A Classic Selection

In 1995, we set ourselves the task of reviewing long established and recent children's fiction, in order to identify those books we felt worthy of being judged truly classic titles. Quality of language, characterisation and plot were all taken into consideration, while we were also looking for the universality that allows a story to transcend differences of time, culture and experience and maintain its appeal from one generation to the next. The end result was our annotated booklist A Classic Selection: Outstanding Fiction for 9-14 Year Olds.

The booklist was well received by teachers and librarians and eventually sold out. We currently have no plans to produce a new edition, so have decided to make the titles and reviews from the original list, with updated bibliographic details, available here free of charge. The date in brackets after each title shows the original date of publication.

Some teachers and librarians have asked for more guidance as to age suitability of individual titles, so we have divided the list into Upper Primary and Lower Secondary. Most of the titles are however appropriate at both upper Key Stage 2 and at Key Stage 3, depending on the maturity and tastes of individual readers.