Meg Cabot: Meg is a wonderful author who originally went under the pseudonym of Patricia Cabot. She is well established and has received many awards. Her full name is Meggin Patricia Cabot.
Her official website is: http://www.megcabot.com/ . Here is a sample of one of Meg's books. It has been adapted into a film by Walt Disney. I personally love both the book and the movie, and I would recommend this book to kids between the ages of 9 and 13. I do believe girls would like this book a bit more than boys, but who am I to judge? Take a look inside this free widget of the Princess Diaries.
Robert Muchamore: 38 year old Robert Muchamore is renowned for his CHERUB books and the Henderson's Boys series. There are currently 12 books in CHERUB and 4 Henderson's Boys so far. Unfortunately I couldn't find a widget, but I still recommend going down to the library and borrowing a book by Robert Muchamore or buying one. These are probably more boys books than a girls, but I particularly liked it. Go to www.muchamore.com to find out more about the man himself and his books.
A famous author by the name of Roald Dahl is one of my all time favourite authors. He wrote for children of all ages and even adults. All of his books showed his amazing imagination which was particularly remarkable as he was an adult when he wrote them. Some of his more famous books include: the Twits, Esio Trot, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the sequel Charlie and the Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr Fox, George's Marvellous Medicine, James and the Giant Peach and of course, Matilda. Many of his books have become movies and the most recent movie production of his work Fantastic Mr Fox, which is a stop-motion animation released in late 2009 by 20th Century Fox. Roald Dahl died in 1990, two years after Matilda was published. The man was truly remarkable. Again, I am unable to procure a widget of any of Dahl's publications. Please read Roald Dahl, as his works are suitable for all ages and they are probably the best books I've ever read.
Chinese Cinderella, The Diary of a Young Girl and Mao's Last Dancer are three of the most inspiring life stories I've heard.
Anne Frank's the Diary of a Young Girl was the diary she kept during World War II when she went into hiding with her family and another family. Anne died of consumption at a concentration camp. Everyone else she had been hiding with died besides her father, who spent the rest of his life sharing his daughter's diary to people around the world. Growing up is hard enough without having to live in fear inside an enclosed space with thousands of constrictions.
The story of Chinese Cinderella is similar in many ways to the fairytale Cinderella, but is different in others. Chinese Cinderella is an abridged version for children of Falling Leaves, also by Adeline Yen Mah. She was neglected by her step mother and suffered terribly throughout her childhood. This story made me cry and it made me think of all the luxuries of life I never really appreciated.
Finally Mao's Last Dancer: An autobiography that has been adapted into a movie, the inspiring life story of Li Cunxin reminded me of the poverty my ancestors lived in and again told me to be appreciative of what I have. Ballet is a crucial element in my life, but I never really thought that anyone could be so desperate to dance or live in such poverty that they'd have to eat the bark of trees.
All the stories above are worth reading. All books are, and another I would recommend is the fiction series by Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl about a child genius who discovers fairies in the centre of the Earth. A fast paced, wonderfully written series with an ingenious plot throughout, I enjoyed reading Colfer's books and I'm sure you will too.
