Toppsta - Childrens Books – Reviews

Susan Hill is a celebrated English author who has written a variety of critically acclaimed books, encompassing literary fiction, ghost stories, detective novels and memoirs as well as children’s books. She has won several prizes for her work, including the Somerset Maugham Award, Whitbread Novel Award and the Nestlé Smarties Prize, as well as a CBE for services to literature.
Her most famous book The Woman in Black is also the UK’s longest ever running stage play and was turned into a film starring Daniel Radcliffe in 2012. The Woman in Black is a chilling ghost story, named to mirror the famous classic by Wilkie Collins The Woman in White. The story follows Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer who is sent to a remote village to deal with the will of a recently deceased client. He finds himself in a spooky isolated house with many secrets and a mysterious woman in black. With the villagers strangely reticent to discuss the disturbing figure, he sets out to solve the mystery himself.

While many of her adult books have gothic themes, her books for younger children are very different. Hill won the Smarties Book Prize for the 6-8 years category for Can it Be True? a poem story for Christmas Eve about the meaning of Christmas. Her most recent book for middle grade readers Billy-William Bigheart has delighted readers with its sweet and uplifting plot. Billy-William is the kindest boy in the universe with the mission of saving unfortunate animals from an evil pet shop owner.

For slightly older, more independent readers we recommend The Battle for Gullywith – a story of enchantment and adventure perfect for reading along with your kids. For more of a challenge, I’m the King of the Castle is a fantastically chilling modern classic for adults and teens, often taught on A-Level syllabuses and winner of the Somerset Maugham Award.