Reading Lists: Family Stories & Comedies

Inventing Characters Read! Journal Word Notebook

Choosing Titles The Fab Four Golden Rules Generating Ideas Stealing Ideas From an Idea to a Plan Planning from a Picture Stories Based on a Passage Stories Based on a Sentence An Example of Good Planning

Describing a Location Longer descriptions Describing a character's appearance Dialogue Distinctive Voices Show, Don't Tell Characterisation: Shown Feelings More Characterisation Techniques Playing with Sentences Playscripts Action Suspense

What is story structure? 1 Exciting opening line 2 Set the scene 3 Talking and describing character 4 Characterisation 5 Suspense 6 Action 7 Cliffhanger Standing Out: How can you stand out from the crowd? Clever Clogs: Non-Linear Clever-clogs: Two perspectives Clever-clogs: Narrative voice Practice 11+ exam titles

Checking your story in an exam Redrafting = improving your story What if I run out of time in an exam? The Grumpy Examiner's Pet Hates

Year 2 into 3 Lemony Snicket After Harry Potter Must-Read Authors Spy Novels Horror Stories Classics Animal Stories Adventure Historical Fiction Myths & Legends Fantasy Family Stories & Comedies

Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce

The Illustrated Mum by Jacqueline Wilson
Please don’t fall into the trap of only reading Jacqueline Wilson, but do enjoy at least one of her books – she has a great ear for dialogue. Study how she uses direct speech to develop her characters.

Flour Babies by Anne Fine
Bad Alice by Jean Ure
Ruby Holler by Sharon Creech
Dizzy by Cathy Cassidy
Feather Boy by Nicky Singer
The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. The story of a girl’s life in Afghanistan.
Refugee Boy by Benjamin Zehaniah

Noughts and Crosses by Marjorie Blackman Light years beyond Jacqueline Wilson, and not for the faint-hearted, this is an incredibly powerful story about racism. Dark, moving and unforgettable. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

Last updated on August 12, 2007