1. Nancy and Plum by B Macdonald
This was our favourite book when Emma was six. It’s a story about two sisters who run away from an orphanage and for young girls, it has everything going for it. There are wonderful descriptions of clothes, dolls and girls’ friendships and an adventure. It was my favourite book
when I was that age, too.
George Mann Books, £8.95 (ISBN: 0704102927)
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
I think that this is my all-time favourite picture book. It works for any child because of its short, poetic text where every word counts, but it’s the illustrations that really tell the story. It’s perfect for a child who is sitting on your lap looking at the pictures as you read.
Red Fox, £5.99 (ISBN: 0099408392)
3. Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Frances is a young badger and she’s a delightful, quirky character, but can be a bit obstinate and goes through a stage where she won’t eat anything more adventurous than bread and jam. Illustrations by Lillian Hoban.
Jonathan Cape Children’s Books, from £1.50, second-hand from www.amazon.co.uk (ISBN: 0224045911)
4. Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes by Kathleen Lines
A book of rhymes with wonderful, quirky illustrations by Harold Jones. I remember we got it out of the library and liked it so much that I went out and bought a copy. I feel it’s important for children to learn nursery rhymes.
Oxford University Press, £14.99 (ISBN: 0192782274)
5. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
It tells the story of three very different sisters who are sent to stage school. I have read a few Streatfeild stories aloud because they’re easy, entertaining books, but they are quite long, so for a young child, it’s perhaps best to read just a few chapters at a time. They really are lovely, engaging tales.
Orion Children’s, £9.99 (ISBN: 1842552473 )
6. What Katy Did by Susan M Coolidge
This is a warm story about a tomboy called Katy. She falls from a swing and is confined to her bed for a year and no one knows whether she’ll walk again. And there’s the saintly cousin, Helen, who got on my nerves terribly, but my daughter thought she was wonderful.
Wordsworth Editions Ltd, £1.50 (ISBN: 1853261319)
7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Instead of a rags to riches story, this is a riches to rags story. It’s about a rich, but not spoilt, little girl who’s left at a boarding school when her father loses all his money. Here she has to be a maid and live in the attic, where she has a pet rat as a friend. It ends happily and is a good, girly read.
Penguin Popular Classics, £2.99 (ISBN: 0140622373)
8. Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
Nesbit wrote in Edwardian times so her books are a little dated, but she has a lively style and they’re particularly good to read aloud because each chapter finishes the story within it. All her books are wonderful, but this one with the irritable sand fairy, the Psammead, is a particular favourite.
HarperCollins Children’s Books, £4.99 (ISBN: 0007196873)
9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
I try to get every girly girl to read this one because those four sisters are so real. Everybody’s favourite is Jo, the tomboy who wants to be a writer. Emma loved it and we had a wonderful holiday in New England where we went to Louisa May Alcott’s house.
The Modern Library, £5.99 (ISBN: 0375756728)
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Technically this is an adult book, but I read it to Emma when she was about 10. She particularly enjoyed the first few chapters when Jane is a little girl and she’s treated badly by her aunts and her cousins and then packed off to a terrible boarding school.
Penguin Classics, £5.99 (ISBN: 0140434003)
1. Nancy and Plum by B Macdonald
This was our favourite book when Emma was six. It’s a story about two sisters who run away from an orphanage and for young girls, it has everything going for it. There are wonderful descriptions of clothes, dolls and girls’ friendships and an adventure. It was my favourite book
when I was that age, too.
George Mann Books, £8.95 (ISBN: 0704102927)
2. Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
I think that this is my all-time favourite picture book. It works for any child because of its short, poetic text where every word counts, but it’s the illustrations that really tell the story. It’s perfect for a child who is sitting on your lap looking at the pictures as you read.
Red Fox, £5.99 (ISBN: 0099408392)
From 博客来书籍馆
「野獸國」如今已是西方家喻戶曉的經典故事。調皮的小男孩Max今天闖了許多禍，媽媽罵他是個「野東西」！生氣的Max晚餐也沒吃就關進房裡。那天晚上，Max的房間長出了巨大的叢林，牆壁退後成寬廣的世界。Max神氣地駕著小船，抵達了真正的野獸國。看哪，我們的小主角正在叢林裡和野獸們一同嬉鬧呢並成為野獸國的國王呢！但成為王中之王的Max忽然想起家來，回程中飄來一陣飯香，熱騰騰的晚餐正等著他。
Maurice Sendak以純熟的敘述手法，開啟了兒童無限寬廣的幻想國度。而圖畫的部分也隨著想像的開展，逐漸擴張版面，最後更是脫離了文字敘述，任由各種想像的野獸在書頁間自由蹦跳。在兒童的世界中，想像可以張開無邊際的翅膀，飛往不可能的極限。
3. Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban
Frances is a young badger and she’s a delightful, quirky character, but can be a bit obstinate and goes through a stage where she won’t eat anything more adventurous than bread and jam. Illustrations by Lillian Hoban.
Jonathan Cape Children’s Books, from £1.50, second-hand from www.amazon.co.uk (ISBN: 0224045911)
4. Lavender’s Blue: A Book of Nursery Rhymes by Kathleen Lines
A book of rhymes with wonderful, quirky illustrations by Harold Jones. I remember we got it out of the library and liked it so much that I went out and bought a copy. I feel it’s important for children to learn nursery rhymes.
Oxford University Press, £14.99 (ISBN: 0192782274)
5. Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
芭蕾舞鞋
It tells the story of three very different sisters who are sent to stage school. I have read a few Streatfeild stories aloud because they’re easy, entertaining books, but they are quite long, so for a young child, it’s perhaps best to read just a few chapters at a time. They really are lovely, engaging tales.
Orion Children’s, £9.99 (ISBN: 1842552473 )
6. What Katy Did by Susan M Coolidge
This is a warm story about a tomboy called Katy. She falls from a swing and is confined to her bed for a year and no one knows whether she’ll walk again. And there’s the saintly cousin, Helen, who got on my nerves terribly, but my daughter thought she was wonderful.
Wordsworth Editions Ltd, £1.50 (ISBN: 1853261319)
7. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett
小公主，英国女作家伯内特，网友daidailang指出我的错误，谢谢。
Instead of a rags to riches story, this is a riches to rags story. It’s about a rich, but not spoilt, little girl who’s left at a boarding school when her father loses all his money. Here she has to be a maid and live in the attic, where she has a pet rat as a friend. It ends happily and is a good, girly read.
Penguin Popular Classics, £2.99 (ISBN: 0140622373)
8. Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
Nesbit wrote in Edwardian times so her books are a little dated, but she has a lively style and they’re particularly good to read aloud because each chapter finishes the story within it. All her books are wonderful, but this one with the irritable sand fairy, the Psammead, is a particular favourite.
HarperCollins Children’s Books, £4.99 (ISBN: 0007196873)
【中文名】魔法灾神/沙仙活地魔/五个孩子与一个怪物/许愿精灵/砂之精灵/五个孩子和精灵
改编自全世界小朋友最喜爱的英国经典童书「Five Children and It」，它面世的时间距今已102年，却仍是书店热卖的书籍，销售量始终让其它同类型作品望其项背；虽然这本书的历史已经相当悠久了，它的地位却丝毫不因时光的消逝而有半分减损，反而因人物情节跃然纸上而更显其风华。
连《哈利波特》作者J.K罗琳都自承她是受到【沙仙-活地魔】系列作品的启发。【沙仙–活地魔】不只在欧美本地大受欢迎数度拍成影像作品，甚至还发扬光大到日本去，改编成名为【沙精沙米亚咚】的卡通大受欢迎。
2004年被电影公司相中，不惜成本邀得英国当代一流编导及演员、幕后工作人员拍出电影版，票房大获全胜，因为【沙仙–活地魔】不仅仅是一部靠声光效果来娱乐观众的一部电影，它更默默投注了温暖关怀的家庭价值观于其中，使整部电影的人文素质因而突显。一起进入各种灿烂梦想被一一实现的奇幻冒险吧！
9. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
小妇人，国内也有引进，有同名电影。
I try to get every girly girl to read this one because those four sisters are so real. Everybody’s favourite is Jo, the tomboy who wants to be a writer. Emma loved it and we had a wonderful holiday in New England where we went to Louisa May Alcott’s house.
The Modern Library, £5.99 (ISBN: 0375756728)
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
简爱
Technically this is an adult book, but I read it to Emma when she was about 10. She particularly enjoyed the first few chapters when Jane is a little girl and she’s treated badly by her aunts and her cousins and then packed off to a terrible boarding school.
Penguin Classics, £5.99 (ISBN: 0140434003)