Clare Libraries offers a class novels lending scheme to primary schools in the county. Class novel sets can be borrowed on a Teacher’s library card. Teachers can request class sets to be delivered to their nearest library by contacting library_mailbox@clarecoco.ie.
Sets must be returned in full to the library by the school when finished. Most sets have a minium of 12 -1 4 copies of a book, some sets have more. Teachers can ask the library staff at their preferred collection point to request extra copies of a title if they have large class groups.
The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
I am Ivan. I am a Gorilla. I’ve learned not to get my hopes up.
Ivan has lived in a cage in a shopping mall for most of his life. He rarely misses the jungle. In fact, he hardly ever thinks about it..
Then he meets Ruby, a baby elephant, who opens his eyes and shows him that there might be another way to live………….!
Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden
Bombs were falling on London. Carrie and Nick were wartime evacuees billeted in Wales on old Mr Evans, who was a bit of an ogre, and his timid mouse of a sister. Their friend Albert was luckier, living in Druid’s Bottom with Hepzibah Green and the strange Mister Johnny, and Carrie and Nick were happy to visit him there, until Carrie did a terrible thing, the worst thing she ever did in her life…
Carrie’s War is set in the mining valley in Wales where she lived as an evacuee during the Second World War.
Millions, the not-so-great train robbery by Frank Cottrell Boyce
What would you do with a million pounds? Buy a thousand pizzas? Give it to charity? Play cash Jenga? When a bag stuffed full of money drops out of the sky, Damian and Anthony find themselves rich. Very rich indeed. Suddenly the brothers can buy anything they want. They’ve got millions – but only seventeen days to spend it.
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne
If you do start to read this book, you will go on a journey with a nine-year-old boy called Bruno. (though this isn’t a book for nine-year-olds.) And sooner or later you will arrive with Bruno at a fence. Fences like this exist all over the world.
“Bruno is nine years old, and the Nazis’ horrific Final Solution to the ‘Jewish Problem’ means nothing to him. He’s completely unaware of the barbarity of Germany under Hitler, and is more concerned by his move from his well-appointed house in Berlin to a far less salubrious area where he finds himself with nothing to do. Then he meets a boy called Shmuel who lives a very different life from him — a life on the opposite side of a wire fence. And Shmuel is the eponymous boy in the striped pyjamas, as are all the other people on the other side of the fence. The friendship between the two boys begins to grow, but for Bruno it is a journey from blissful ignorance to a painful knowledge. And he will find that this learning process carries, for him, a daunting price.” Amazon.co.uk
Stay Where You Are & Then Leave by John Boyne
The day the First World War began, Alfie Summerfield’s father promised he wouldn’t go away to fight – but he broke that promise the very next morning. Four years on, his letters have stopped, and all Alfie knows is that he’s far away on a special, secret mission. Then, while shining shoes at King’s Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly spots his father’s name on a stack of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realizes that he’s a patient in a hospital close by – a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. And he’s determined to rescue his father from this strange, unnerving place…
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
When Mary Lennox is sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle everybody says she is the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. It is true, too. Mary is pale, spoilt and quite contrary. But she is also horribly lonely. Then one day she hears about a garden in the grounds of the Manor that has been kept locked and hidden for years. And when a friendly robin helps Mary find the key, she discovers the most magical place anyone could imagine…
The Ghosts of Magnificent Children by Caroline Busher
The year is 1848. It is a time when magic and ghosts exist. Four Magnificent Children are captured by Badblood’s Circus. Theo can look into your eyes and reveal your secret thoughts, which come out of his mouth like a swarm of bees.
Ginny has a bird called Blue living inside her. Her ribs are woven together to form a birdcage. Blue perches on a swing made from one of her ribs.
And the Thought-reading Twins, Archie and Millie Luxbridge, have an extraordinary ability to read each other’s minds.
They become stars of the circus but are unaware that Badblood has a dark and secret plan. One hundred years later the children’s ghosts appear on an island off the coast of Ireland where a boy called Rua befriends them. Rua discovers that a terrible fate awaits them and, in a desperate race against time, he struggles to learn how they may be saved.
The Legend of Valentine Sorrow by Caroline Busher
Sligo 1832. The cholera epidemic sweeps across Ireland like a secret, bringing with it a plague of vampires. Unsuspecting orphan, Valentine, is unaware of Clarabelle, a girl vampire, lurking in the shadows – then finds himself flying through the star-filled sky on his way to a vampires’ lair!
When Matilda, Valentine’s sister, comes home from the fever hospital she discovers that her brother has vanished. She will stop at nothing to find him.
Valentine embarks on a new life of harrowing adventures: he is shipwrecked at the foot of an ancient lighthouse, battles with Vampire Hunters, and works as an illusionist in a Dublin theatre.
Then he and Clarabelle’s vampire family take up residence in Casino Marino, and exquisite summerhouse in Dublin with hidden rooms and secret passageways.
But an old enemy of the family seeks them out and intends to destroy them……
Does Valentine have what it takes to defeat him?
Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
Moose Flanagan lives with his family on Alcatraz Island – home to a high security prison and the famous gangster Al Capone.
But living next door to Al Capone is the least of Moose’s problems. He has a new school to get used to and new friends to make, and his mother is so busy looking after his sister that she has no time to listen to his concerns.
When Moose and his new friends come up with plans to make money out of the convicts things start to look up. Until his sister Natalie poses an even bigger problem to him than she usually does.
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Rumour has it Artemis Fowl is responsible for every major crime of the new century. Just twelve years old and already he’s a criminal genius, plotting to restore his family’s fortune with a spot of corruption and kidnapping. Kidnapping a fairy for ransom, to be precise. Artemis Fowl has discovered a world below ground of armed and dangerous – and extremely high-tech – fairies. But he may have underestimated their powers. They will fight back. Is the boy about to trigger a cross-species war? Let the misadventure begin.
Benny and Babe by Eoin Colfer
A summer in the Irish countryside is not Benny Shaw’s idea of a good time. Especially as the people of Duncade don’t appreciate him as the sporting prodigy that he is. All he gets is teasing which is a favourite pastime of annoying tomboy Babe Meara.
Streetwise Benny has met his match and he doesn’t know the rules of this particular game. And when Babe turns from a real pain into a real girl, the trouble well and truly begins.
Benny and Omar by Eoin Colfer
For Benny the move to Africa is catastrophic.
Nobody there plays his favourite sport – hurling. School is weird with happy-clappy, ageing hippies for teachers! And the village doesn’t even deserve the name village; more of a camp, really.
Then he meets Omar – a wild boy living on his talent for buying, selling, fixing and making-do. His English has been learned from TV, his life skills from necessity.
A madcap friendship develops between the two and their antics become the bane of village life. Then real life intervenes and the boys must outwit the village guards, Benny’s parents and ultimately, the police.
Fields of Home by Marita Conlon-McKenna
This is the third book in the Children of the Famine trilogy. It follows the lives of Eily, Michael and Peggy, who have survived the famine. Eily is living on a little farm with her husband John and two children, Mary-Brigid and Jodie. Her great-aunt, Nano, also lives with her. Peggy has moved away to Boston where she is working as a maid for the Rowans. Michael is training to be a horseman in the big house. Here, the struggle for the land is vividly explored through the story of Eily and her young family.
In Deep Dark Wood by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Bella Blackwell, a mysterious old lady moves in next door to Mia and Rory. Soon Mia falls under the woman’s spell and her mind is filled with stories of dragons, giants and a place where magic still exists.
Then Mia disappears. In a desperate quest to find his sister, Rory travels to a world where he must face fierce creatures and terrible dangers. Will the children ever return to the lives they once knew?
Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna
The Great Irish Famine brilliantly recreated through the story of three young survivors. Left alone when their father and mother disappear, Eily, Michael and Peggy set off on a long journey in search of the great-aunts they have only heard about in their mother’s family tales. A story of courage, danger, adventure and survival, and of a brother and two sisters who never gave up.
Wildflower Girl by Marita Conlon-McKenna
Wildflower Girl is the second book in the Children of the Famine trilogy. At seven, Peggy made a dangerous journey through Ireland during the Great Famine. Now thirteen, she goes on another challenging journey, across the Atlantic to America to start a new life as a maid in a grand house. A story of courage, independence and adventure.
New Kid by Jerry Craft New (Graphic Novel)
Jordan Banks loves art and making cartoons about his life, but instead of sending him to the art school of his dreams, his parents enrol him in a prestigious private school known for its academics, where Jordan turns out to be one of the few kids of colour in his entire grade.
Soon, Jordan finds himself torn between two worlds and not fitting into either.
Can Jordan learn to navigate his new school culture while keeping his neighbourhood friends and staying true to himself?
Colm & the Lazarus Key by Kieran Mark Crowley
Colm thinks that spending a fortnight with his cousin – The Brute – is the worst thing that can happen to him this summer. He’s about to find out he’s wrong. Very wrong!
While driving The Brute to his home in the country, Colm and his parents stop for the night at a quiet, old hotel. When strange things begin to happen, Colm finds himself stuck right in the middle of an adventure, whether he likes it or not. Colm and The Brute must overcome their dislike of each other and work together if they’re going to solve the mysteries that are quickly unfolding around them:
Who is the tall, thin man and why is he hiding out in the hotel?
What does the beautiful Lauryn see in The Brute?
And why has the world’s most dangerous criminal just arrived in a small Irish town?
The BFG by Roald Dahl
On a dark silvery moonlight night, Sophie is snatched from her bed by a GIANT.
Luckily it is the BIG FRIENDLY GIANT, the BFG, who only eats snozzcumbers and glugs frobscottle.
But there are other giants in GIANT COUNTRY:
Fifty-foot brutes who gallop far and wide every night to find human beans to eat.
Can Sophie and her friend the BFG stop them? Let’s hope so – otherwise the next child a gruesome giant guzzles could be You.
Danny The Champion Of The World by Roald Dahl
Danny lives in a gypsy caravan with his father, the most marvellous and exciting father any boy ever had. All the land around them belongs to Mr Victor Hazell, a rich snob with a great glistening beery face and tiny piggy eyes. Nobody likes him, not one little bit. So one day Danny and his father concoct a daring plot that will give the old blue-faced baboon Victor Hazell the greatest shock of his life – so long as they don’t get caught…
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
James Henry Trotter lives with two ghastly hags. Aunt Sponge is enormously fat with a face that looks boiled, and Aunt Spiker is bony and screeching. He’s very lonely until one day something peculiar happens. At the end of the garden a peach starts to grow and grow and grow. Inside that peach are seven very unusual insects – all waiting to take James on a magical adventure. But where will they go in their giant peach and what will happen to the horrible aunts if they stand in their way? There’s only one way to find out…
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Matilda Wormwood’s father thinks she’s a little scab. Matilda’s mother spends all the afternoon playing bingo. And Matilda’s headmistress, Miss Trunchbull? Well, she’s the worst of all. She is a big bully, who thinks all her pupils are rotten and locks them in the dreaded chokey. As for Matilda, she’s an extraordinary little girl with a magical mind – and now she’s had enough. So all these grown-ups had better watch out, because Matilda is going to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget.
The Witches by Roald Dahl
Beware. Real witches dress in ordinary clothes and look like ordinary women. But they are not ordinary. They are always plotting and scheming with murderous, bloodthirsty thoughts – and they hate children. The Grand High Witch hates children most of all and plans to make every single one of you disappear. Only one boy and his grandmother can stop her, but if their plan fails the Grand High Witch will frizzle them like fritters, and then what…?
The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd
Monday 24 May, 11.32 a.m.
Ted and Kat watch their cousin Salim get on board the London Eye. The pod rises from the ground.
Monday 24 May, 12.02 p.m.
The pod lands and the doors open. People exit – but where is Salim?
When Aunty Gloria’s son, Salim, mysteriously disappears from a sealed pod on the London Eye, everyone is frantic. Has he spontaneously combusted? (Ted’s theory.) Has he been kidnapped? (Aunt Gloria’s theory.) Is he even still alive? (The family’s unspoken fear)
Even the police are baffled. Ted, whose brain runs on its own unique operating system, and his older sister, Kat, overcome their prickly relationship to become sleuthing partners. They follow a trail of clues across London in a desperate bid to find their cousin, while time ticks dangerously by….
Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by Alan Early
Arthur Quinn has problems. He has just moved to Dublin and started a new school, and now he’s having crazy dreams about the Viking God Loki. But it soon becomes clear these are more than dreams – Arthur is actually having premonitions about a great evil that threatens the world. With his new friends, Will and Ash, Arthur sets out to discover what Loki is up to. Together they discover that under the streets of Dublin, buried in a secret chamber, is a creature that’s been imprisoned for a thousand years, a creature that can and will destroy the world – if Loki has anything to do with it. Can Arthur defeat the Viking god of mischief?
Fugitives by Aubrey Flegg
The boat is waiting…but Con, son of Hugh O’Neill, is missing. Can he be found in time?
It is 1607 and Hugh O’Neill, the great Earl of Tyrone, once the most powerful man in Ireland, has lost the fight against the English at the Battle of Kinsale. Along with many Irish ruling families, the O’Neills must flee Ireland, leaving their lands and their people behind.
Con’s cousin Fion is charged with finding him and bringing him to the boat waiting for them in Lough Swilly. But time is running out; the boat must leave, and Con, up to his usual mischief, is away in the mountains.
Fion and his companions, hunted every step of the way, are on his trail. But this is no easy search – there are dangers and threats everywhere in war-torn Ireland. And Con would be valuable ‘property’ for anyone able to catch him and sell him to the English…
Katie’s War by Aubrey Flegg
Katie’s father comes home shell-shocked from the Great War. He stands staring into the distance. Is he mad? Katie wonders. She gradually wins him back to normality, yet she lives in fear that the madness will return.
Father wants to open up the mines he owns, and friends come from Wales to help. But Ireland is in turmoil after the War of Independence against the English. Michael Collins has signed the Treaty, but war continues, except that now it is Irish against Irish.
For Katie there is no avoiding the war.
Should she side with her rebel brother, Seamus? Or support the handsome Free State soldier she met in Nenagh? Or agree with her father that all guns are evil?
There is something she can do but it is daring and dangerous. And her only help is the scrawny Welsh boy whom she nicknames Frog.
The Wordsmith by Patricia Forde
Letta loves her job as the Wordsmith’s apprentice, giving out words to people who need them. It doesn’t strike her as odd that the people of Ark are only allowed to use a few hundred words, and words like ‘love’, ‘hope’ and ‘freedom’ are banned. When her master disappears, Letta starts to understand that all is not well – John Noa, the ruler of Ark, is out to destroy language altogether. Letta has to find a way to stop him silencing what is left of the human race. But she’s only a young girl, and he’s the leader of the known world…
Anne Frank. The Diary of a Young Girl
The Diary of a Young Girl remains the single most poignant true-life story to emerge from the Second World War.
In July 1942, Anne Frank and her family, fleeing the horrors of Nazi occupation, hid in the back of the Amsterdam warehouse. Anne was thirteen when the family went into the secret annexe and, over the next two years, she vividly describes in her diary, the frustrations of living in such confined quarters, the constant threat of discovery, the hunger and fear. Her diary ends abruptly when, in August 1944, she and her family were finally discovered by the Nazis.
Anne Frank died in March 1945, aged fifteen, in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany.
This book provides a deeply moving and unforgettable portrait of Anne Frank – an ordinary girl and yet an extraordinary teenage girl.
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn’t live in a graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts.
There are dangers and adventures for Bod in the graveyard. But it is in the land of the living that real danger lurks for it is there that the man Jack lives and he has already killed Bod’s family.
A deliciously dark masterwork by bestselling author, Neil Gaiman, with illustrations by award-winning Chris Riddell.
Friend of Foe by Brian Gallagher
When Emer Davey saves her neighbour Jack Mulligan from drowning, it seems that they’ll be friends forever. But eight months later, they find themselves on opposite sides in a life-or-death struggle,
as Dublin is torn apart by the Easter Rising.
Like her father, who is a part-time officer in the Irish Volunteers, Emer believes that armed rebellion is the only way for Ireland to gain independence from Britian. Jack, meanwhile, follows the rule of the law, just like his da, a sergeant in the Dublin Metropolitan Police. The two young friends find their loyalties tested as the terrifying reality of war sets in – and the Rising hits closer to home than either could have imagined.
Pawns by Brian Gallagher
Young Johnny Dunne works hard at Balbriggan’s Mill Hotel, but still finds time to enjoy life with his friends, Alice and Stella. Though the three come from different backgrounds – Johnny had a harsh childhood in an orphanage, Alice is the daughter of the hotel owner and Stella the daughter of the Commanding Officer at the nearby RAF Gormanston – they’re inseparable, living at the hotel and playing together in the town band. But with the War of Independence raging, the friends face difficult decisions. Stella is pro-British, Johnny is pro-independence, and Alice is somewhere in between. Johnny’s secret role, spying for the IRA on the British forces, puts him in danger. And Stella and Alice have hard choices to make – choices that threaten their lives…
Spies by Brian Gallagher
Fourteen-year-old orphan Johnny Dunne is a spy working for rebel leader Michael Collins in his secret war against British Intelligence. Dublin is a city full of gunmen, soldiers, police informers and the dreaded Black and Tans. Johnny has to watch his every move. But he misses his friends back in Balbriggan, Alice Goodman, and Stella Radcliffe, the daughter of a British officer, who risked her own life to save Johnny’s. As the War of Independence grows more lethal, the three friends must decide where their loyalities lie. Then a secret from Johnny’s past changes everything…
Taking Sides by Brian Gallagher
Annie Reilly’s dreams of becoming a teacher look like they’re coming true when she wins a schorlarship to Eccles Street School. There, she makes friends with Susie O’Neill, and through Susie she meets Peter Scanlon, a boy from a wealthy family who plays rugby for Belvedere. But civil war is brewing, and hotheaded Peter has become involved in running messages for the rebels who are resisting the army of the new Irish Free State. Annie is horrified when she discovers Peter’s secret, but when he is stopped by police and uses her as an alibi, she goes along with it, even though it could mean the loss of her vital scholarship. Then Annie is kidnapped – forcing Peter to make a terrible choice. Should he risk his life and betray his cause for Annie? And can they ever be friends again after this?
I Am David by Anne Holm
David lay quite still in the darkness of the camp, waiting for the signal
“You must get away tonight” the man had told him. “Stay awake so that you’re ready just before the guard is changed. When you see me strike a match, the current will be cut off and you can climb over – you’ll have half a minute for it, no more”
David escapes from a concentration camp and flees across Europe. He is utterly alone – who can he trust? What will await him back home?
And all the while he knows that they may catch up with him….
The Iron Man by Ted Hughes
Where had he come from? Nobody knows. How was he made? Nobody knows. Part modern fairy tale, part science-fiction myth, The Iron Man describes the unexpected arrival in England of a mysterious giant “metal man” who wreaks havoc on the countryside by attacking the neighbouring farms and eating all their machinery. A young boy called Hogarth befriends him, and Hogarth and the extraordinary being end up defending and saving the earth when it is attacked by a fearsome “space-bat-angel-dragon” from outer space.
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in it any longer. Suppose you found, to your surprise, that your own father was one of these people. That is what happened to Anna, in Germany in 1933.
Anna is too busy with schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother are rushed out of Germany in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis. This is the start of a huge adventure, sometimes frightening, very often funny and always exciting.
SOS Lusitania by Kevin Kiely
Thirteen-year-old Finbar Kennedy runs away from home in Queenstown (Cobh) to follow his sea-captain father onto the Lusitania. On the return journey from New York, Finbar works as a deck-hand, and running messages gives him a lot of information. He begins to understand that something strange is happening. But what can he do? And whom can he trust? Fact is stranger than fiction: In May 1915 the huge liner, the Lusitania, sank off the Cork coast near the Old Head of Kinsale. This happend during the First World War. But, unlike the Titanic tragedy, this was no accident. The ship was torpedoed by a German submarine. Rumour has it that there were spies, arms and gold on the Lusitania. These rumours were true.
Stig of the Dump by Clive King
Nobody believes Barney when he says he’s discovered a boy living wild in the dump. But for Barney, Stig is totally real with a lot of shaggy hair and two bright black eyes, wearing a rabbit skin and speaking in grunts. They become great friends, learn each other’s ways and embark on a series of exciting adventures.
Twin Power: Throw In by Emma Larkin
Aoife and Aidan Power love playing Gaelic football.
Together, they’re so skilful and fast their friends call them ‘Twin Power’.
But why won’t Aoife play for their local club team, Droichead Beag? Could it have something to do with their Under-12 rivals, Gorman?
Can Droichead ever win if Twin Power don’t play together?
Whatever the problem, team spirit and friendship can help …
Brian Boru, Emperor of the Irish by Morgan Llywelyn
Brian Boru grew up in an Ireland torn by wars – chieftain against chieftain, tribe against tribe – and devastated by the Vikings. As a boy, Brian wanted to be a mighty warrior, and when his family were massacred by the Vikings, his only aim was to defeat these enemies forever. But Brian was not just a fearless fighter, he was a clever, educated man. He learned the ways of his enemies and overcame opposition, prejudice and treachery to become High King of Ireland. And in the famous Battle of Clontarf in 1014 Brian Boru finally conquered the Vikings. It was his last act.
Binny for Short by Hilary McKay
Binny’s life has been tough, since her father died and dreadful old aunt Violet disposed of her wonderful dog Max. However, a change in luck brings new friends and discoveries, and a high tide adventure because Binny still can’t help gazing after every black and white dog she sees…
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
When the Second World War breaks out, young Willie Beech is evacuated to the countryside. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of kind old Tom Oakley. But then his cruel mother summons him back to war-torn London… Will he ever see Mister Tom again?
The Secret of Kells by Eithne Massey
Brendan’s Uncle, Abbot Cellach, forbids him to set foot outside the walls of Kells. ‘The Vikings are coming’, he warns. But Brendan longs to help the famous illuminator, Aidan, with the Great Book. In the dark of the night he sneaks into the forest to collect ink berries for Aidan. There he is attacked by wolves, meets a strange fairy girl – and stumbles on the cave of the evil Crom Cruach, the Dark One. Can Brendan outwit the serpent god? Will the Great Book ever be finished? And will the walls of Kells protect Brendan and the monks from the invading Vikings?
Cool! by Michael Morpurgo
Robbie lies in a coma, after a terrible car accident involving his dog, Lucky. He can hear, but he can’t move or speak. He can’t tell his family that he loves them, that he’s going to be OK. Everyone comes to visit Robbie, desperate to reach him – even the famous Chelsea footballer Zola. But Robbie is on the brink of death and nothing is working. Will they ever be able to bring him back?
Farm Boy by Michael Morpurgo
The magical sequel to War Horse.
I love Grandpa’s farm. When I was younger I’d go down there whenever I could; but I didn’t just go for the farm. I went for Grandpa and his stories too. But Grandpa had a secret, a secret so shameful he kept it to himself, all these years…
Homecoming by Michael Morpurgo
Michael loves to visit Mrs Pettigrew in her railway carriage by the sea, where she lives with her donkey, dogs and hens. But when plans are made to build a nuclear power station, Mrs Pettigrew’s idyllic life becomes threatened – and Michael learns that nothing can ever stay the same.
Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo
Washed up on an island in the Pacific, Michael struggles to survive on his own. With no food and no water, he curls up to die. When he wakes, there is a plate beside him of fish, of fruit, and a bowl of fresh water. He is not alone…
Little Manfred by Michael Morpurgo
It is the summer of 1966, and Charley and her little brother, Alex, are walking their dog Manfred on the beach when they notice two old men, staring out to sea. A chance encounter brings them together and slowly Charley and Alex learn of their mother’s past. For in 1945, their farmstead home was a posting for German prisoners of war and their mother Grace was just a little girl…
Meeting Cezanne by Michael Morpurgo
Many images from that spring in the south of France will stay with Yannick long after: his kind, jolly aunt and uncle in their bustling inn; his beautiful green-eyed cousin Amandine; the dark pointing trees and gentle hills so beloved of his mother’s hero, the painter Cezanne. And as Provence weaves its magic over the young boy, a part of him is changed forever.
Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
As young Thomas Peaceful looks back over his childhood from the battlefields of the First World War, his memories are full of family life deep in the countryside.
But the clock is ticking and every moment Tommo spends remembering how things used to be, means another moment closer to something which will change his life forever.
A poignant story of the First World War.
Shadow by Michael Morpurgo
Never has Aman needed a friend more than when a Springer Spaniel appears in the mouth of his Afghan cave. The dog becomes a constant companion, a shadow, and that’s what Aman decides to call her. But life becomes more dangerous by the moment. Eventually, Aman and Shadow find the courage to leave. But how far can Shadow lead them? And in this terrifying new world, is anywhere really safe?
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo
In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of battle from both sides of the trenches. Bombarded by artillery, with bullets knocking riders from his back, Joey tells a powerful story of the truest friendships surviving in terrible times. One horse has seen the best and the worst of humanity. The power of war and the beauty of peace. This is his story. A powerful story of the truest of friendships in the worst of wars from the award-winning master storyteller Michael Morpurgo.
The Book of Learning by E. R. Murray
After the death of her beloved grandpa, Ebony Smart’s world is turned upside down. Sent to Dublin to live with an aunt she didn’t know existed, she soon discovers that her new home, 23 Mercury Lane, is full of secrets. Learning that she is part of an ancient order of people who have the power to reincarnate, Ebony quickly discovers that a terrible evil threatens their existence. With just her pet rat, Winston, and a mysterious book to help her, she must figure out why her people are disappearing and how to save their souls, and her own, before time runs out…
The Book of Shadows by E. R. Murray
It’s two months since Ebony Smart saved herself and The Order of the Nine Lives from Zach Stone and Judge Ambrose. But she knows they’re out there, plotting their revenge. When she is sent a mysterious silver box with instructions to locate its owner, events quickly spiral out of control. Ebony soon finds herself in a race against time to unravel the mystery of the box, rescue her new friend, Chiyoko, from pirates and stop Ambrose enlisting the help of an enemy that she might not be able to defeat. With the help of her Aunt Ruby, Uncle Icarus and pet rat Winston, Ebony must find the strength and courage needed to prove herself the rightful guardian of the Order, before darkness prevails.
Beyond the Cherry Tree by Joe O’Brien
Beyond the Cherry Tree lies a wonderful and enchanting land, inhabited by amazing and magical creatures…
When Josh Bloom and his friends visit Cherry Tree Manor on a school trip what really interests the class is the mystery about the manor’s owner, General Edgar Pennington, who disappeared exactly twelve years before. Everyone hopes to find a clue to where the general has gone.
Then Josh discovers something in the manor library that sends him on an adventure of a lifetime – to the land beyond the cherry tree. Josh’s quest is one of magic, danger and excitement, true friends and terrifying enemies; a quest to fulfill his own destiny…
Will he ever return from beyond the cherry tree?
The Hiring Fair by Elizabeth O’ Hara
It is 1890 and Parnell is the uncrowned king of Ireland. But thirteen-year-old Sally Gallagher, “Scatterbrain Sally” as her mother and younger sister Katie call her, has no interest in politics. She is happy to read books and leave the running of the house to those who like housework. A shocking tragedy changes the lives of the sisters. Instead of being the daughters of a comfortable Donegal farmer and fisherman, they have to become hired servants, bound for six months to masters they don’t know.
Elizabeth O’ Hara has written an exciting story that has its share of sorrow and joy. She creates in Scatterbrain Sally a new and unforgettable Irish heroine.
Wonder by R. J. Palacio
You can’t blend in when you were born to stand out. My name is August. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse. Wonder is the award-winning story of Auggie Pullman: an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, who is desperate to fit in.
Auggie & Me, Three Wonder Stories by R. J. Palacio
Julian has always felt uncomfortable around Auggie – but a summer spent with his grandmother in Paris makes Julian see Auggie with new eyes. Christopher is Auggie’s oldest friend – and knows better than most that being part of Auggie’s life comes with its challenges. Charlotte has always been nice to Auggie – but in a year of torn loyalties and damaged feelings, is being nice really enough? Now read a new side to the Wonder story, from three characters whose lives have been changed by Auggie forever.
After the War by Tom Palmer
Summer 1945. The Second World War is finally over and Yossi, Leo and Mordecai are among three hundred children who arrive in the English Lake District. Having survived the horror of the Nazi concentration camps, they’ve finally reached a place of safety and peace, where they can hopefully begin to recover.
But Yossi is haunted by thoughts of the loved ones he has lost and disturbed by terrible nightmares. As he waits desperately for news of his missing father, he fears that Mordecai and Leo – the closest thing to family he has left – will move on without him. Will life by the beautiful shores of Lake Windermere be enough to bring hope back into all their lives?
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Jesse Aarons wants to be the fastest boy in the class, but when Leslie Burke moves into the neighbouring farm his life changes forever. Even though she runs faster than him, Jesse thinks Leslie is all right – she’s clever, funny and has good ideas. It is Leslie who invents Terabithia, the secret magical kingdom on an island across the creek where Jesse can escape his troublesome family. But one day tragedy strikes and Jesse needs to find the courage to overcome his fears…
The Brilliant World of Tom Gates by L. Pichon
I’m Tom Gates. When my teachers don’t have their beady eyes on me, I like to draw pictures and think of ways to annoy Delia. My teachers think I am easily distracted and “lack focus”. Which is a bit harsh, because right now I am very focused on which biscuit I should eat first…mmm?
Spirit of the Titanic by Nicola Pierce
‘That calm, sunny day is one I’ll always remember… because the twentieth of April, in the year 1910, was the day I, Samuel Joseph Scott, died.’
Fifteen-year-old Sam plunges to his death whilst building his beloved Titanic. Now as the greatest ship the world has ever seen crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Sam finds himself on board – as a ghost.
His spirit roams the ship, from the glamour of first class to the party atmosphere of third class.
Sam shares the excitement of Jim, Isobel and their children – on their way to a new life in America.
Disaster strikes when Titanic hits an iceberg. As Titanic sinks to an icy grave, Jim and his family are trapped behind locked gates…
Duck and Swan by John Quinn
When Martin ‘Duck’ Oduki, abandoned in Dublin by a Nigerian father and an Irish mother, runs away from St. Mark’s Care Centre, Emer Healy discovers him hiding on a school bus bound for Galway.
Watching her sick mother’s struggle to regain her health, Emer is also running from the pain and confusion she feels inside. It isn’t long before the two children feel they need each other.
Duck finds other unusual allies in Granny Flynn, who knows a thing or two about institutional life, and her husband, blind Tom, who introduces Duck to the game of hurling.
Duck and Swan is a moving and often funny story of friendship and acceptance set against a background of intolerance and high adventure.
The Summer of Lily and Esme by John Quinn
What a summer it is for Alan! He wasn’t much looking forward to living in the country, not after spending all of his life in Dublin. And when he finds that his next door neighbours are two very old ladies, he is not much happier
Then he finds a mysterious locked room in his house and hears about the ghost of a boy called Albert who died tragically. When Lily and Esme, the two old ladies, start calling him Albert, he begins to get worried but is determined to solve the mystery.
With the help of his new friend, Lisa, and some friendly grown-ups he unearths the story of another summer seventy years before and is at last able to give his new friends their dearest wish.
The Summer of Lily and Esme is both moving and funny.
The boy at the back of the class by Onjali Q. Rauf
There used to be an empty chair at the back of my class, but now a new boy called Ahmet is sitting in it.
He’s nine years old (just like me), but he’s very strange. He never talks and never smiles and doesn’t even like lemon sherbets, which are my favourite!
But then I learned the truth: Ahmet isn’t strange at all. He’s a Refugee who’s run away from a War. A real one. With bombs and bullies that hurt people. The more I find out about him, the more I want to help.
That’s where my best friends Josie, Michael and Tom come in. Because together we’ve come up with a plan……..
Knights of the Borrowed Dark by Dave Rudden
Denizen Hardwick doesn’t believe in magic – until he’s ambushed by a monster created from shadows and sees it destroyed by a word made of sunlight. That kind of thing can really change your perspective. Now Denizen is about to discover that there’s a world beyond the one he knows. A world of living darkness where an unseen enemy awaits. Fortunately for humanity, between us and the shadows stand the Knights of the Borrowed Dark. Unfortunately for Denizen, he’s one of them…
Holes by Louis Sachar
Stanley Yelnat’s family has a history of bad luck, so he isn’t too surprised when a miscarriage of justice sends him to a boys’ juvenile detention centre. At Camp Green Lake the boys must dig a hole a day, five feet deep, five feet across, in the dried up lake bed. The warden claims the labour is character building, but it is a lie. Stanley must dig up the truth.
“This is a story of friendship with the cleverest of plot twists and descriptions so vivid you can feel the heat of Stanley’s desert prison burning off the page. A total must-read” The Times
“An exceptionally funny and generous book that is also a tightly plotted detective novel” The Guardian
Small Steps by Louis Sachar
In this wonderful, funny and deeply satisfying sequel to ‘Holes’, Armpit finds all his small steps becoming much bigger than he had anticipated.
When he gets mixed up with his old friend X-ray in a ticket scam, things look set to unravel.
But this is only the beginning of Armpit’s troubles in a brilliant, fast-paced adventure story.
There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by Louis Sachar
Bradley Chalkers tells lies. He’s been to the White House. (He hasn’t.) He likes to eat dog food. (He doesn’t.) His only friends are toy animals. (Well, actually…) No one likes Bradley. No one, that is, except the new boy, Jeff, and the school counsellor, Carla. They appreciate his far-fetched stories. They think he’s kind and generous. If only Bradley felt the same way. Sometimes the hardest thing in the world is believing in yourself.
The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier
The night the Nazis come to take their mother away, three children escape in a terrifying scramble across the rooftops. Alone in the chaos of Warsaw, they have to learn to survive on their own. Then they meet Jan, a ragged boy with a paperknife – the silver sword – that they recognize as belonging to their long-lost father. The sword becomes their symbol of hope as, with Jan, they begin the hazardous journey across war-torn Europe to find their parents.
Rugby Spirit by Gerard Siggins
‘Ok, lads! You have everything you need to win this game. So go out and do it’, said the coach. Eoin’s not sure if it will be so easy! He’s just started a new school… and a new sport. Everyone at school is mad about rugby, but Eoin hasn’t even held a rugby ball before. With new rules to learn, new friends to make and new teachers to get a handle on, he really doesn’t need to have Richie Duffy, the resident bully, picking him out as his latest target! And just who is this guy, Brian, who looks so out-of-date, but gives great rugby advice?
Shackleton The Boss by Michael Smith
Aged sixteen, Irishman Ernest Shackleton left school to join the merchant navy and went on to become a legendary explorer. His extraordinary adventures of endurance and survival in the Antarctic have thrilled generations.
This inspiring story of Shackleton, whose men called him ‘The Boss’, involved four expeditions to the snow and ice of Antarctica over 20 years between 1901 and 1922. His incredible adventures included a breathtaking march to within a few miles of the South Pole and the amazing saga of hardship and survival in the face of extreme odds on the famous Endurance expedition.
Tom Crean Ice Man by Michael Smith
The frozen land of Antarctica is not for ordinary people but Tom Crean was no ordinary man. When he was fifteen he ran away from home to join the navy. His next step into the unknown took him to the Antarctic where he spent even more time than the famous explorers Scott or Shackleton. Going to the Antarctic 100 years ago was like going to Jupiter today. Explorers were cut off for years, thousands of miles from the nearest outpost. Temperatures plunged far below zero. It was a struggle to survive. But Tom the ‘iron man’ overcame the odds. He explored the unknown, crossed ice fields and wild oceans and courageously saved friends from death. Edmund Hillary, the first to climb Everest, said: ‘His courage, his determination, his loyalty to his leaders and team impressed me. He was a great man.’ Mount Crean towers above Antarctica, named to honour this hero.
Faraway Home by Marilyn Taylor
Faraway Home is based on true events, describing the real experiences of young refugees who came to Northern Ireland during World War 2
Karl and his sister Rosa escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna to Northern Ireland on a Kindertransport. They are sent to Millisle Farm in County Down with other Jewish refugees. Here, they must adapt to a very different life, far from their parents and all that’s familiar.
But war is never far away, with rationing, air-raid warnings and the spy scare. And when Belfast is bombed without warning, Karl feels that his whole fragile world has collapsed. But with the help of Judy from Dublin and Peewee from Belfast, he learns that out of conflict and despair extraordinary friendships can grow.
Roll of Thunder, hear my cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Cassie Logan finds it hard to understand why the family farm means so much to her father. She finds it even harder growing up in a place like Mississippi in the 1930s. But, as she witnesses the prejudice and destruction all around her, Cassie begins to see why she must find strength in the people she loves and stand up for what she believes in.
The Last Wild by Piers Torday
This is the story of a boy named Kester. He is extraordinary, but he doesn’t know that yet. All he knows, at this very moment, is this:
1. There is a flock of excited pigeons in his bedroom
2. They are talking to him
3. His life will never be quite the same again…
The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams
Dennis lives in a boring house in a boring street in a boring town. But he’s about to find out that when you open your mind, life becomes anything but boring! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and once you meet Dennis he’ll live with you forever…
Mr Stink by David Walliams
Chloe is just about the loneliest girl in the world. But then she meets Mr Stink, the local tramp. Yes, he smells a bit – but he’s the only person who’s ever been nice to her. So when Mr Stink needs a place to stay, Chloe decides to hide him in the garden shed! But Chloe’s about to learn that some secrets have a way of leading to disaster. And speaking of secrets, there just might be more to Mr Stink than meets the nose…
Name upon Name by Sheena Wilkinson
It’s Belfast and it’s 1916. Britain is at war with Germany. Helen’s family seems to be at war with itself. Her cousin Michael wants to join up, even if it means being disowned by his family. A horrible twist of fate sends him into action in the Easter Rising – but not in a way he could ever have imagined. Helen’s other cousin, Sandy, an officer in the British army, has faced a desperate dilemma at the Front. Sandy’s experience makes Helen realise the mortal danger Michael is in. Only she can save him. If she can find the courage.
Too Many Ponies by Sheena Wilkinson
Rosevale is a sanctuary for abandoned and abused horses, but Aidan’s family can’t afford to run it any longer. If Rosevale closes down, though, what is going to happen to all the horses that are looked after there? Then Lucy comes up with a super idea: there’s a cross-country competition offering an unbelievable prize of £5,000. Can they possibly muster a team that is good enough to beat the posh stables and win the competition? Not without Aidan’s help – but Aidan has lost his nerve and is terrified of riding… The future of Rosevale is at stake. Aidan is going to have to help. He can’t – but he has to…
The Guns of Easter by Gerard Whelan
It is 1916 and Europe is at war: Jimmy Conway’s father is fighting for the British Army in France. Jimmy dreams of becoming a soldier and winning glory on the battlefield. Then rebellion breaks out in Dublin and Jimmy witnesses the taking of the General Post Office. Soon buildings are destroyed and people are killed. His uncle Mick is among the rebels. Where do Jimmy’s loyalties lie now? In an attempt to find food for his family, Jimmy crosses the battle-scarred city, weaving through army patrols and dodging shooting. He sees strange and terrible sights. And at every corner danger threatens.
A Winter of Spies by Gerard Whelan
In the winter of 1920 the War of Independence is raging and Dublin is a place of terror. But eleven-year-old Sarah is afraid of nothing – British soldiers, checkpoints, even the dreaded Black and Tans. She wants to be ‘a rebel for Ireland’. Then she discovers that there is a secret, deadly war going on behind closed doors. This is a war of spies and counter-spies, of whispers and assassinations, all under the watchful eye of Michael Collins. And Sarah’s family are up to their necks in it all… now she too knows things that could cost her life.
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
One spring morning a little girl called Fern rescues a runt and names him Wilbur. But then Wilbur is sent to live on a farm where he meets Charlotte, a beautiful large grey spider. They become best friends and, when Wilbur is faced with a dreadful fate, Charlotte must find a very clever way to save him.
The Silver Notebook by Enda Wyley
Timothy Finn is a boy with two dreams – and a mystery to solve!
Timothy Finn has no father, or so he thinks. Then a silver notebook arrives out of the blue on his birthday. It is a gift from his father! But who is his father and why has he suddenly entered the boy’s life? Does the mysterious man in the woods hold the answer to Timothy’s dreams – to find his father and become a writer? With his best friend Fleur, Timothy sets out to uncover the riddle of his past.