As a home educating family, we are always on the look out for more books to add to our ever-expanding collection.This month, I've been focusing on finding some books for my 8 year old daughter who has recently started to express an interest in reading independently for fun after teaching her self to read gradually over the last few years - her taste isn't really typical for an 8 year old girl which unfortunately means that most of the books aimed at her demographic just don't appeal to her. She has no interest in fairies, unicorns or mermaids! We did try the Isadora Moon books which she quite enjoyed, but she's been asking for something a bit different...So let's take a look at what we found!
We decided to try out the Cath Howe Collection which includes 4 books aimed at readers aged 9-12, as I thought that if my daughter didn't enjoy them - my 10 year old son might.As it turns out, they have both been enjoying them!The books included in the set are:Ella On The Outside - this book is all about Ella, a new girl at school who doesn't know anyone but has a terrible secret. She befriends Lydia - the most popular girl in school - but what's Lydia's reason for befriending Ella?Not My Fault - Maya and Rose won't talk to each other. Even though they are sisters. Not since the accident. Maya is running wild, and Rose doesn't know what to do. Now Maya and Rose have to go away together on a week-long school journey. But will the trip - and a life-threatening adventure - fix their relationship... or break it for good? A story of forgiveness and finding out who you are.The Insiders - Callie, Ted, Zara, and Nico are best friends. More than friends - they're like family to each other. But since being embarrassed at school in a practical joke gone wrong, Ted has stopped talking to the rest of the gang.How To Be Me - Since his mom died, Lucas and his dad don't seem to understand each other at all - it's almost as if they're speaking different languages. With a long, hot summer facing him, Lucas is dreading the drama club that his dad has signed him up for - he doesn't know how to be around new people and he can't stand performing. But the people Lucas meets at the club force him to open up and start talking, and when disaster strikes, Lucas is forced to step in and help. Can his new-found friends teach Lucas how to be himself?My son really enjoyed How To Be Me and The Insiders, whereas my daughter really enjoyed Ella On The Inside. 
I've found these stories to be really engaging and not too overwhelming for younger readers either, I know that my 8 year old daughter can be put off by large amounts of text without any illustration at all but these books are a great segway between illustrated story books and something more mature.Here's a look inside:
The Cath Howe 4 Story Set is available for the bargain price of just £14.99
While looking for something that would be right for my 8 year old, I decided to try out the Amazing Facts For 8 Year Olds Book Bundle which comes with 3 books - a fact book, a puzzle & quiz book and a story collection. They offer these bundles for most ages, and I have to be honest - I'm not usually too keen on anything that sorts children into reading interest and ability by age as this is obviously so variable and has the potential to make children feel bad if they're not quite ready for the book that that states their own age - but I did find that it was suited to my daughter. The fact and puzzle books in particular were really engaging for her, and kept her busy on car journeys throughout the month.Here's a look inside:
I have to admit that I did find the story book slightly on the disappointing side as there was a bit of a lack of illustrations to keep things fun, and the stories themselves felt a little old fashioned but having said that they did make for a nice read-aloud story at our Friday afternoon tea times and sort of reminded me of the kind of quick and simple stories a teacher would read at the end of the school day - fun and inoffensive, so I suppose there's no harm in that and it finished off the set nicely!These sets would make a lovely birthday gift.
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