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Year 1 Read Alouds Introduction to Chapter Books

Cultural perspectives fiction and non-fiction suitable for NCEA 8088 and 12905

Science fiction yr 7


"Send Simon Savage" by Stephen Measday (Time travel)
Simon is living a normal life in Sydney when his scientist father
disappears from a beach. As if that wasn?t unsettling enough, he’s
offered the opportunity to join an elite group of young teenagers. They
will train at a secret facility for a mysterious organisation called
The Time Bureau, and then travel to other times.

"Escape from Geneopolis" & sequel "Fearless" by T.E. Berry-Hart (Social
engineering, Genetic engineering)
Set some 400 years in the future. Arlo enjoys a privileged life as a
Citizen of Genopolis - until the authorities discover he has a
dangerous secret. Usha is a runaway slave-girl, stalked by nightmares
she cannot understand. Both are outlaws in a city gripped by terror,
where there are few who dare to protect them, and even fewer they can
trust. A gripping adventure set in a chilling future world.


‘Feed’ by M.T Anderson - humans have access to the internet [some kind of
chip] implanted in their brains
Brainjack, Brian Falkner

Check out the Julius Vogel Awards at
http://sffanz.sf.org.nz/sjv/sjvResults-2010.shtml

A great Sci-Fi trilogy is The Book of Time, by Guillaume Prevost.
Book # 1 Book of Time; #2 Gate of Days and #3 Circle of Gold.
Summary: While seeking the seven magical coins that will allow him to reach
his father, who is trapped in the castle of Vlad Tepes, Sam Faulkner travels
to such places as ancient Delphi, a Stone Age cave, and 1930s Chicago.

Ember series; (No 1 City of Ember, 4 books total) by Jeanne DuPrau
Summary: The people of Ember have come to a new world, arriving with hardly
more than the clothes on their backs. The people in the village of Sparks are willing to help them, at least at first. This new world is strange to the Emberites. Why is it so empty? Why is there no electricity? What is the disaster the people of Sparks talk of? Gradually the Emberites learn the answers to these questions. But the biggest question of all remains: Can they live with these people? Or are they heading for disaster again?
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Summary: In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition pitting young people from each of the twelve districts against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss's skills are put to the test when she volunteers to take her younger sister's place.
Juno of Taris and Fierce September (sequel) by Fleur Beale
Juno,a young teen, on the verge of adulthood struggles with her need to fit in and belong and her growing discomfort and questioning of her society's rules. Juno lives in the not-too-distant future on Taris, a bubble-covered island in the Pacific, to which a few hundred people flew when Earth's inhabitants began to self-destruct.
On Taris rules govern everything from appearance, behaviour and even procreation to ensure the survival of mankind.
Juno of Taris examines many themes, peer pressure, environmental breakdown,
the fictionalization of history, societal control and challenging authority.

the Karazan Quartet series by V.M. Jones
Twelve-year-old orphan Adam Equinox is an unlikely hero - a lonely, misunderstood underacheiver who gets into fights, and whose spelling has to be seen to be believed. One day Adam enters the Quest Golden Opportunity Competition, with the ultimate prize of working with the reclusive software genius Quentin Quested, test-driving his latest top-secret breakthrough in computer game technology. Adam is unbelievably chosen to undergo the final selection process. At Quested Court, Adam enters a world he never dreamed existed. A world of kindly adults and potential friends, in which the boundaries between fantasy and reality start to become blurred. Only when Adam and his companions begin the gaming workshop does Quentin Quested reveal their real-life quest into the parallel world of Karazan, where the Serpents of Arakesh stand guard over the most precious prize of all.

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Life as we knew it (trilogy includes The dead and the gone, This world we live in) by Susan Beth Pfeffer - fantastic books.



Year 4- 8 Read alouds

Loblolly Boy, yr 5 and 6, James Norcliffe. The sequel is out but I haven't read it yet, AS

Mouse noses on toast by Daren King
Hiding on the restaurant table, Paul Mouse's world has just turned upside down. Surely the man is making a joke? Isn't Mouse Noses on Toast just a big myth? Gathering his friends - Sandra the Christmas tree decoration, Rowley Barker Hobbs, the sheepdog, and the Tinby, a kind of monster - Paul becomes determined to find the truth. So begins an adventure involving mouse activists, the prime minister, cheese addicts, and a wildly insane Tinby. Will they survive with their whiskers intact?

Things not seen by Andrew Clements
Bobby Phillips is an average fifteen-year-old boy. Until the morning he wakes up and cant see himself in the mirror. Not blind, not dreaming, Bobby is just plain invisible, There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to Bobby’s new condition; even his dad the physicist can’t figure it out. For Bobby that means no school, no friends, no life. He’s a missing person. Then he meets Alicia. She’s blind, and Bobby can’t resist talking to her, trusting her. But people are starting to wonder where Bobby is. Bobby knows that his invisibility could have dangerous consequences for his family and that time is running out. He has to find out how to be seen again, before it’s too late.

Frindle by Andrew Clements
From this day on and forever, I will never use the word PEN again. Instead, I will use the word FRINDLE. A quirky, imaginative tale about creative thought and the power of words that will soon have readers inventing their own. Nicholas Allen has plenty of ideas. Who can forget the time he turned the classroom into a tropical island, or the times he has fooled the teacher by chirping like a blackbird? But now it looks like his days as a troublemaker are over. Now Nick is in Mrs. Granger's class - she who has X-ray vision - and everyone knows that nobody gets away with anything in her classroom. To make matters worse, Mrs. Granger is also fanatical about the dictionary - which Nick thinks is so boring. But then inspiration strikes and Nicholas invents his greatest plan yet: to create a new word. From now on, a pen is no longer a pen - it's a frindle. It doesn't take long to catch on and soon the excitement has spread well beyond the school and town...but frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore, it has a life of it's own, and all Nick can do now, is sit back and watch what happens.

Water wings by Morris Gleitzman
All Pearl wants is a gran, but where do you get a top gran at short notice? It's not easy, but Pearl's got Winston to help her, and you can do anything when your best friend is the world's brainiest guinea pig. Then Pearl meets Gran and gets a whole lot more than she had bargained for. With its brilliant and moving combination of pathos and humour, Water Wings speaks to all generations.

Blabber mouth by Morris Gleitzman
Hiding in cupboards is one way of dealing with your problems. Especially when you've just stuffed a frog down Darryn Peck's mouth. But Rowena Batts has a bigger problem. Her dad. How can she tell him that his shirts, and his singing voice, are wrecking her life?

Two weeks with the Queen by Morris Gleitzman
Morris Gleitzman is one of the world's best-loved children's authors. Two Weeks with the Queen deals with serious issues in a fun, accessible way. Adapted into a successful play. Morris's books are ideally suitable to the reluctant reader. Dear Your Majesty the Queen, I need to speak to you urgently about my brother Luke. He's got cancer and the doctors in Australia are being really slack. If I could borrow your top doctor for a few days I know he/she would fix things up in no time. Of course Mum and Dad would pay his/her fares even if it meant selling the car or getting a loan. Please contact me at the above address urgently. Yours sincerely Colin Mudford PS: This is not a hoax. Ring the above number and Aunty Iris will tell you. Hang up if a man answers. If you want something done properly, Colin reckons, go straight to the top!

Maths whizz (author unknown)

Secret friends by Elizabeth Laird
It's crazy, starting at a new school. For days, you feel so new and lost it's as if you've wandered into a foreign country where you can't speak the language. This haunting story about Rafaella, the new girl at school who finds making friends hard, is a stunning piece of writing. With her strange name and sticking out ears she's different from the rest. Lucy is the first to tease, the first to call her 'Earwig'. Until a secret friendship starts, full of warmth and mystery...

Kiss the dust by Elizabeth Laird
Tara is an ordinary teenager. Although her country, Kurdistan, is caught up in a war, the fighting seems far away. It hasn't really touched her. Until now. The secret police are closing in. Tara and her family must flee to the mountains with only the few things they can carry. It is a hard and dangerous journey - but their struggles have only just begun. Will anywhere feel like home again?

Sadako and the thousand paper cranes by Eleanor Coerr
Set shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. Hospitalized with the dreaded atom bomb disease, leukemia, a child, Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima races against time to fold one thousand paper cranes to verify the legend that by doing so a sick person will become healthy.

Take it easy by David Hill
Rob is an experience tramper, but when things go wrong on the tramp, he and six other teenagers in the party must rely on each other’s skills to survive till help arrives.

The silver sword by Ian Serralier
Alone and fending for themselves in a Poland devastated by World War II, Jan and his three homeless friends cling to the silver sword as a symbol of hope. They travel through Europe towards Switzerland, where they believe they will be reunited with their parents.

When Hitler stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr
Partly autobiographical, this is first of the internationally acclaimed trilogy by Judith Kerr telling the unforgettable story of a Jewish family fleeing from Germany at the start of the Second World War Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in Germany any longer. Suppose you found, to your complete surprise, that your own father was one of those people. That is what happened to Anna in 1933. She was nine years old when it Abegan, too busy with her schoolwork and tobogganing to take much notice of political posters, but out of them glared the face of Adolf Hitler, the man who would soon change the whole of Europe -- starting with her own small life. Anna suddenly found things moving too fast for her to understand. One day, her father was unaccountably missing. Then she herself and her brother Max were being rushed by their mother, in alarming secrecy, away from everything they knew -- home and schoolmates and well-loved toys -- right out of Germany!

City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked - but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all - the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness-But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the people of Ember listen to them?

The Underland Chronicles series: Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins
When eleven-year-old Gregor and his two-year-old sister are pulled into a strange underground world, they trigger an epic battle involving men, bats, rats, cockroaches, and spiders while on a quest foretold by ancient prophecy.

Walking lightly by Fleur Beale (Yr3-6)
Millie is a girl of extreme independence and resourcefulness. The other kids at school think she’s weird, but they are about to find out that sometimes, extreme resourcefulness is exactly what is needed. Earthquake content.

Quin Magik, Fleur Beale

2 books about a family which moves into a street where all the inhabitants are obsessed with tidiness and good behaviour and Quin's family upsets that!

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo (Yr3-6)
The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. Ages 9+. Winner of 2004 Newbery Medal.

How to train your dragon by Cressida Cowell (Yr3-6)
Presents the story of Hiccup Haddock Horrendous III's rise to fame, through his dragon-training exploits, told in his own words. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was a truly extraordinary Viking Hero. Warrior chieftain, awesome sword-fighter and amateur naturalist, he was known throughout Vikingdom as 'the Dragon Whisperer', on account of his amazing power over these terrifying beasts. But it wasn't always like that. In fact, in the beginning, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III was the most put upon Viking you'd ever seen. Not loud enough to make himself heard at dinner with his father, Stoick the Vast; not hard enough to beat his chief rival, Snotlout, at Bashyball, the number one school sport and Certainly not stupid enough to go into a cave full of dragons to find a pet...

Lucky for some by Fleur Beale (Yr4-6)
When Lacey Turner and her family move from the city to live in the country people say how lucky they are but to Lacey it is a nightmare. She must leave her city life of girlfriends, dancing lessons, school, and hairdressers to live in a ramshackle house, go to a school with only boys in her class and play rugby. What does the country life have to offer a girl like her?

Measle and the Wrathmonk by Ian Ogilvy (Yr4-6)
This is a magical adventure story about an orphan called Measle who lives with his horrible guardian, Basil Tramplebone. Basil is a Wrathmonk - the worst kind of wizard - and when he finds Measle playing with his beloved train set he zaps him with an evil spell. Now Measle's only a few centimetres tall and trapped in the world of the train set. There's a hungry bat in the rafters waiting for nightfall to swoop down on Measle and there's an enormous cockroach after him, but Measle finds some friends in the train set and together they come up with a plan.

Forests of Silence (Deltora Quest) By Emily Rodda (Yr 4-7)
On his sixteenth birthday, Lief, the son of a blacksmith, faces the greatest challenge of his life. He must venture into the darkest and most terrible places in all of Deltora to find the seven magical gems stolen from the Belt of Deltora. When reunited in the Belt, these gems (an amethyst, a topaz, a diamond, a ruby, an opal, a lapis lazuli and an emerald) will empower the heir to the throne of Deltora and free the people from the evil tyranny of the Shadow Lord.

Dragon rider by Cornelia Funke (Yr 4-7)
Firedrake, a brave young dragon, his loyal brownie friend Sorrel, and a lonely boy called Ben are united as if by destiny. Together, they embark on a magical journey to find the legendary place where silver dragons can live in peace forever. With only a curious map and the whispered memories of an old dragon to guide them, they fly across moonlit lands and seas to reach the highest mountains in the world. Along the way, they discover extraordinary new friends in unlikely places and a courage they never knew they had. Just as well, for the greatest enemy of all is never far behind them - a heartless monster from the past who's been waiting a very long time to destroy the last dragons on earth.

My Dad the All Black by Sandy McKay (Yr 4-7)
Will McCann, 12 years old, is a top-notch rugby player. Everybody says he gets his talent from his famous All Black father, but Will never knew his dad. After a game goes wrong, Will wonders if he plays rugby because he loves the game, or because everybody says he should? When Will's grandad dies, Will meets Jim, his reclusive uncle with a troubled past. Why has Uncle Jim stayed away from Will and his mum for so many years? What really happened the night Will's dad died? While, on the other side of the world, the All Blacks battle for the 1999 Rugby World Cup, Will battles to discover the truth about the past. He eventually unlocks a secret that helps him decide things for himself. Anyone who ever wanted to be an All Black should read this book! Following her first waggish novel, Recycled, Sandy McKay writes another eventful, tender and humorous story from a child's-eye view.

Agnes the sheep by William Taylor (Yr4-8)
Agnes is a dirty, smelly sheep with a tendency to butt anyone who gets in her way. So when Belinda and Joe have to find her a new home, they know it isn't going to be easy. How are they to get a massive, mean-tempered sheep across town without disastrous results?

Varjak Paw by S.F. Said (Yr 4-8)
Mesopotamian Blue cat Varjak Paw has never been outside before, but Varjak is forced out into the city when the sinister gentleman and his two menacing cats take over his home. With help from a mystical ancestor, he manages to overcome the challenges of survival, but can he save his family?

Varjak Paw, Outlaw is the follow up. Just as good.

The amazing story of Adolphus Tips by Michael Morpurgo (Yr4-8)
A heart-warming tale of courage and warmth, set against the backdrop of the Second World War, about an abandoned village, a lifelong friendship and one very adventurous cat! 'Classic Morpurgo brilliance' - Publishing News. Something's up. Something big too, very big. At school, in the village, whoever you meet, it's all anyone talks about. It's like a sudden curse has come down on us all. It makes me wonder if we'll ever see the sun again. It's 1943, and Lily Tregenze lives on a farm, in the idyllic seaside village of Slapton. Apart from her father being away, and the 'townie' evacuees at school, her life is scarcely touched by the war. Until one day, Lily and her family, along with 3000 other villagers, are told to move out of their homes - lock, stock and barrel. Soon, the whole area is out of bounds, as the Allied forces practise their landings for D-day, preparing to invade France. But Tips, Lily's adored cat, has other ideas - barbed wire and keep-out signs mean nothing to her, nor does the danger of guns and bombs. Frantic to find her, Lily makes friends with two young American soldiers, who promise to help her. But will she ever see her cat again? Lily decides to cross the wire into the danger zone to look for Tips herself! Now, many years later, as Michael is reading his Grandma Lily's diary, he learns about 'The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips' - and wonders how one adventurous cat could still affect their lives sixty years later.

Ambushed by Fleur Beale (Yr4-8)
Richard thought his parents were “hard-hearted criminals” when they wouldn’t let him stay behind when they shifted to the city. He is miserable at his new Intermediate school. He is very eager to make new friends.

Pure dead magic by Debi Gliori (Yr5-7)
Wonder-nanny Mrs McLachlan arrives to sort out the Strega-Borgia children, and their parents too, but will she cope with the presence of mythical beasts in the basement, to say nothing of the unexpected arrival of four hit-men, including one in a rabbit suit?

Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech (Yr 5-8)
Tiller and Sairy live a quiet life in Ruby Holler; their children have long since left home and they are happy with their routines. Until one day they each decide they want to undertake a big adventure and they need companions to accompany them. And now it gets exciting because they adopt two children from the local orphanage and form an unlikely foursome, for the children cannot believe they are really 'wanted and Tiller and Sairy have to deal with some pretty unconventional behaviour on the part of the children. This is a wonderful, whimsical, and magical story that combines quirky action and adventure with the important themes of family, loyalty, and learning to belong.

Loser by Jerry Spinelli [Yr 6-8]
Even though his classmates from first grade on have considered him strange and a loser, Daniel Zinkoff's optimism and exuberance and the support of his loving family do not allow him to feel that way about himself.

Anything by Jerry Spinelli is excellent and thought provoking:- Library Card, Maniac Magee, Wringer, Stargirl.

Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
Extraordinarily powerful, uplifting and memorable, the story of Freak the Mighty explores an unlikely friendship, and finds optimism and humour in a story of great poignancy. Bring your tissues. Maxwell Kane is feared and bullied because of his mental slowness and enormous size. But this is not the only cross he has to bear; Maxwell's father is in jail for murdering his mother. Kevin is smart, quirky and funny with insatiable curiosity and zest for life but he suffers from a rare genetic condition, which inhibits the growth of his body. Yet the combination of Kevin and Maxwell is formidable, when together they become Freak the Mighty.

The floods by Colin Thompson
Nerlin and Mordonna have seven children, who were not created in the traditional way, but were made in the cellar, using incredible mystical powers, some very shiny Nigella saucepans and a small chemistry set.

Riding Tycho by Jan Mark
The powerful, inspiring story of one girl's bravery and determination in the face of overwhelming odds. Demetria has never questioned her harsh life on High Island. The endless rules, merciless bullying and the scream of the Banshee announcing another doomed escape across the sea, are all she has ever known. But then she meets political prisoner Ianto Morgan, who tells her about a strange and distant world full of stories and freedom. Demetria is captivated by the possibility of a life without limits, but is Ianto telling the truth or is it all dangerous lies? Whatever the cost, Demetria knows she must find out...

Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian
A battered child learns to embrace life when he is adopted by an old man in the English countryside during the Second World War.

Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo [yr 6-8]
Heroism or cowardice? A stunning story of the First World War from a master storyteller. Told in the voice of a young soldier, the story follows 24 hours in his life at the front during WW1, and captures his memories as he looks back over his life. Full of stunningly researched detail and engrossing atmosphere, the book leads to a dramatic and moving conclusion. Both a love story and a deeply moving account of the horrors of the First World War, this book will reach everyone from 9 to 90.

Series of Unfortunate events by Lemony Snicket [yr 4-6]
Chronicles the catastrophes and misfortunes of the resourceful Baudelaire children, as they become wealthy orphans and must elude a distant relative, the greedy and dastardly Count Olaf.

Lion Boy by Zizou Corder [year 5-6]
Charlie Ashanti, the hero of Lion boy, speaks cat - the language of all cats wild and domestic alike. His unusual talent helps him on his quest to find his kidnapped parents who have discovered a cure for asthma. The local cats of his home town (a futuristic London) start him on his search to solve the mystery of his missing parents, which leads him across the channel on board a circus ship bound for Paris. It is on this wonderful vessel that Charlie establishes a close relationship with the homesick circus lions who become his accomplices. But Charlie is in danger, for close behind him on his trail, is a crony of the mysterious group who have kidnapped his parents. They want Charlie too. a real cliff hanger - just stops dead.

2 books follow this: Lionboy: the chase, 2004

Lionboy: the truth, 2005