I realise that the last update I gave of our progress in the PaperTigers Reading the World Challenge 2009 was just beyond the half-way point – however, the deadline was over a month ago now, at the end of July, so I thought I’d better round it off!

For our last three books we read together:

Toad Away by Morris Gleitzman (Puffin, 2004). All about a brave cane toad wanting to make friends with the human race and traveling with two cousins to the Amazon to find out the secret of their ancestors as to how to achieve this… My two loved this and laughed uproariously at the rather revolting antics that cane toads are wont to get up to. I have to admit that I would probably have encouraged them to read this one on their own if I’d realised at the outset what it was going to be like – but actually, it was good to be a part of something that so appealed to their typical-boy sense of humor…

Super Jack by Susanne Gervay, illustrated by Cathy Wilcox (Angus & Robertson, 2003). The sequel to I Am Jack, this story focuses on Jack’s relationship with his family, especially the newly-introduced son of Rob, his Mum’s boy-friend. A family holiday intended to help everyone get to know each other is certainly eventful before the desired outcome is achieved… This is to be recommended to older children who may be trying to make sense of complex family relationships in their own lives.

Tom Crean’s Rabbit: A True Story from Scott’s Last Voyage by Meredith Hooper, illustrated by Bert Kitchen (Frances Lincoln, 2005). A very special, true story which is a great way to introduce early Antarctic exploration to young children – you can read a review from Create Readers here. This had the added kudos for my children of being a story which their grandad, who spent a year in the Antarctic quite a long time ago now, did not know…

Older Brother rounded off his Book Challenge with (more…)

We’re delighted to hear from two British boys who responded to our plea for information about books that children love. Alistair, who is nine and a half, says that books he has recently read for fun are books in the Young James Bond series by Charlie Higson, Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon, and The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo. His favorite authors are Michael Morpurgo, Charlie Higson, and Francesca Simon, with Hurricane Gold (in the Young James Bond series) and Tiger of the Snows by Robert Burleigh among the books that he has discussed with his friends. Morpurgo’s The Wreck of the Zanzibar is one of the books he has read for school that he enjoys and among his favorite books in a series are The Chronicles of Narnia, the many adventures of Harry Potter, and Young James Bond. Books he has read more than once are volumes of Tintin, Asterix, Harry Potter, and The Making of Monkey King and Monkey King Wreaks Havoc in Heaven, both by Debby Chen. A book that he found in the library that he longed to keep is one about BMW motorcycles–and, he assures us, although he’s a boy, he does enjoy reading books in which girls are central characters!

Ben, who is seven and a half, loves to read pop-up books, encyclopedias, stories with pictures, and Adam Frost’s Ralph the Magic Rabbit. Books that he has read more than once are Tintin books, Steve Parker’s Larger than Life, which he says is amazing and has recommended to his friends, Surprising Sharks by Nicola Davies, and If I Didn’t Have Elbows by Sandi Toksvig. His favorite writers are J.K. Rowling, Julia Donaldson, Herge, Francesca Simon, and Dick King-Smith. When it comes to books that he has borrowed from the library and wishes he could keep, he simply admits there are “loads.” He too enjoys books about girls, but not ones about sports!

Thanks to Alistair, Ben, and Evan for responding to our questions, which can be found at The Tiger’s Bookshelf: Asking the Kids

We would love to hear from more readers–perhaps a girl or two?