Resources

Many of you have been writing to ask about books I like to recommend for my students to retrieve their bond with reading. As I was making the list I realised most of the books I actually remember come from my own students’ suggestions and it turns out we’ve found we have pretty similar tastes over the years. This is of course a non exhaustive list and you’re more than welcome to join in by posting you or your own child’s favourites down here in the Comments section. Happy Reading!

Love That Dog by Sharon Creech. By far the most touching story that both my students and I have met on our reading journey. Sharon Creech steps into the skin of a young teenage boy who tries to give the reader an insight into his personal life through class poetry as encouraged by his teacher Miss Stretchberry. Just a tiny little book which has converted many of the most skeptical readers I had ever met…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by multiple award-winner Mark Haddon. It’s always been a challenge trying to summarise such a fascinating, unforeseen kind of a story. 15-year-old Christopher is dedicated to resolve one of the quirkiest enigmas he would have ever imagined to cross his path. Mark Haddon’s relentless attempt at understanding an individual dealing with Asperger owned him the multiple awards we know and leaves us delighted by this wonderfully written page-turner.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by JK Rowling. Almost no need for presenting this classic anymore. The first book has been unanimously adopted by my students and their even more of a fan teacher. Who wouldn’t fall for a budding friendship between three extraordinary young wizards and their adventures in a magical castle? Certainly a great way for our teens to discover a little bit of who they are in the process…

Un printemps vert panique by Paul Thiès. It’s a French book. Martin is a bell boy at the Hôtel des Quatre Saisons. When the Countess de Garrivier is found dead, the police investigate and Martin is suspected. Victim of attacks, he feels very lonely. Who wants to kill him and why? It’s a good novel for people from 8 to 15. I really recommend it because there is a lot of suspense. They are around 70 pages and it’s easy to read.   -Reviewed by Jonas.

Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. My favourite book is Calpurnia. This book has become my favourite book because the main character looks like me. It was written by Jacqueline Kelly in 2013. This novel tells the story of a girl who loves nature and its science and runs in nature but she lives near the twentieth century so Calpurnia leaves her facing difficulty about being a young girl in this century. -Reviewed by Océane.

Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter. Warrior Cats is a fiction book. This is a book where you’re gonna find a lot of adventure, you’re gonna have some emotions. This is a story where a cat escapes from his house and he explores a forest. Then he discovered that there are wild cats. The wild cats don’t want to approach him because he is a house cat. The wild cats think that he smells but then they start to accept him in the clan. In total there are four clans of wild cats.  They are enemies. It is emotional because there are some wars between different clans and sometimes there are some cats who die. Also what I like in this book is that the author is imagining  the cats talking, which makes us more creative and imaginative, we can think that we are them, talking in human language. There are 37 books in total of La guerre des clans. Also at the end of each book, there are some cliffhangers, we want to know what’s going to happen next… I think you should really read it especially if you like animals and adventure!  -Reviewed by Capucine.

The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shirai. My favourite book is a manga called The Promised Neverland. It was written by Kaiu Shirai and the drawings were made by Posuka Demizu. There are 12 volumes for now (the series is not complete yet).  Short summary: Emma, Norman and Ray are living happy days at the Grace Field House orphanage with their little brothers and sisters. Everyone considers “Mama”, the person in charge of the orphanage, like their real mom. But one night they discover the terrible truth about this orphanage and will try everything to escape, it is a matter of life and death … This book is my favourite book because it is really exciting and interesting, it is sometimes a little bit scary. I think the writer should never finish this series. :) -Reviewed by Félix.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. This book is about an American child in secondary school surviving all the embarrassing moments of life. It may also make you remember your life whether it’s a very stupid friend that you had or your parents’ behaviours at a simple mistake that you made in secondary. I personally find it funny but the end of each book is the juiciest or the least juici. If the end is the juiciest, you may find the rest of the book rather tedious and if it’s the least juici, you might be disappointed by the conclusion. Though most people try to find the funniest moments in the summary, go to it’s chosen page and have a good laugh, I would highly recommend you to read the entire story. You will understand the meaning of this book. One is to show the stupidity of most humans and another is to tell that it’s alright to be embarrassed. I also highly recommend this book to people that love to laugh at the miseries of others, it’s the only way to not make someone awful with your laughs.  I mostly read it on a plane, where things are so boring, it’s the perfect time to forget about our world and focus on hilarious and embarrassing things of life that the protagonist lives. -Reviewed by Ambrosio.        

The Worst Concert in the History of Rock by Manu Causse. It’s a story about a child who lives in Paris, his name is Jean Sebastien. He is twelve years old and is a big fan of classical music. When he changes school and moves to Limoges, he encounters three bullies: Clément, Adrien and Esteban. After a talent show where he plays the piano, the three bullies come to him and ask him to join their rock band. He must accept against his will and join the rock band. After a first disastrous concert, he realizes that playing music with friends can open you up to others and overcome your own fears. I did not like the fact it was so long a book, the story and the story was complicated because of the number of characters. This being said, it was an inspiring story and made me more interested in rock.  -Reviewed by Jules.

The Upside Down River by Jean-Claude Mourlevat. My favorite book is a French one, the title of this novel is La rivière à l’envers .I really liked it because you get attached to the main character through the story and that at the end of each chapter it leaves you with an intrigue that makes you want to read more. The story is about a 16-year-old vendor called Tomek, he meets a beautiful woman who asks him for directions, when she leaves the village, he starts a quest all over the world in search of the women he met in his shop and the mysterious “rivière à l’envers”. -Reviewed by Sylouane.  

The Miser by Jean-Baptiste Molière. I think “The Miser” is a very good book that represents the personality of some people, and who makes you think about the misery of lots of people in the world. This book talks about a family who has a miser father who chooses his children’s partners. I liked this book because it was very funny and  there was a lot of intrigue and problems to resolve. So I recommend it highly if you like French literature and furthermore it is easy to read. -Reviewed by Jean-Max.    

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. A young girl named Hazel Grace is 16 years old and lives in America. She has thyroid cancer. Her parents decided she was depressed because she was reading the same books and the same TV shows. So her mom decided to send Hazel to a support group for teenagers with cancer. At the support group they all talk about their experience of having cancer. In this support group she meets a boy called Augustus. He is 17 and they become friends. They find out they like the same book. Hazel and Augustus write to the author, and the author invites them to Amsterdam. Hazel’s mom hesitates to accept the invitation because of her health. But in the end she agrees. So Augustus, Hazel, and her mom go together to Amsterdam. They visit the author but they fight with him because Hazel and Augustus want to know the end of the story because  they think the book doesn’t end properly. The author doesn’t answer their question so instead Hazel and Augustus visit nice places in Amsterdam. When they are in Amsterdam they fall in love. Augustus tells her he’s going to die because his cancer is spreading. Hazel is devastated. When they come back to the US, Augustus dies and Hazel writes a speech for Augustus’s funeral. After the funeral she is heartbroken. She finds out that Augustus has written the end of the book they like. In it he says that getting hurt is unavoidable but he is glad he has chosen her to love.  I absolutely love this book, I was very moved by this book, it is very nicely written and  I think it’s a really nice novel. I highly recommend this book. Me and my friend are in love with this book. We both read it with passion. -Reviewed by Juliet.

The Complicated Life of Léa Olivier by Catherine Girard-Audet. This book is a comic of youth. The book was written by Catherine Girard-Audet and it was published on 10 april 2012. It’s a comic of 10 volumes but it can exist in the form of novels. The story is about a girl who has moved to Montréal: Lea Olivier’s existence was turned upside down when her parents announced that she would have to leave her native village to settle with them and her big brother Felix in Montréal. Thanks to the chats and emails exchanged with her best friend Marilou, her lover Thomas and her new friends, Léa tells us about the ups and downs of her adaptation in a big metropolis: a brother who is too good-looking and too popular, rather poor English notes, a stormy long distance relationship, a bunch of girls who cause her trouble … In short, this is all about The Complicated Life of Léa Olivier. She has to start a new life away from her boyfriend, in a new school and she must learn English. She is sad because she doesn’t see her boyfriend and she doesn’t speak English. When the school began, Léa did not know anyone in the school. She was scared and angry at her parents, she wanted to return to Paris. But one day, someone came to talk to her. They get to know each other and they become friends. Her friend explains the news and everything that happens at school. The story is about her new life. Our favourite part is when they become friends and when her friend introduces her to the other people because it’s very nice someone came to help her. We love this book because it is almost the same life as our lives when we arrived at CFBL. It’s very funny and it is gripping because many of us have lived the same experience as Léa. We couldn’t put the book down because it’s very mysterious. We haven’t read all volumes yet. We recommend this book to everyone between 10 and 14, and mostly to girls.  -By Salomé and Eléonore.