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The Wolves of Willoughby ChaseJoan Aiken
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken
Two cousins are left with a scheming governess while wolves prowl the park outside, and are sent to a school where the children are worked half to death.
A story about children and a grown-up villain, adventurous and spooky 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
- Cruel adults
- 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
In an imaginary, wolf-haunted version of nineteenth-century England, cousins Bonnie and Sylvia are left in the care of the wicked governess Miss Slighcarp, who schemes to seize the family estate and packs the girls off to a brutal orphanage — from which they must escape and set things right. Joan Aiken's 1962 classic is a gloriously melodramatic Gothic adventure, full of villainy, snowbound peril, ravening wolves and plucky heroines, told with tremendous verve and dark relish. It is exciting and a little frightening in the best storybook way — cruel adults and real danger, all safely defeated by the children's courage in the end. For a nine- to twelve-year-old who loves a proper old-fashioned adventure with dastardly villains and daring escapes, it is a rollicking, atmospheric read, and the first of a much-loved series. A splendid choice for a child ready to be thrilled and just pleasantly scared.
If they like this, try these
Chosen by matching age, reading age, tone and subject — not by what is selling.
CogheartPeter Bunzl
MoonlocketPeter Bunzl
Journey to the River SeaEva Ibbotson
The Wolf WilderKatherine Rundell
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.