100 Books Every Child Should Read, UK-style
In mid-January, Telegraph.co.uk published a list of the "100 books every child should read." Like many must-read lists, it includes expected stalwarts such as Where the Wild Things Are, Charlotte's Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, and To Kill a Mockingbird. But this Brit list focuses on stories that are exciting to read (vs. books that teach you things you ought to know) and it actually has some titles I haven't seen on American recommended book lists.
I'm adding a sampling here, but I recommend clicking through to the actual list for the thoughtful introduction by author Michael Morpurgo about kids and stories, as well as fun thumbnail reviews like "A stirring tale," "No reader remains untouched," and my favorite: "Runcible."
Early and Middle Years
The Tiger Who Came To Tea, Judith Kerr
Quoting their blurb:
"[The BBC's] Newsnight's Emily Maitlis has a theory that this book is an allegory about sex. Most children understand it as the story of a tiger that eats its hosts out of house and home. Debate continues."
If you're unfamiliar with this book, you can enjoy a lovely reading here.
Roald Dahl has five books on the list: The Twits, Danny, the Champion of the World, George's Marvelous Medicine, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and The BFG. (Notable exclusion: American favorite James and the Giant Peach.)
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, T.S. Eliot
I was surprised to find poetry on a general reading list. Maybe that's not so surprising in Britain, I don't know. I started reading these poems to my son based on a tip from my ex-hippie uncle who read them to his kids--and I love reading them aloud--but I have been afraid he might grow up unknowingly quoting lyrics from Cats. (Although, let's face it, quoting T.S. Eliot could be equally dorky.)
Comet in Moominland, Tove Jansson
A new discovery in our family, though very popular in Europe ("the Mickey Mouse of Finland.")
Early Teens
Frenchman's Creek, Daphne Du Maurier
"A swashbuckling love affair," chosen over her potentially more familiar titles, Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel.
Junk, Melvin Burgess
A "clear-eyed story of heroin addiction." This winner of the Guardian Fiction Award and the American Library Association's Carnegie Medal appears on a number of UK teen book review websites, though little seems to have been written about it in the U.S. (A more extensive review is available at Amazon.co.uk.)
The Rattle Bag, edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes
More poetry(!), recommended for the "higgledy-piggledy mix of glories within."
The American Library Association's website and Book Crush, by Nancy Pearl, contain similar lists focused for young American readers in case you want to compare. --Heidi
Ivy vine on January 31, 2008 at 10:48 PM
"Junk" by Melvin Burgess seems to just be a shorter, more condensed version of his novel "Smack" (put out in 1999 with over 300 pages compared to 2001 for Junk with just 71 pages). Either that, or it is a very short sequel novel that definitely wouldn't have the same impact as Smack did.
I actually read Smack while sitting in a Barnes and Noble store in Berkeley, CA back in 1999, at a time that I was homeless and around a lot of kids that were druggies (including doing heroin). The story hit me greatly, even though I was going through basically the same things in a way at that time of my life, and so I know that it would have a huge impact (Smack that is, I don't know about Junk) to many others.
If they are indeed the same novel, just edited very much so for this "Junk" release, then I would love to know that this is the case, and this also might explain why there aren't as many reviews on the book in the USA, as more people might have read "Smack" instead...
Heidi on February 01, 2008 at 12:37 PM
Oh, wow. Thanks for clarifying this, and for your story! Because I'm not familiar with the book, I see now that I made an error in my original link. The edition of Junk I linked to here is only 71 pages because it is a play (!) based on the book. You can't tell that from the Amazon U.S. page, but Amazon.co.uk has a more complete description.
The version of Junk on the list (from Puffin Teen) is 336 pages and seems to be, as you pointed out here, the book published in the U.S. as Smack.