45+ Older children's chapter books

This is the third in my series: Five Days of Booklists:

• picture books
• early chapter books
• older children's chapter books
• books about home education
• reference books for use at home.

Once children start reading chapter books, providing sufficient suitable books can be problematic. This is a list of some of our favourites. There are 45 on the list but many of these are series so in reality there are far more. I haven't necessarily read every book in a series! Feel free to add your own recommendations.

History

• Milad-the voyage to Ophir Nazan Anhar
• Eagle of the Ninth series Rosemary Sutcliffe. Set of three books set over the course of the Roman occupation of England.
• Tiger, tiger. Lynne Reid Banks Set in Roman times.
• Facing Lions JR Williamson and RM Freedman
• Lord of the Forest BB
• Mantlemass Chronicles Barbara Willard. Set in Sussex between the 15th and 17th century. I read some years ago and The Sprig of Broom more recently. There are some fairly adult themes: illegitimacy, witch hunts and class issues but, in my opinion, worth reading for older children.
• Piet Prin's Struggle for Freedom series about the Eighty years war in the Netherlands.
• Crown and Covenant Bond Douglas Bond 
• Little house on the Prairie series Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Children on the Oregon trail Van Der Loeff
• Silver Sword Ian Serrailler
• The endless Steppe Esther Hautzig. Again, non-fiction, the story of a Jewish family taken to Siberia by the Russians in 1941 and their battle to survive.
• Piet Prin's Shadow series about the Second World War in the Netherlands
• The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boon. Older children.
• GA Henty historical books-there are loads of these for the avid reader.
• Michael Morpurgo books: some of these are great but look at them first. There are some complex themes; for example, Private Peaceful deals with desertion in war and the treatment of deserters.
• Double Take series by Scholastic present both sides of historical events such as the Battle of Hastings and the race to the South Pole. Great for children who prefer non-fiction.
• My story series published by Scholastic. Some have an element of romance usually obvious if you check the last few pages!
• Deborah Alcock's books including By far Euphrates, The Czar and The Spanish brothers. Victorian Christian historical fiction, well researched and written. Again, for older readers.

Christian

• Trailblazers series published by Christian Focus. This is a series of biographies for children. There are one or two that I wouldn't have chosen to have written about but generally a helpful series with many titles for voracious readers.
• Jungle Doctor series by Paul White. I was brought up on this series about a missionary doctor in Tanzania. The medicine is dated, and fascinating but more important, it deals with unchanging realities.
• Stepping heavenward E. Prentiss for older girls.
• Patricia St John's books. Of these, Rainbow Garden was one of my favourite childhood books and Tanglewood secrets  is a tear jerker.
• Louise A. Vernon's book The Bible smuggler about William Tyndale and Night preacher is the fictionalised story of Menno Simons. 
• Mr Pipes  Douglas Bond-I get a bit irritated by some failures to depict UK culture correctly but otherwise they are a worthwhile read and a relaxed introduction to some hymn writers.

Adventure

• Mystery at Witchend series Malcolm Saville
• Thirty nine steps by John Buchan
• Moonfleet Meade Falkner-definitely for the older contingent and not for the faint hearted!
• Railway children, Treasure Seekers, Five children and it. E Nesbit
• Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe
• Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
• The Ivan books by Myra Grant are the fictional adventures of a boy in Soviet Russia. Useful introduction to this period of recent history and very rapid reads!
• Arthur Ransome books-not my favourites but would appeal to children who are fascinated by messing about in boats.

Animal

• Redwall books by Brian Jacques. A long series!
• Snow Fox  John Reynolds Gardiner another tear jerker although a very quick read.

Childhood and growing up

• Anne of Green Gables series by LM Montgomery
• Little women series Lousia Alcott
• Dimsie series by Dorita Fairlie Bruce are stories of a girl at boarding school between the Wars and the latter stories are set in Scotland during the Second World War.
• Billabong series set in Australia
• Seven little Australians by Ethel Turner. I cried through the TV adaptation of this, as a child.
• What Katie did series Susan Coolridge

Eclectic

• Miss Read stories are really adult books but are gentle tales of life as a school mistress in an English village.
• Around the world in eighty days by Jules Verne. One of my sons tells me that Twenty thousand leagues under the sea is better but I haven't read it myself.
• Abbey books by Elsie Oxenham. This is a long school series of 38 books so useful for children who read fast!
• James Herriot stories about his life as a vet. 

Do visit the other blogs which are taking part in this blog hop by clicking on the picture below.