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As they say in French, it is the "Rentrée Scolaire". And we have some fun books for children going to school (and yes, we also have some books for the reading lists). For this occasion, we give away a goodie bag filled with school supplies such as a notebook, pencils, and stickers. However, this is not the subject of the blog post. Got carried away (you'll find more info on our Instagram account). Here’s the list of “school books”:
Going to School
When a Dragon goes to School by Caryl Hart and Rosalind Beardshaw (age: 2-5)
This is a nice collection with quite some different subjects. This one is about going to school (all rhyming), but they also have 'When a Dragon Isn't Well', 'When a Dragon Meets a Baby', and 'When a Dragon Comes to Stay'.
The truth about my Unbelievable Summer by Davide Cali and Benjamin Chaud (age: 6-9)
A truly unbelievable Summer before going back to school. Was your Summer also this adventurous?
If You Ever Want To Bring an Alligator to School, Don’t by Elise Parsley (age: 4-8)
A fun book about showing an object at your school… What if you take an alligator with you?
Never, Not Ever! by Beatrice Alemagna (age: 3+)
Pascaline doesn’t want to go to school. Suddenly her parents become small and join her for the first day of school. Is this a good or bad idea? The list wouldn’t be complete without some books taking place at a high school/university.
High School Books
Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald (YA)
Neither Finlay or Banjo can remember the last time they had a hug. Against all odds, 18-year-old Finlay has begun his nursing degree at Glasgow University. But coming straight from the care system means he has no support network. How can he write essays, focus on his nursing placement and stop himself from falling in love when he's struggling to feed himself? Meanwhile, 17-year-old Banjo is trying to settle into his new foster family and finish high school, desperate to hold down his job and the people it contains. But his anger and fear keep boiling over, threatening his already uncertain future. Underpinning everything is what happened three years ago in their group care home, when Finlay and Banjo were as close as brothers until they stopped speaking. If these boys want to keep hold of the people they love, they have to be able to forgive one another. More than this, they must find a way to forgive themselves.
One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus (YA)
Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention Simon's dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn't an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he'd planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who's still on the loose?
University Books
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo LOVE this one!!
Galaxy "Alex" Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale's freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she's thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world's most prestigious universities on a full ride. What's the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale's secret societies. Their eight windowless "tombs" are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street's biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of morality, their lives are changed profoundly and for ever. The Secret History is a story of two parts; the chain of events that led to the death of a classmate—and what happened next.
Special mention: Fantasy Schools
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani
With her glass slippers and devotion to good deeds, Sophie knows she'll earn top marks at the School for Good and join the ranks of past students like Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Snow White. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the villains in the School for Evil. The two girls soon find their fortunes reversed--Sophie's dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School for Good, thrust among handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are?
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.
This blog post is written by The Little Bookshop, your bookshop for English books in Rennes.
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