Almost as important as their writing, we believe any aspiring author needs a robust, mixed diet of reading, reading, READING!
There is an astounding range of high-quality children’s books, and so much to learn from their pages. Look, for example, at how Philip Reeve tackles viewpoint shifts in the first of a trilogy, Mortal Engines. See how Celia Rees uses first person retrospective viewpoint in her swashbuckling Pirates! Study how David Almond has crafted his plot in Skellig and marvel at the diverse characterizations in Eva Ibbotson’s Journey to the River Sea. With an In-Depth Appraisal of your manuscript, we suggest books by top authors that we feel will enhance your understanding of the way a novel is crafted, and relate directly to your own writing. The Editors at Children’s Fiction Services have come up with lists of their personal favourites – no mean task, given the wealth of literature around! Fantasy, realism, classics, picture books… all are represented here. Many have won major awards, such as the Carnegie Medal, The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Nestlé Children’s Book Prize or the Whitbread Children’s Book Award (see our useful links page). Some have earned their place here by simply absorbing us in their wonderful storytelling. So here are the Editors’ Top Tens (in no particular order!): Caroline’s Top TenThe Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
Whump! by Susie Day
Pure Dead Wicked by Debbie Gliori
Magyk by Angie Sage
Little Lord Faunteroy by Francis Hodgeson Burnett
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
Revolting Rhymes by Roald Dahl
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis
Gargling With Jelly by Brian Patten
The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss Josie’s Top Ten
The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson
The Tulip Touch by Anne Fine
The Sheep Pig by Dick King-Smith
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson
Akimbo and the Elephants by Alexander McCall Smith
Stig of the Dump by Julia Eccleshare
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Click Clack Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin & Betsy Lewin
The Snail and the Whale by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Eat Your Peas by Kes Gray & Nick Sharratt Ruth’s Top Ten
The Butterfly Lion by Michael Morpurgo
Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve
A Pack of Lies by Geraldine McCaughrean
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen & Helen Oxenbury
Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents by Terry Pratchett
Aquila by Andrew Norris
Hitler’s Daughter by Jackie French
The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman Sarah’s Top Ten
The Midnight Folf by John Masefield
The Wind Singer by William Nicholson
Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
Where The Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
Holes by Louis Sachar
Rift by Beverley Birch
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper
Manic McGee by Jerry Spinnelli
King Solomon’s Mines by H. Rider Haggard Susie’s Top Ten
Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Love that Dog by Sharon Creech
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Gorilla by Anthony Browne
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy
Finn Family Moomintroll by Tove Jansson
Coraline by Neil Gaiman Zoe’s Top Ten
Pirates! by Celia Rees
Mog and Bunny by Judith Kerr
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler by Gene Kemp
The Enchanted Horse by Magdalene Nabb
Skellig by David Almond
Tom’s Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce
Blitzcat by Robert Westall
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes And finally, look out for Sarah Mussi’s The Door of No Return published by Hodder Hachette at the start of 2007 and entered for the prestigious Ottakars Award.