar by roald dahl details seven superb stories full of roald dahl s usual magic mystery and suspence roald dahl turns his pen to anything twisting everyday life into powerful and sometimes terrifying fantasies turtles fingersmiths the mildenhall treasure even the spooky story of the man who can see without eyes such a page turner conrad 12 northern lights by philip pullman when lyra s friend roger disappears she and her daemon pantalaimon set out to find him they travel to the ice kingdoms of the north where armored bears rule and witch-queens fly through frozen skies lyra possesses a device that will aid their quest if she can decipher its mysterious messages but it knows terrifying secrets about their journey and the dangers that await them in worlds far beyond their own interesting and imaginative with a great twist kate 11 an elephant in the garden by michael morpurgo a thrilling and moving novel about an extraordinary animal caught up in a very human war for anyone who loved the amazing story of adolphus tips or the butterfly lion by the award-winning former children s laureate and author of war horse dresden 1945 elizabeth and karli s mother works at the zoo where her favourite animal is a young elephant named marlene then the zoo director tells her that the dangerous animals -including the elephants must be shot before the town is bombed unable to give marlene up their mother moves her into the back garden to save her and then the bombs start to fall their home destroyed the whole family must flee the bombed-out city and through the perilous snow-covered landscape all the while avoiding the russian troops who are drawing ever closer it would be hard enough to do without an elephant in tow fantastic couldn t put it down james 11 11 townyard lane malahide 8455073 www.villagebooks.ie info@villagebooks.ie

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roll of thunder hear my cry by mildred d taylor the mississippi of the 1930s was a hard place for a black child to grow up in but still cassie didn t understand why farming his own land meant so much to her father during that year though when the night riders were carrying hatred and destruction among her people she learned about the great differences that divided them and when it was worth fighting for a principle even if it brought even worse hardships hitler s canary by sandi toksvig it s april 1940 and german troops are pouring onto the streets of denmark 12-year-old bamse is ordered by his father to keep his head down and stay out of trouble but bamse and his daring friend anton can t resist playing the occasional practical joke on the invading soldiers when it becomes clear that the trouble isn t just going to pass them by the people of denmark decide to take action and bamse and his eccentric family are about to take part in one of history s most dramatic rescues smuggling denmark s jewish population across the water to sweden and safety many of the characters are based on sandi s own family including her father bamse and the book was inspired by the stories he told to her a spellbinding magical adventure master storyteller helen dunmore writes the story of sapphire and her brother conor and their discovery of ingo a powerful and exciting world under the sea you ll find the mermaid of zennor inside zennor church she fell in love with a human but she was a mer creature and so she couldn t come to live with him up in the dry air she swam up the stream to hear him sing then one day he swam down it and was never seen again he became one of the mer people sapphire s father told her that story when she was little when he is lost at sea she can t help but think of that old myth she s convinced he s still alive the following summer her brother conor keeps disappearing for hours on end she goes to the cove to find him but instead meets faro an enigmatic and intriguing merman really good alexandra 10 ingo by helen dunmore really well written i liked the story anna 11 he takes her to ingo and introduces her to a world she never knew existed she must let go of all her air thoughts and embrace the sea and all things mer after her first visit she is entranced merely the sound of running water makes her yearn to be in ingo once more ingo blood runs strongly in sapphy and conor fears she will leave the air world for good he pleads with her to ignore her craving for the sea and stay safely in their cottage up on the cliff but not only is sapphy intoxicated by the mer world she longs to see her father once more and she s sure she can hear him singing across the water i wish i was away in ingo far across the briny sea not like any ordinary book it was really exciting ella 11 11 townyard lane malahide 8455073 www.villagebooks.ie info@villagebooks.ie

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under the hawthorn tree by marita conlonmckenna very good book i really enjoyed it and would recommend it rachel 11 the first book in the famine trilogy the great irish famine brilliantly recreated through the story of three young survivors ireland in the 1840s is devastated by famine when tragedy strikes their family eily michael and peggy are left to fend for themselves starving and in danger of ending up in the dreaded workhouse they escape their one hope is to find the great-aunts they have heard about in their mother s stories with tremendous courage they set out on a journey that will test every reserve of strength love and loyalty they possess a new a study guide to using the book in the classroom is available for free download below the extraordinary cases of sherlock holmes by sir arthur conan doyle thrilling read jamie 10 through the foggy streets of victorian london to the deepest countryside sherlock holmes uses his unique powers of deduction in eight thrilling investigations including the mysteries of the speckled band and the reigate puzzle it comes with a captivating introduction by award-winning jonathan stroud milo and the restart button by alan silberberg really fast moving and funny caoimhe 12 starting over is like pressing the reset button on a game that makes you lose all your points and wipes out any of the good stuff you ve spent hundreds of hours learning surviving the year is all milo has to do start to finish in one whole piece but it s not just a new school he s dealing with it s a new house a new neighbourhood a whole new life and it s one without his mum in it fans of `diary of a wimpy kid will enjoy this once by morris gleitzman amazing great adventure story ciaran 10 for three years and eight months felix has lived in a convent orphanage high in the mountains in poland but felix is different from the other orphans he is convinced his parents are still alive and will come back to get him when a group of nazi soldiers come and burn the nuns books felix is terrified that his jewish bookseller parents will also be in danger after escaping from the orphanage felix embarks on a long and dangerous journey through nazi occupied poland befriending a little orphan girl called zelda and a kindly dentist barney who hides and cares for jewish children but when the nazis discover them barney makes the ultimate sacrifice for the children 11 townyard lane malahide 8455073 www.villagebooks.ie info@villagebooks.ie

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these recommendations were compiled with feedback from our junior book clubs with members ranging in age from 9-13 if you like our recommendations and want to order a book please call us on 8455073 or email us at info@villagebooks.ie keep up to date with the village books book club and junior book clubs on our blog ­ accessed through villagebooks.ie 11 townyard lane malahide 8455073 www.villagebooks.ie info@villagebooks.ie

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