The Puffin Book of Stories for Ten-Year-Olds

This follows earlier collections for children from five up to nine. There is a variety of tales to suit a range of interests - science fiction, humour, tradition and fantasy. There are two football tales, Trevor Millum's 'Gruesome Gran and the Broken Promise' and Alan MacDonald's 'Baggy Shorts'. Computer fanatics may be attracted by 'Brian and the Brain' by Sara Volger and Jane Burchett, in which a boy swaps brains with his computer, or 'The Computer Ghost' by Terrance Dicks. There is adventure for Callum in Theresa Breslin's 'Maelstrom' whilst readers of traditional tales are catered for in a sophisticated reworking by Adele Gears of 'Beauty and the Beast'. The old favourite by Jan Mark, 'Nothing to Be Afraid Of' is there too, but my favourite is the devastatingly simple and very short Nepalese tale about how the older generation need to be looked after in 'The Doko' by Shyam Das Baishnab. Useful for the classroom as an emergency read but the title may put off potential 11-year-olds for whom some of the stories are eminently suitable.