10 armchair adventures for junior bookworms
We're delighted to welcome Katherine Rundell – author of imaginative and adventurous children's books including The Good Thieves, The Explorer and The Wolf Wilder – to share her favourite adventure stories.
"I have always loved that books can make you feel like the world's most intrepid explorer, even though you're on a bus or a bench or in the bath. I love that there are books that can make your heart race even though outside it's cold and wet. I love that books can crowbar the world open for you." Katherine Rundell
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
A wild, fierce and rambunctious story about Max's visit to the land of monsters. It's beautiful and vivid and brilliant and everyone of every age should read it.
Northern Lights by Philip Pullman
This is, for me, one the very best books for children in the world – the story of Lyra and her daemon, fighting with all their heart against evil, with witches, armoured bears and Gyptians on her side.
Boy in The Tower by Polly Ho-Yen
This story – about a strange and viciously dangerous kind of plant known as The Bluchers, which are taking over the city, and one boy’s quest to find his friend – is funny and break-neck exciting and, ultimately, immensely moving.
Charmed Life by Diana Wynn Jones
This is perfect for anyone who loves Harry Potter, but Diana Wynne Jones is sharper, more ironical, and her plots are even more exciting.
Wed Wabbit by Lissa Evans
The story of a group of children who go hunting through the technicolor world of the Wimbly Woos for a missing brother, but everything is more chaotic and dangerous than it seems.
Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce
At the heart of the story is a boy who longs to go into space – but all the characters are hilarious and addictive; it’s full of peril, and beauty, and some really excellent jokes.
The White Darkness by Geraldine McCaughrean
A girl goes to Antarctica with her uncle, exploring across the endless ice, but the other adventurers are not what they seem. McCaughrean is, I think, entirely brilliant, and this is my favourite of her books.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The old-fashioned language in this takes perhaps half a chapter to get used to, and then you get the most fantastic, furious, swash-buckling, double-crossing story.
The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius
A story told from the point of view of a wise and generous ape, Sally Jones – she can't speak but she can understand everything, as her quest to prove her friend innocent of murder takes her across the whole world.
The Storm Keeper's Island by Catherine Doyle
There is magic on the island of Arranmore, and it is a magic that is awakening. Fionn and his sister discover their grandfather has a secret; it is his task to keep the island safe from the rising powers of the dark. The story is beautifully written and bite-your-own-fist exciting.
About Katherine Rundell's The Good Thieves
'Vita set her jaw and nodded at New York City in greeting, as a boxer greets an opponent before a fight.'
Fresh off the boat from England, Vita Marlowe has a job to do. Her beloved grandfather, Jack, has been cheated out of his home and possessions by a notorious conman with Mafia connections. Seeing Jack’s spirit is broken, Vita is desperate to make him happy again, so she devises a plan to outwit his enemies and recover his home. She finds a young pickpocket, working the streets of the city. And, nearby, two boys with highly unusual skills and secrets of their own are about to be pulled into her lawless, death-defying plan.
