Ages 7-9: Sylvia Thompson on books which will appeal to both boys and girls
Many readers in the seven-nine age group enjoy reading independently and part of the thrill is expressing a preference for one or two authors and sticking rigidly to them. But their reading should not be confined to their favourites; you should nurture in them an appetite for other authors and different genres.
The current crop of newly published books for this age group ranges from domestic drama, comically captured in The More The Merrier by Anne Fine (Corgi £4.99), to adventure, in the excellent new novel by Philip Pullman, The Scarecrow and his Servant (Doubleday, £10.99), to comic thrillers Wolfgran Returns by Finbar O'Connor (O'Brien, €6.50) and The Meanwhile Adventures by Roddy Doyle (Scholastic Press, £9.99).
What is wonderful, in these gender focused times, is that all of these books should appeal to boys and girls in equal measure.
But, given the season that is upon us, let's start with The Boy Who Saved Christmas, by Vincent McDonnell (The Collins Press, €6.99), which was first published in 1992 by Poolbeg Press. This charming book is the story of how an orphan boy, Timmy, discovers an evil imposter has replaced Santa and how he sets out to find the kidnapped Claus with the help of his bird and animal friends. The story is simply told with excellent pacing and good characterization blended with those magical elements that make Christmas so special.
The Meanwhile Adventures is Roddy Doyle's third novel for children and in it he offers up a collection of far-fetched comic characters. The absurd and often hilarious story centres on the Mack family; Mister Mack is an inventor who is arrested when he arrives in a bank with a saw which is mistaken for a sawn-off shotgun. His wife, Billie Jean Mack, is running around the globe in an effort to beat the world record. Meanwhile, their children are desperately trying to rescue/keep in touch with their madcap parents with the help of the family pet, Rover. The main storyline is padded out with newspaper reports, oddball facts and a dialogue between the writer and his readers.The reader is left with the impression that Roddy Doyle has placed style over substance and in so doing has cheated the reader out of what could have been a better story.
Meanwhile, Irish author Finbar O'Connor skilfully takes up the theme of his first novel, Wolfgran, in the so-called prequel, Wolfgran Returns (O'Brien Press, €6.50). A clever, witty contemporary take on Little Red Riding Hood, this will capture the imaginations of both adult and child readers.
Phillip Pullman's reputation as a master storyteller goes before him and fans of his novels will be delighted with his latest offering, The Scarecrow and his Servant. True to form, he creates a fantastic adventure about a scarecrow who comes to life and the little boy, Jack, who befriends him. The magic of this - and of many of his books - lies in his ability to transcend current fashions and tastes and tap into children's universal desire to understand the world they live in. By giving animals and birds the ability to communicate with humans, he shows children how people behave in different circumstances and how courts of law can be swayed by morally questionable arguments and personal bias. Take note also that Pullman's classics, I Was a Rat or The Scarlet Slippers (Corgi, £4.99), Clockwork or All Wound Up (Corgi, £4.99) and The Firework Maker's Daughter (Corgi, £4.99) have all been republished.
Then there is the domestic drama genre in which authors such as Jacqueline Wilson write so well. This time it's the award-winning author Anne Fine, whose seasonal yarn, The More the Merrier (Corgi, £4.99), first published last year, is perfectly poised for Christmas.
Everyone will recognise someone in Ralph's extended family who come together to celebrate Christmas as their many human foibles (meanness, laziness, selfishness, slyness, etc) are put on display - with lashings of good humour thrown in for good measure. My eight-year-old is still quoting lines from the book weeks later! Finally, another award-winning author, Geraldine McCaughrean, brings a literary classic to life in her retelling of The Faerie Queen (Hodder Children's Books, £14.99), with illustrations by Jason Cockcroft. The original book was written by Edmund Spenser in 1596 for Queen Elizabeth I, but this version will offer an adult and child several hours of memorable reading together on those frosty, winter days that lie ahead.
Sylvia Thompson is an Irish Times journalist