Contest has now ended! Congrats Mandy x
One of my favourite things ever in the world to do is give books to other people, and I’m super excited to pass along to one lucky winner a couple of incredible middle-grade adventures for your favourite bookish kid.
A.L. Tait, otherwise known as a friend of mine, Allison (whom I’ve never met in the flesh, but that’s the way the internet works when you’re me!), is a fantastic writer of a broad stroke of genres. Her new series for kids aged 8 and over features a ragtag band of plucky girls who come to the aid of a young orphan on a secret and sometimes scary mission in its first iteration, The Book of Secrets.
What’s the secret of the book, and why is it so valuable? These are the questions Gabe must answer when a dying man hands him a coded manuscript with one instruction: take it to Aidan. Gabe is hurled into a quest that takes him beyond his monastery home and into a world of danger, political intrigue and adventure.
I loved this book. YA fiction is a huge jam for me (hence making an entire podcast out of the impossibly perfect lives of the kids at Sweet Valley High), and this book written for kids a hundred years younger still had me tearing through the pages to find out what happens. Coded manuscripts! The woods! Castles! These are a few of my favourite things.
As he seeks to decipher the code and find a mystery man who may not even exist, Gabe learns that survival must be earned and that some of life’s biggest lessons are not found in books.
As the mother of two girls, the existence of smart, funny and strong female characters in literature has me clicking “add to cart” faster than should be humanly possible.
This book is excellent for any and all kids who love adventure, intrigue, and a bit of suspense to get the heart pumping.
Gabe finds himself questioning everything he knows about right and wrong and wondering if he’ll ever find a way back home. He also discovers that the biggest secret of all may be his own.
And today, I’m giving away one copy of The Book of Secrets, and one copy of the first in Al’s Mapmaker Chronicle series Race to the End of the World to one lucky winner.
All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog post telling what was your favourite book when you were 8 and why?
Entries are open worldwide, and will close at 8.00pm AEDST on Friday, November 17. Winners will be chosen on merit, and will be notified on this post and via email.
Good luck!
Sarah says
My favourite book at 8yrs was
An ordinary princess by MM Kaye
I loved it so much I bought it and read all the time as a grown up
Melanie Henrikson says
I was an advanced reader, as is my 7yo daughter. My favourite at that age was I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith. I still love stories with strong female characters who don’t conform to the expectations of society and believe that they’re essential reading for all girls.
Lisa Winkel says
I think Apple paperbacks of any sort were my favourite. I loved obscure books. Like Tarantulas on The Brain, Emma Dilemma, Kate Be Late. I do also have a soft spot for The Secret Garden.
Mandy says
So many. The Ramona Quimby, Anastasia Krupnik and Little House series. I was stoked one year to receive all the Anne of Green Gables books for Christmas, although that might have been when I was nine. And the Babysitters Club, as you well know!
I still read a heap of YA stuff and would be very grateful to read these myself and to encourage my stubborn 7.5yo to read something that doesn’t feature a fairy as the main character!
Mary Preston says
THE SECRET SEVEN by Enid Blyton was the beginning of all sorts of adventures. I devoured the rest of the series as well. All of the books fired up my imagination. I credit these books, in a large part, for my absolute love of reading.
TJ Edwards says
My favorite book when I was 8 was a collection of scary stories that had these macabre drawings that as a kid I absolutely adored! I think it was called “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” and I still remember those drawings to this day, pure gold! For any boys interested in ghosts, ghouls and zombie, I’d recommend it!
Cathy says
Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary. The big sister/ little sister dynamic appealed to me as I am the older of two sisters 🙂 I also loved being able to share a few of the books from the Ramona series with my daughter who did rather like them too.
Sharlene Hensler says
I agree so much with Mary Preston above. I was home sick from school once, and my Dad came home from work that night with my first Secret Seven book. Loved, loved, loved them and it pains me that my own children have no interest in any of my childhood favourites!
Catherine says
The magic faraway tree would have been my favourite. I cannot even guess at the amount of hours l spent daydreaming about the possible lands that were in the clouds passing over us. When l had read the book so many times l could nearly recite it l then started writing my own chapters with my own lands. I still credit that book for instilling in me a love of reading and writing.
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Phillip Cunningham says
The Cat in the Hat as I could read it again and again, some of my best books were from Dr Suess
Renee Ballantyne says
Alice in Wonderland as it was so mysterious and fun
jane gardam says
The Secret Garden, I still can remember going to the bookshop with my mum to buy it. I loved this book so much and have gone on to read it many times over the years, even as an adult. I also love the movie as well.
Fran says
It was a pink book, a girl under the tent sheet on her bed with a lolly pop stuck to her clothes, surrounded by a huge mess in her room. It was called the Big Tidy Up, and I think it was Mum’s way of saying you are becoming that messy girl. I still have that book it is my favourite.
Sharon Fawcett says
I always loved the ‘Choose your own adventure’ books. You could read them a number of times choosing a different path that the main character could take.
Erin Pamela Bond says
I loved charlie and the chocolate factory, For a kid dreaming of a world of chocolate is complete bliss, having my own oompa loompa friend was my biggest wish
Steph says
The box set of the Magic Faraway Tree! Saw it at the book store with mum one day and then the next week it was gone. I was devastated but my sneaky mum had bought it for my birthday!
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