arranged like a medical reference book. Look up the ‘ailment’ – be it boredom, bras, or not wanting to go to bed – and you’ll find a ‘cure’ in the form of a story, or two.
Bearing in mind that reading skills and habits develop differently for every child, we’ve organised our ‘cures’ by category rather than age, using the abbreviations PB for Picture Book, ER for Early Reader, CB for Chapter Book and YA for Young Adult fiction. You’ll be able to find books the right level for a child simply by scanning for these initials.
Though each abbreviation correlates roughly to a certain age group (see the table which follows), we recommend that you – and the children you’re reading with – roam freely among the categories. Some kids are reading chapter books by six, and many still love to hear a favourite picture book being read aloud long after they’ve learnt to read by themselves. Challenging subject matter is flagged up within the descriptions. Some ailments – such as being bullied, moving house, and sibling rivalry – span all ages, and therefore we cure with all categories. Others are more age-specific – such as acne, losing your favourite toy, and first kiss – requiring a cure from just one category. Sometimes we mix the categories up: a resonant picture book can be just the ticket for a hard-to-reach adolescent; and of course chapter books – that golden treasure trove – clamour as much to be read aloud as alone, making them great for the shared bedtime read.
In all cases, our cures span well-known and lesser-known stories, classic and contemporary, those written by authors from near and far away, books that are part of a longer series (where necessary, we name the series in brackets), and books that stand alone; but they’re always1 fiction. Sometimes they come as a list – The Ten Best Audiobook Series for Long Car Journeys, for instance, and The Ten Best Bedtime Reads for the Very Little (see here for an Index of Lists). There are ideas for dealing with common reading ailments too, such as being too fidgety to read, or the competition from screens (see here for an Index of Reading Ailments). And because many childhood ailments can be as challenging for the accompanying adult as for the child, we’ve included some Cures for Grown-ups, too (indicated with this symbol
| AGE | SYMBOL | DESCRIPTION |
| 6 and under | PICTURE BOOKS. Designed to be shared with a pre-reading child, picture books are a child’s introduction to the very notion of a book, conjuring stories by appealing to all the senses. Hang on to them: many make great beginner readers, and the best ones are multi-layered enough to hold appeal for many years to come. | |
| 5–8 (or beginner readers) | EARLY READERS. Featuring large type, simple words and illustrations, these are books designed with the beginner reader in mind. | |
| 8–12 | CHAPTER BOOKS. These can range from relatively simple to quite sophisticated. Give them to a child to devour in private, or enjoy reading them aloud together, depending on reading ability and whether or not you can bear to miss out on the story. | |
| 12 plus | YOUNG ADULT FICTION. This thriving category in children’s publishing reflects the preoccupations of adolescence. Expect relatively complex and perhaps hard-hitting storylines. Of course, many teens will be ready for adult novels as well; please refer them to our companion volume, The Novel Cure. |
1 Well, almost always.
2 As CS Lewis said, ‘A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.’
A–Z OF AILMENTS
‘Stories . . . entertain and teach; they help us both enjoy life and endure it. After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the things we need most in the world.’
Philip Pullman
A IS FOR . . .
about, what’s it all?
For some of us, it’s the question we’ve been waiting for. Finally an excuse to get up on the soapbox and hold forth about the meaning of life, the universe and everything. For others among us, being asked to explain where we came from and where we go next as we’re mashing up bananas can at best catch us on the hop and, at worst, provoke an existential crisis all our own.
Those wishing to approach the answer from a scientific point of view will appreciate the blend of biology and wonder in You Are Stardust. With simple words, accompanied by photographs of homespun dioramas by Korean artist Soyeon Kim, it takes us from our beginnings as atoms shooting out from an exploding star to living, growing organisms with constantly renewing cells. The emphasis is very much on being part of the great cycle of life – and on just how much we have in common with the rest of nature. Did you know, for instance, that the water inside our bodies is as salty as the ocean? Or that when we sneeze we expel air faster than a cheetah sprints? Or that bats and sperm whales get their friends to babysit? Of course, an inevitable part of being a living organism is that, along with everything else, we will one day die. But then the great cycle starts again. We are left with a sense of wonder at the miracle of it all – and the need to look after both our fragile planet and the precious ecosystem that is ‘planet You’.
As children get older, the question becomes, more fundamentally, one of how to live a good life. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tells the story of nine-year-old Bruno, who has moved with his father from Berlin to a desolate place called ‘Out-With’. It’s only gradually that we learn his father is the commander of the notorious Nazi prison camp.
Bruno hates his new home. There’s a huge garden, but he has no one to play with. And why is it that the people on the other side of the fence – fathers, grandfathers, children, none of them girls – go around wearing striped pyjamas all day? Bruno fondly imagines that these people are having a wonderful time, riding their bicycles and enjoying their meals communally. Only the reader knows how horribly far this is from the truth.
When one of these pyjama-clad figures comes up to the fence one day, he finally makes a friend. He and Shmuel talk to one another through the fence, and Bruno brings him food. Later, when grilled by a Nazi officer who visits their house, Bruno finds himself denying that Shmuel is his friend – and we see the terrible complicity he’s unwittingly embracing. But Bruno, in his innocence, also sees no reason not to stick by his friend when they embark on their awful, final adventure.
This book challenges the reader to ask what they know about right and wrong, what they know about human nature, and what they know about themselves. Bring it into your own household, and use it to establish the human values of justice, fairness and respect.
