Home › Find a book › Rooftoppers
RooftoppersKatherine Rundell
Rooftoppers
by Katherine Rundell
Found floating in a cello case after a shipwreck, Sophie refuses to believe her mother drowned, and goes looking for her across the rooftops of Paris.
A story about children and a grown-up hero, adventurous and warm in tone. We would put it with children of 9–12, and at a reading age of about 10 for reading alone.
Worth knowing before you buy
- Mild peril
None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.
Our take on this book
Sophie, rescued from the sea as a baby in a cello case and raised by the eccentric Charles, refuses to believe her mother drowned — so the pair travel to Paris, where Sophie climbs out onto the rooftops and joins the wild children who live above the city, hunting for the mother she is sure is still alive. Katherine Rundell writes like few others for children: her prose is gorgeous, funny and brave, and this novel is a soaring hymn to hope, defiance and never ignoring a possible. It is adventurous and warm rather than frightening, though it carries the ache of a lost mother throughout. For a nine- to twelve-year-old it is a beautiful, thrilling, big-hearted read — the rooftop world is magical, Sophie is unforgettable, and Rundell's central creed, that you should 'never ignore a possible', tends to lodge itself in a reader for good. A modern classic and a wonderful introduction to one of our finest children's writers.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
Journey to the River SeaEva Ibbotson
Sky ChasersEmma Carroll
The ExplorerKatherine Rundell
The Wolf WilderKatherine Rundell
Waiting for AnyaMichael Morpurgo
Alone on a Wide Wide SeaMichael Morpurgo
Or let them write their own.
Nothing gets a child reading like a story they invented themselves. Your child plans the characters and the plot, and we write, illustrate and print it as a real book with their name on the cover as the author.
Find another book
Tell us the age, the reading age and what they like, and we will suggest a handful.