Good children/adult books recommendations/discussion

Some (most?) of my favourite or most enjoyable books seem to be the type that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Sometimes marketed for children, young adult, nothing in particular, or known as “crossover” or whatever.

Let me list some of my favourites to get the idea 🙂

In no particular order:

The Dark is Rising Sequence, Susan Cooper (re-reading this at the moment. Love it)

Swallows and Amazons (all of ’em), Arthur Ransome

His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

Harry Potter

Narnia series

The Phantom Tollbooth

Winnie the Pooh! Getting a bit young here, but it’s great 😉

Anything by Joan Aiken, Philippa Pearce, Diana Wynne Jones, Alan Garner (often weirdly disturbing or unsettling), Penelope Lively, Robert Westall

Classics like, um, The Secret Garden or Alice in Wonderland

Ursula Le Guin, Wizard of Earthsea… does that count? Other (generally fantasy) stuff that doesn’t seem to be aimed at anyone in particular, eg Brandon Sanderson

I daresay there’s loads more that escape me at the moment.

Any more? What are your favourites?

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham – largely told from the child/adolescent point of view trying to make sense of his world.

I recently finished ‘School’s Out’ by Scott Andrews, having watched the film on Prime – teenage me would’ve considered it a work of great literature!

Back cover blurb: It’s never easy being fifteen, but when your teachers are killing each other, the prefect who loves to bully you is experimenting with crucifixion, and the rival gang from across town have decided that ritualistic cannibalism is the way to go, spots and BO don’t seem like such big problems after all. These are the final days of St Marks School For Boys, and the punishment for disobedience is death!