I was probably the only child in primary school that actually got excited when it was raining. It meant that we had to stay inside during the break, which also meant that I could spend the time reading in the library. I had read the majority of the books in there by the time I left for secondary school, where the library was triple the size so that was exciting. However, there were a handful of books that I re-read a lot during my time in primary school and still re-read today from time to time because they are just great books. Here is a list of some of the books I read that you should definitely read if you haven’t already…

Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian
In primary school we actually had to read this book since we were going to be studying World War II that year. We started it off by reading the first chapter as a class and she set it as homework for us to read up to chapter 5. I came back on Monday having read the
entire book. It’s a beautiful book and it made me cry so much. It’s about a grumpy man who takes in a 9-year-old evacuee and they develop a strong friendship. I don’t want to go into too much detail and spoil it for you, but it’s a great book and you should definitely read it.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo
I’m not purposely following a theme here, but this book is also set during a war. It’s about a young Private who is on night watch and looks back over his childhood. I actually re-read this a few days ago because my niece is currently studying it at school and accidentally left her copy at my house. It’s a touching story about love, friendship, family, war and injustice, and I definitely recommend it.

Holes by Louis Sachar
A story about a boy who is sent to a Juvenile Detention Centre in the middle of a desert where he is assigned a job to dig a hole every day and report his findings. However, the warden isn’t looking for fossils or pretty rocks, so he starts to wonder what he’s actually looking for. I haven’t read the second book in this series yet, but this one is definitely worth a read. I like the simple writing style and the humour.

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo
I’ll be honest and say that I only picked up this book because it’s based on a Welsh family. On his 9th birthday, Gwyn is told by his grandmother that he may be a magician like his ancestors and is given 5 gifts that will help him. He throws one of the gifts, a brooch, into the wind and in return he gets Arianwen, the Snow Spider. The story follows Gwyn as he tries to use his new-found magic to bring home his sister. It’s a good book and worth a read. However, it’s a part of a trilogy and I didn’t enjoy the last two books as much as I did this one.

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What are your favourite books from your childhood? Do you still re-read them?

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