It’s a whole new month of Six For Sunday prompts and I’m so excited to be sharing some love for kids books! My Goddaughter just turned 10 and in my quest to buy her fantastic books I’ve started reading more middle grade books to make sure at least most of my purchases are SWB approved!
Six for Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by the lovely Steph at ALITTLEBUTALOT. You can find a list of prompts for October, November and December here
Well Loved Characters From Some Of My Favourite Childhood Books…
I’ve put a little bit of a spin on this week’s prompt and I’m focusing on some of my favourite characters from my childhood books to stop myself from repeating this Six For Sunday post from last year too much. The character post later in the month will focus more on the kids books I’ve read recently.
Matilda from Matilda by Roald Dahl
About The Book…
There began to creep over Matilda a most extraordinary and peculiar feeling…a kind of electricity…
Matilda is an extraordinary girl, sensitive and brilliant. But her gormless parents think she is just a nuisance, and treat her as a scab – a scab to be endured until the time comes to flick her away.
As if this isn’t enough, Matilda has to cope with the odious headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, who terrorizes the whole school. But when Matilda is attacked by Miss Trunchbull one day, she suddenly discovers she has an extraordinary power and realizes she can make trouble for the monstrous grown-ups in her life.
You probably didn’t need the about the book blurb, it’s not as though Matilda is an obscure book from my childhood that you wouldn’t know – I could have picked the Ratties book I was gifted when I left playgroup to start primary school if I’d wanted to do that. Now I had a wonderful childhood with very loving parents so there’s not much of myself that I see in the character but I was a little bookworm and I challenge any little bookworm to not like Matilda. Bonus mention to Miss Honey who was a fantastic teacher, I was lucky enough to have some wonderful teachers like her too – and a much much better headteacher than Ms Trunchball!
Andy from The Suitcase Kid back Jacqueline Wilson
About The Book…
When my parents split up they didn’t know what to do with me . . .
My family always lived at Mulberry Cottage. Mum, Dad, me – and Radish, my Sylvanian rabbit. But now Mum lives with Bill the Baboon and his three kids. Dad lives with Carrie and her twins. And where do I live? I live out of a suitcase. One week with Mum’s new family, one week with Dad’s.
It’s as easy as A B C. That’s what everyone says. But all I want is to go home – back to Mulberry Cottage…
I remember really loving this book – but I can’t really remember exactly how much was the book itself and how much was the fact I met Jacqueline Wilson when I was nine or ten and she did a local library visit and I got a copy of this signed. My parents didn’t divorce until I was in my 20s but I adored Sylvanian Families so I’m quite sure Radish the rabbit endeared Andy to me. I still have a cuddly rabbit at my mum’s house called Radish so she must have left a lasting impact on me!
Mary Lennox from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
About The Book…
When orphaned Mary Lennox comes to live at her uncle’s great house on the Yorkshire Moors, she finds it full of secrets. The mansion has nearly one hundred rooms, and her uncle keeps himself locked up. And at night, she hears the sound of crying down one of the long corridors.
The gardens surrounding the large property are Mary’s only escape. Then, Mary discovers a secret garden, surrounded by walls and locked with a missing key. One day, with the help of two unexpected companions, she discovers a way in. Is everything in the garden dead, or can Mary bring it back to life?
I’m not going to lie, I could be a sulky child when I wanted to be, I knew how to hold a grudge even when I was little! Thanks to my grandma I also developed a love for the outdoors whether that was in the shelter of her garden (which was certainly not as big as Misselthwaite Manor’s) or the gorse filled expanse of Woodbury Common, so I understood Mary’s love of the walled garden.
George from Five On A Treasure Island by Enid Blyton
About The Book…
The very first Famous Five adventure, featuring Julian, Dick, Anne, not forgetting tomboy George and her beloved dog, Timmy! There’s a shipwreck off Kirrin Island! But where is the treasure? The Famous Five are on the trail – looking for clues – but they’re not alone! Someone else has got the same idea. Time is running out for the Famous Five, who will follow the clues and get to the treasure first?
Reflecting on the Famous Five as an adult it’s clear that some of themes and phrasing are problematic but as a child I adored this series. My parents bought me a boxset with the first five books and I remember this being one of the first long series I saved up my pocket money to make sure I ended up with the full series in my collection. George was without a doubt my favourite character firstly she was a girl that still got things done, she wasn’t afraid to get dirty or fight her way out of trouble. I loved that she wasn’t a damsel in distress. Plus she got bonus points for Timmy as I was a little girl who adored my own pet dog, Jack.
Mandy Hope from Kittens In The Kitchen by Lucy Daniels
About The Book…
At Animal Ark, Mandy Hope helps her parents treat animals of all shapes and sizes. Even outside the clinic, Mandy can’t resist helping any animal in need. But when a stray cat gives birth in Mr. William’s kitchen, he is absolutely furious. Can Mandy and her friend James find homes for four newborn kittens in just one week?
Like probably 95% of other children I went through my phase of wanting to be a vet and I loved following Mandy and her adventures whether it was kittens and puppies or the more exotic books featuring lions and dolphins. From what I remember she genuinely loved animals and tried to do the right thing. I also remember her having a great relationship with her best friend James and that was something I really identified with as two of my best friends throughout primary school were boys.
Gaia Moore from Fearless by Francine Pascal
About The Book…
Fearless introduces us to Gaia Moore, a girl born without the gene for fear. Gaia’s mother was murdered, and her father, Tom Moore, a famous covert antiterrorist mastermind, is in hiding. Now 17 years old, Gaia is living in New York City with Tom’s CIA friend, George, and his wife, Ella. Gaia is a prime target for terrorists and is in constant danger, but she is trained in all forms of combat so she can defend herself. Like Buffy and Xena, Gaia Moore is a force.
But she is also a high school student, trying to be like everyone else. As her friendships develop, we see that Gaia is in many ways a typical teen — when she’s not busy getting herself into and out of dangerous situations, righting wrongs, avenging hurts, and solving mysteries.
My teens still count as my childhood right? I was OBSESSED with this series from Francine Pascal! Now Elizabeth and Jessica from Sweet Valley High were fine but they had nothing on Gaia. Looking back the series is perhaps a little melodramatic and slightly cliched. Afterall Gaia’s father is a CIA agent with an evil twin who happens to be the mastermind behind an criminal empire but Gaia was another example of a badass female who didn’t need a man to take care of her. Admittedly the genetic lack of fear may have helped her…
They were my #SixforSunday! If you’ve taken part leave a link to your post below and I’ll be sure to check it out!
Sarah Withers Blogs 
Charlotte
Secret Garden was one of my favourites. And YES to Fearless. I still want to reread those.
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