Most Popular Books by Aidan Chambers

"There is a correlation between the richness of the reading environment in which readers live and the richness of their talk about what they''ve read." "In any group of children we find that if they begin by sharing their most obvious observations they soon accumulate a body of understanding that reveals the heart of a text and its meaning(s) for them all." Talking about a book helps a child find the heart of a story, make sense of a string of facts, and understand complicated ideas. Aidan Chambers proposes an approach for discussing books so children learn to talk well about what they''ve read. Indeed, not only talk well, but listen well. And not just about books, but about other things. For the "Tell me" approach ultimately helps children learn to clarify ideas for themselves and to communicate with others. It is, in short, a basic step in applying knowledge and articulating meaning. Tell Me offers practical information about book talking in the classroom, explaining some of the processes and outlining the ground rules developed by teachers and others who work with children and books. From their experience he has formulated a Framework, "a repertoire of questions that assist readers in speaking out their reading." Tell Me is companion to The Reading Environment.

Seventeen-year-old Jacob Todd is about to discover himself. Jacob''s plan is to go to Amsterdam to honor his grandfather who died during World War II. He expects to go, set flowers on his grandfather''s tombstone, and explore the city. But nothing goes as planned. Jacob isn''t prepared for love&150or to face questions about his sexuality. Most of all, he isn''t prepared to hear what Geertrui, the woman who nursed his grandfather during the war, has to say about their relationship. Geertrui was always known as Jacob''s grandfather''s kind and generous nurse. But it seems that in the midst of terrible danger, Geertrui and Jacob''s grandfather''s time together blossomed into something more than a girl caring for a wounded soldier. And like Jacob, Geertrui was not prepared. Geertrui and Jacob live worlds apart, but their voices blend together to tell one story&150a story that transcends time and place and war. By turns moving, vulnerable, and thrilling, this extraordinary novel takes the reader on a memorable voyage of discovery.

Using a pillow book as her form, nineteen-year-old Cordelia Kenn sets out to write out her life for her unborn daughter. What emerges is a portrait of an extraordinary girl, who writes frankly of love, sex, poetry, nature, faith, and of herself in the world. Her thoughts range widely: on Shakespeare and breasts, periods and piano playing, friendship and trees, consciousness and sleep, and much more besides. As she writes of William Blacklin, the boy she chooses as her first lover, or Julie, the teacher who encourages her spiritual life, Cordelia maddens, fascinates, and ultimately seduces the reader. This is a character never to be forgotten from a writer at the height of his powers.

Shy, likeable Karl is in love with clever, beautiful Fiorella. To prove his affection, she demands that he bare his soul to her in letters. The difficulty? Karl is convinced he can''t write, or at least not well enough for Fiorella, who loves books and words. He sets out to persuade Fiorella''s favourite novelist to write a letter for him. When the famous author agrees, a series of misunderstandings ensues, resulting in a startling revelation, a near tragedy, and an unexpected friendship that transform the lives of all three.

Taking a job as a toll-bridge collector to escape family pressures and discover who he is, seventeen-year-old Jan meets and befriends Adam and Tess and the three test their friendship as each faces a turning point in his and her life.

Hal''s summer affair with Barry Goldman ends tragically when Hal discovers he is much more committed to the relationship than his friend.

In Breaktime, Ditto challenges Morgan to prove that literature is crap and triggers off a chain of events to alter his outlook of life forever. Ditto faces a series of charges from Morgan against literature: that all fiction is Done. Finished. Dead; a sham and a pretence. He undertakes faithfully to record a life in the week of Ditto - with all the chaos of reality thrown in - and his literary creation reveals more about himself than he originally bargained for. In Dance on My Grave, life in his seaside town is uneventful for Hal Robinson, nothing unusual, exciting or odd ever happens to him - until now that is. Until the summer of his 16th birthday when he reaches a crossroads of choices in life. He foolishly takes a friend''s boat for a day''s sailing, gets into difficulty and is rescued by Barry Gorman. Their ensuing relationship results in a tumultous summer for Hal as he experiences the intense emotions of his first teenage love. A major new movie - ''Summer of 85'' - based on Dance on My Grave, by groundbreaking French director Francois Ozon, was released in October 2020 to much acclaim. ''Deftly captures the thrill of first love'' - NME ''A sweet gay romance that gradually morphs into something more suspenseful and macabre'' - Daily Telegraph ''A film that will take you back to your first summer love'' - The Gay UK

Lucy is tormented by class bullies who demand that she bring them gifts.

"Reading is a provocative act; it makes things happen." "It is a fact of our psychological make-up that we cannot read anything without experiencing some kind of response." "If we are forced to read as a duty, expecting no delight,we are likely to find it a boring business." "We cannot easily read for ourselves what we haven''t heard said." "Some people say they don''t like reading stories, butI''ve never come across anyone who doesn''t like hearing one." With such forthright statements Aidan Chambers ensures that The Reading Environment will make things happen about the ways reading is presented in schools. For Chambers, reading is a life-enhancing occupation, not a pastime. Drawing memorably on his own experience as a teacher and a reader, he offers a multitude of stimulating ideas for opening the rewards of thoughtful reading to all children. Concerned with the practical aspects of creating an environment that supports children as they become readers, he provides suggestions on school book fairs and displays, reading areas, author visits, and book selection. But having enabled children to become readers is only part of the issue, and he also addresses ways of keeping track of children''s reading and helping them develop responses to what they read. Concise and elegantly written, The Reading Environment will be a valuable book for preservice and inservice teachers, and its distinctive blend of reflective and active comment make it an enlightening reminder to parents, media specialists, and librarians. Tell Me: Children, Reading, and Talk is the companion volume toThe Reading Environment.

A body is found hanging. Tom, a young detective, sets out to investigate. Nik is researching for a film about a contemporary life of Jesus when he meets Julie, and they embark on a love affair which will involve a spiritual experience that will change them both for good. Tom and Nik''s investigations bring them together in an unexpected climax.

This book presents ideas and descriptions of practical teaching experience that will be of invaluable help to everyone interested in literature, children and education.

William resents going on a ''boring'' holiday to Wales, but while there he is let into a big secret by Gwyn, a local boy. Gwyn has found a seal pup and has it hidden in a cave. He makes William promise never to tell anyone about it, and plans to breed it on a farm. William is determined to let it go free, and ''borrows'' a leaky dinghy to take it out to sea. The story ends with an exciting rescue.

In this brand-new collection of short stories, Aidan Chambers explores moments of truth, when a character or an event suddenly reveals an often-surprising meaning: A girl loses her humanity when she takes a summer job as a theme-park character; a boy tries to save a girl from a fiery death, only to discover the same event happened one hundred years before. And the titular story, in which an innocent game takes a fatal turn, will haunt the reader for a long time. These provocative stories beautifully lend themselves to discussion, and once again Chambers treats us to his fiercely intelligent, finely crafted prose and his incisive understanding of the wonderings of young people on the verge of adulthood. Awards and praise for the work of Aidan Chambers Michael L. Printz Award Carnegie Medal Hans Christian Andersen Award “Beautifully written, emotionally touching, and intellectually challenging.” —VOYA “Jam-packed with ideas and passionate characters.” —Publishers Weekly “A marvelous wordsmith and magical storyteller.” —ALAN Review “Disturbing, groundbreaking . . . original.” —Books for Keeps Praise for The Kissing Game “His [Chambers] sophisticated yet simple style is perfectly suited for an exploration of the new form of flash fictions—multi-genre drabbles that top out at 1,000 words—as well as standard short-story form. Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood.” –Kirkus Reviews “more meaningful discussion and deeper understanding will only come from teens with more life experience, and there’s real potential for possible use in high school English classes.” –School Library Journal “Models for flash fiction and the short-story form as well as points of departure for challenging open-ended discussion, the stories in this collection lend themselves to multiple curricular uses as well as thoughtful personal reading.” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Eerie tales of real life hauntings.

A newspaper delivery boy tries to join a motor-cycle gang but their violence finally repels him. Two of the men and two of the women are adults but the rest of the parts range from age eleven to late teens / early twenties.

Praktische, didactische handleiding om kinderen uit de middenbouw van het basisonderwijs kritisch te leren lezen en te laten vertellen.

Che cos''hanno in comune un vecchio e un ragazzo sconosciuti l''uno all''altro? Quando il vecchio in questione, uno scrittore, voce narrante di questo romanzo, incontra per la prima volta il goffo e guardingo Karl proprio non ne ha idea. Lo scoprirà vivendo la nascita di un''amicizia a sorpresa, fatta di scambi e di silenzi, di somiglianze e differenze. Karl ha bisogno dello scrittore perché gli scriva una lettera destinata alla ragazza del suo cuore, Fiorella, grande lettrice e grafomane che esige da lui parole messe su carta. Lo scrittore ancora non lo sa, ma ha bisogno di Karl per uscire da un isolamento che rischia di ucciderlo. Tra equivoci, rivelazioni, esperimenti d''amore giovane prende forma un romanzo forte come la vita. I migliori lo sono sempre.

Es un libro para los amantes de la literatura, una obra que hace referencia a la importancia del acto literario en los nios, quienes se expresan y explican su mundo a travs de la narrativa de relatos. Su autor, Aidan Chambers, recibi en 2002 el Premio Hans Christian Andersen y es uno de los crticos ingleses que ms ha analizado la literatura para nios y jvenes. En 267 pginas se recopilan sus conferencias, artculos y ensayos en torno al tema de los nios y la literatura.

Henry vuole un vero amico, e forse qualcosa di più. Barry sembra tutto quello che ha sempre voluto. Kari è solo un’avventura. Ma una di troppo. Strano hobby, la Morte, per un ragazzo di sedici anni. Strana convinzione, quella che l’amicizia sia una scatola di fagioli magici. Poi ci sono le sue ginocchia troppo basse che odia, la scuola da tenere o lasciare, un padre poco democratico, una madre troppo fragile. All’improvviso arriva Barry, una barca a vela gialla al posto del classico cavallo bianco e una voglia trascinante di gustarsi la vita in ogni istante.