8 Great Books Told by Child Narrators

November 6 2014
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From Pip and Holden to Hazel Grace and Pi, stories with child narrators offer a new way to discover reading.  These books offer some of the best stories, interesting heroes and heroines, and unique voices in literature. You’d be hard-pressed not to want to spend time with a few of them.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
by Mark Haddon

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. The basis for the hit Broadway show, the improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Mark Haddon

Christopher John Francis Boone knows all the countries of the world and their capitals and every prime number up to 7,057. He relates well to animals but has no understanding of human emotions. He cannot stand to be touched. And he detests the color yellow. The basis for the hit Broadway show, the improbable story of Christopher's quest to investigate the suspicious death of a neighborhood dog makes for one of the most captivating, unusual, and widely heralded novels in recent years.

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Room
by Emma Donoghue

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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Room
Emma Donoghue

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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The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D.Salinger

Since 1951, the story of Holden Caulfield's coming-of-age has rightfully mesmerized generations of readers - 65 million copies have been sold around the world.

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The Catcher in the Rye
J.D.Salinger

Since 1951, the story of Holden Caulfield's coming-of-age has rightfully mesmerized generations of readers - 65 million copies have been sold around the world.

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The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green

At 16, Hazel Grace Lancaster, a three-year stage IV–cancer survivor, is clinically depressed. To help her deal with this, her doctor sends her to a weekly support group where she meets Augustus Waters, a fellow cancer survivor, and the two fall in love. Whip-smart, unsentimental, funny, charming and compelling you will fall in love with Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters. Just trust us on this. Okay? Okay. - See more at: https://offtheshelf.com/book/the-fault-in-our-stars/#sthash.79KXzQrw.dpuf

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The Fault in Our Stars
John Green

It appears that even hard-bodied hot dudes have a soft spot—and it comes in the form of John Green’s novel THE FAULT IN OUR STARS. When Hazel’s terminal cancer lands her at Cancer Kid Support Group, the last thing she expected to find was love. But when Augustus shows up, she gets to experience all the thrills, the heartbreak, and the raw emotion of being alive and being in love.

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
by Jonathan Safran

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.

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Jonathan Safran

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.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

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To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee

Wendy’s Fictional Dinner Party Guest: Atticus Finch

Perhaps it’s a cliché to want to have dinner with Atticus Finch—lawyer, father, all-around good man. Atticus is known for his conscience, grace, compassion, and morality. I suspect that his words would be full of insight and wisdom, and challenge me to sit straighter in my chair.

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To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee

Wendy’s Fictional Dinner Party Guest: Atticus Finch

Perhaps it’s a cliché to want to have dinner with Atticus Finch—lawyer, father, all-around good man. Atticus is known for his conscience, grace, compassion, and morality. I suspect that his words would be full of insight and wisdom, and challenge me to sit straighter in my chair.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
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Life of Pi
by Yann Martel

A ship sinks and sixteen year old Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. A mesmerizing tale that keeps you guessing long after you turn the last page

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Life of Pi
Yann Martel

A ship sinks and sixteen year old Pi finds himself in a lifeboat, his only companions a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and Richard Parker, a 450-pound Bengal tiger. Soon the tiger has dispatched all but Pi, whose fear, knowledge, and cunning allow him to coexist with Richard Parker for 227 days while lost at sea. A mesmerizing tale that keeps you guessing long after you turn the last page

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

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Great Expectations
by Charles Dickens

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work.

Set in nineteenth-century England, Great Expectations is Dickens’s timeless tale of an orphan boy’s extraordinary journey through life.

Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research.

Read with confidence.

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Great Expectations
Charles Dickens

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work.

Set in nineteenth-century England, Great Expectations is Dickens’s timeless tale of an orphan boy’s extraordinary journey through life.

Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research.

Read with confidence.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo iBooks logo

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