If we listen closely, children can remind us of what is truly important in life and refresh our jaded, grown-up viewpoints. These twelve inspiring, funny, and memorable novels, narrated by children, are exemplary of the notion that kids, while they can say the darndest things, are often wise beyond their years.
In this hilarious and moving tale of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, Ella Minnow Pea must act to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of her town’s city council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet. As the letters are banned from the town, they also disappear from the novel, resulting in a linguistic achievement sure to delight word lovers everywhere.
In this hilarious and moving tale of one girl’s fight for freedom of expression, Ella Minnow Pea must act to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of her town’s city council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet. As the letters are banned from the town, they also disappear from the novel, resulting in a linguistic achievement sure to delight word lovers everywhere.
A month after the United States enters World War II, the country is in upheaval—and so is the Erhardt family. Nine-year-old Lark and her mother and aunt make their way toward San Diego with its booming wartime economy and begin to forge new lives and new dreams for themselves. Told through Lark’s observant eyes, this richly detailed novel reflects on the era’s tumultuous events and everyday dramas.
A month after the United States enters World War II, the country is in upheaval—and so is the Erhardt family. Nine-year-old Lark and her mother and aunt make their way toward San Diego with its booming wartime economy and begin to forge new lives and new dreams for themselves. Told through Lark’s observant eyes, this richly detailed novel reflects on the era’s tumultuous events and everyday dramas.
Adapting a child narrator for the screen could make a screenwriter’s life hell—but the author herself penned the script in this case, so there’s hope that the book’s celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child will have the adaptation it deserves.
Release date: Fall 2015
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Meet Oskar Schell, an inventor, Francophile, tambourine player, Shakespearean actor, jeweler, pacifist, correspondent with Stephen Hawking and Ringo Starr. He is nine years old. And he is on an urgent, secret search through the five boroughs of New York. His mission is to find the lock that fits a mysterious key belonging to his father, who died in the World Trade Center on 9/11.
Now adapted into a Tony Award-winning play, this captivating novel is told through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old autistic boy who relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. This powerful story of his quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for a captivating read.
Now adapted into a Tony Award-winning play, this captivating novel is told through the eyes of a fifteen-year-old autistic boy who relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. This powerful story of his quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for a captivating read.
This coming-of-age novel details a year in the life of a ten-year-old boy living with his mother and three uncles in the small town of Aliceville, North Carolina, during the Great Depression. Delightful and wise, it brilliantly captures the pleasures and fears of youth at a time when America itself was young and struggling to come into its own.
This coming-of-age novel details a year in the life of a ten-year-old boy living with his mother and three uncles in the small town of Aliceville, North Carolina, during the Great Depression. Delightful and wise, it brilliantly captures the pleasures and fears of youth at a time when America itself was young and struggling to come into its own.
This enchantingly idiosyncratic tale of a young American girl going to school in England, where she is mocked for her accent and her friendship with an unpopular girl, evokes childhood in all its luminous weirdness.
This enchantingly idiosyncratic tale of a young American girl going to school in England, where she is mocked for her accent and her friendship with an unpopular girl, evokes childhood in all its luminous weirdness.
This warmhearted love letter between a granddaughter and her grandmother explores big emotions with wisdom and charm.
In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old Starla runs away from her strict grandmother’s home in Mississippi and embarks on a life-changing road trip.
In the summer of 1963, nine-year-old Starla runs away from her strict grandmother’s home in Mississippi and embarks on a life-changing road trip.
Told from the tender perspective of a young girl who comes of age amid the Cambodian killing fields, this searing novel is also an extraordinary celebration of strength, survival, and the transcendent power of imagination.
The brave and engaging tale of eleven-year-old Ellen Foster, who tells her unforgettable story with honesty, perceptivity, humor, and unselfconscious heroism.
The brave and engaging tale of eleven-year-old Ellen Foster, who tells her unforgettable story with honesty, perceptivity, humor, and unselfconscious heroism.
“THE AGE OF MIRACLES was so frightening because the apocalypse begins as an annoyance, like a lipstick that has melted. Walker’s greatest device is that the end of the world comes incrementally, almost casually, and each turned page winds the reader just a little more tightly.”
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