White Boots (by Noel Streatfeild)

(Amazon UK link)

Every so often I love to re-read my childhood favourites. Curling up on a sofa with children's fiction is a very enjoyable way of escaping from the world for an hour or so, and Noel Streatfeild has always been one of my favourite authors of children's books.

This book is about Harriet, who has been ill, and is ordered by her doctor to take up ice skating as a way of getting fitter and stronger. She meets and befriends Lalla, a girl from a wealthy family who has been trained from babyhood for stardom. Despite very different circumstances, they quickly make friends and soon become very close.

It's a lovely story, and I found it quite believable if a little dated in places. Harriet's brothers seem a bit artificial, and Lalla a bit too spoilt to be real, but it's a good plot in the typically gentle Streatfield style.

Recommended for fluent readers of about eight and upwards, or parents who remember this writer with nostalgia!

(Note that 'White Boots' is known as 'Skating Shoes' in the US)

The Fifth Elephant (by Terry Pratchett)

(Amazon UK link)

'The Fifth Elephant' is twenty-fourth in Terry Pratchett's phenomenally successful Discworld series of fantasy-adventure-humour books. I read it aloud to my sons, who were 13 and 11 at the time, and we all enjoyed it. Discworld humour is sometimes all the more enjoyable for being read aloud.

The story concerns the 'Watch' (like mediaeval policemen - approximately), and Sam Vimes, head of the Watch, who goes to Uberwald on a diplomatic mission. Angua, werewolf of the Watch, vanishes altogether, and Carrot - the six-foot dwarf in the Watch - follows her. Oh, and Fred Colon is promoted.

It's a confusing start, even for someone like me who has read all the other books. For a newcomer to the series it would probably be completely bewildering. But, as ever, the threads intertwine and the pace picks up, and the result is another excellent Discworld book.

Highly recommended, if you like this genre and have read at least one or two of the earlier Discworld books.

How to Really Love your Teenager (by Ross Campbell)

(Amazon UK link)

'How to Really Love your Teenager' is one of the best parenting books I have ever read, written by the American Christian author Ross Campbell. It's one I dip into regularly, and which I've just finished reading in full, once again. It's friendly, encouraging and not at all pushy or condescending. 

There is plenty of good and reassuring advice about showing older children and teens that they are loved, no matter how they behave. There are guidelines for dealing with potential conflict, and creating a good environment for listening and sharing. There is also advice about helping teenagers to develop increased responsibility. 

As with his other books, Campbell proposes that children who behave badly or are depressed often have 'emotional tanks' running on empty. No matter how much their parents love them, they will not feel any better if they don't know it. But, he explains, for some reason, children and teenagers often miss clues and indications that they are.

So we're advised to spend time with our teens, offer them eye contact, take an interest in whatever interests them, and so on. It doesn't sound radical in today's climate where relaxed and non-coercive parenting is no longer unusual. But somehow the points the author makes, and the examples he gives hit home every time I read it.

The book is regularly updated, so it's worth searching for the most recent edition if you want to buy it. 

Highly recommended to all parents of children or teens.

Tara Road (by Maeve Binch)

(Amazon UK link)

'Tara Road' is a long saga novel by Maeve Binchy.

This book begins from the point of view of Ria, who falls in love with and marries Danny, a smooth businessman. They buy an old, huge house and slowly renovate it. Gradually tensions creep in, and the mid-saga crisis is not unexpected.

We then meet Marilyn, an American woman, who does a house-swap with Ria for two months. Each discovers new things about the other as they embark on their cultural adventures....

Superbly intricate plots and sub-plots, surprising (although believable) revelations, and delightful characters.

Recommended.

The Choir (by Joanna Trollope)

(Amazon UK link)

'The Choir' is a novel by Joanna Trollope.

It's a fascinating story revolving around a Cathedral choir and the people involved. There are realistic characters and settings, with a likeable boy (Henry) who is caught up in various dramas.

There is a reasonably satisfactory conclusion, too.

Rather different from most books by this writer, but recommended nonetheless.

(You can read a rather longer review of 'The Choir' here, written seven years later after re-reading)

Father to the man and other stories (by Adrian Plass)

(Amazon UK link)

'Father to the Man' is one of a collection of short stories by Adrian Plass.

Most of these stories are about family life and relationships from this excellent modern Christian writer. They are unconnected, and there's no need to have read anything else that he's written beforehand.

Some of the stories are quite moving, some are thought-provoking, and all of them are eminently readable!

Highly recommended.