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| Reading at Bookland |
Bookland is well-stocked with ‘reading books’ for children, teenagers and adults. They do not sell school text-books. Bookland is located at 34 Union Street, Montego Bay, on the right between the intersections with East Street and King Street. There is extra parking at the rear.
After my book reading and signing there on October 6, 2011, I browsed the shelves in search of books which would appeal to boys.
Caribbean books
I have to start with the Island Fiction Series, a mix of fantasy, folklore and science fiction, set in the Caribbean, written for 10-15 year-olds, but appeal to children as young as 9. The stories move at a fast pace and are easy to read. The series includes my book Delroy in the Marog Kingdom, which is set in an imaginary village in Jamaica, and features River Mumma.
Other books in the series are:
2. The Chalice Project by Lisa Allen-Agostini—science fiction set in Trinidad.
3. Escape from Silk Cotton Forest by Francis Escayg—fantasy and folklore set in Trinidad.
4. Time Swimmer by Gerald Hausman—a boy travels through time on the back of a turtle, throughout the Caribbean.
5. Night of the Indigo by Michael Holgate—science fiction set in Jamaica. This book appeals to older readers who are lovers of science fiction.
Other Caribbean Books
For 9-12 year-olds
6. The Cay by Theodore Taylor—an adventure story set in Curacao and a small island in the Caribbean in 1942, but still relevant today.
7. Blue Mountain Trouble by Martin Mordecai—an adventure story set in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.
8. The Boy from Willow Bend by Joanne Hillhouse.
9. Hurricane and Earthquake by Andrew Salkey. Both these books were written in the 1960’s but are still popular.
10. A Cow Called Boy and other books by Everard Palmer. Most Jamaican readers are familiar with these books, set in rural Jamaica.
For younger children, suitable for reading aloud or for them to read by themselves.
11. Mauby’s Big Adventure by Peter Laurie
12. Mauby and the Hurricane by Peter Laurie (I didn’t see this on the shelves but it was used by the Jamaica Library Service in their reading competition so should be available.)
13. Tales of Immortelles—A Collection of Caribbean Folk Tales by Norma McCartney
14. A Goat Boy Never Cries by Hazel Campbell. Her book Bernie and the Captain's Ghost won the Book Industry Association of Jamaica’s Best Children's Chapter Book Award for 2011. (I didn’t see this book on the shelves, but it should be available.)
Part 2 will focus on non-Caribbean books.
3 comments:
This is an excellent idea, Helen. We need more focus on books for boys. Diane
I hope that parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles will read this post and take their sons, grandsons and nephews to Bookland to choose their books!
This is a very good idea to make parents/teachers etc aware of these books which should have special appeal for boys.
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