KS3 Reading for Pleasure Travel Writing.
Year 9
A guide for parents & students
The Reading Challenge
To encourage frequent reading, we are setting a challenge to you our KS3 students. Below is a reading list ranked in challenge order from Bronze to Silver & Gold. These books can be used as your reading book in school or you could read them at home. You can earn prizes and certificates from your teacher if you read titles from these lists:
Gold reads
1) Destinations by Jan Morris.
Jan Morris is a journalist and writer. She was the reporter who broke the news that Hillary and party had reached the summit of Everest. Her writing has taken her all over the world. Now, over 90 years old, she lives in a cottage in a small village in North Wales and continues to write.
Destinations gives a flavour of her writing as she captures various places she has travelled to. She also reports on key points in history, for example, one essay is about Washington just after Watergate, another about Panama on the eve of the U.S. treaty debate, another on Cairo at the time of the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks. If you enjoy this dip into Jan Morris’ writing you could then go on to read one of her other works.
2)The Kingdom by the Sea by Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux is an American travel writer. After graduating, he started to travel. He went first to Italy and then on to Africa. He lectured at a university in Uganda before working at the School of English in Singapore. He lived in England for 17 years and wrote many books and pieces whilst here.
In The Kingdom by the Sea, Theroux travels clockwise around the country from London, discovering more about the country and the people. The journey took place in 1982, just after the Falklands War at the Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana so Theroux gains an interesting view and perspective of Great Britain at that point in time.
3) On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac was an American poet and writer. He is known as the pioneer of the Beat Generation formed in America. The Beat Generation were seen as an underground and anti-establishment group whose writing influenced much of post war America. Kerouac was heavily influenced by the jazz and bebop genres.
On The Road is based on the travels of Kerouac and his friends across America against a backdrop of jazz and poetry. It is considered the pioneering work of counterculture and the Beat generation.
4) Travels in West Africa by Mary Kingsley
~ 2 ~ Mary Kingsley was an English scientific writer, and explorer whose travels throughout West Africa and resulting work helped shape European perceptions of African cultures and British imperialism. She wasn’t given a formal education, as it was deemed necessary for girls at the time, she did, however, have access to her father’s vast library and was an avid reader. After her parents died, she used her inheritance to travel and wrote about her experiences.
Travels in West Africa is her journey. In 1893, defying convention of the time, she set off alone to collect specimens of plants and flowers. She had local tour guides and quite often was the first western European and woman to visit these places. Along the way she fought off crocodiles with a paddle and hit a leopard over the head with a pot. When she fell into a trap lined with sharp sticks, she was saved by her skirt--for she always dressed like a lady.
5) A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert by Gertrude Bell
Gertrude Bell was an English writer, traveller, political officer, administrator, and archaeologist. She became highly influential to British policy-making due to her knowledge and contacts, built up through extensive travels. She played a major role in establishing and helping administer the modern state of Iraq. During her lifetime she was highly trusted by British officials and had immense power. A Woman in Arabia: The Writings of the Queen of the Desert is her story in her own words. It uses her letters, dispatches, diary entries and other writings to give a unique perspective on one of the most interesting and influential women in British history.
6) West with the Night by Beryl Markham Beryl Markham was quite a woman! She was a bush pilot who also bred and trained racehorses in colonial Africa, and in September of 1936, she was the first pilot to fly solo non-stop from Europe to North America.
West With The Night is her memoir and the tale of her life in Kenya in the 1920s and 1930s. She was determined to fly solo across the Atlantic but she took the more difficult route of England to America. Despite good reviews, the book did not sell very well and quickly went out of print. It wasn’t until 1982, when some letters of Ernest Hemingway were found in which he praised the book so highly that a publishing house was convinced that they should re-release it.
Silver reads
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1) Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson was born in American but has lived in England for much of his life, He mainly writes about the English language and Science and has received praise for making science more widely accessible.
Notes from a Small Island was written in 1995 just before Bryson left to go back to America. It is a journey around the country where Bryson explores and tries to explain what he has loved about the country. You will analyse the Liverpool chapter as part of the scheme of work in class so if you enjoyed that, then give this a read.
2) French Revolutions: Cycling the Tour de France by Tim Moore
Tim Moore is a British write and travel journalist. He has written numerous pieces for The Telegraph, The Observer and The Sunday Times.
French Revolutions is Moore’s journey round France. Just before the actual Tour de France race began, Moore decided to ride the whole route himself and this book is his account of that bike ride. He cycles 3630 km around France and has many adventures on his way, this is an entertaining book so if you want a more light-hearted read, then give this one a go.
3) Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North by Stuart Maconie
Stuart Maconie is maybe better known for his Radio 6 radio show. As well as being a DJ he is a writer, journalist and TV presenter. He is a proud northerner despite living down South for many years!
Pies and Prejudice is a journey round the north of England. There are so many generalisations and stereotypes surrounding many of the cities and Maconie uses this journey to discover how much truth there is in these stereotypes.
4)) A Visit to Don Otavio by Sybille Bedford
Sybille Bedford is not the most well-known writer. She was born in Germany and travelled a lot when young particularly to England and
~ 4 ~ Italy. With the rise of fascism in Italy her family relocated to France. During the war, with help from friends she moved to America before settling in England in the late 1970s.
A Visit to Don Otavio is her journey to Mexico just after the war. Before going back to the old world (Europe) she has a desire to visit the new world and so travelled to Mexico. She is quite frank in her description of the horrors of travelling and the bug infested jungle, the heat of the trains and her experience of being slapped in the face with a fish on a bus but she does fall in love with the country eventually!
5) Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Coast Trail by Cheryl Strayed
Cheryl Strayed is an American writer. She is the author of four books as well as being a podcast host. Her mother died quite suddenly when Strayed was a senior in college and this loss features heavily in many of her books.
At the age of 26, completely on her own, Strayed hiked more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Coast Trail. She describes the journey as a physical and mental one as it helped her work through the grief of losing her mother.
6) Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
Jules Verne was a French novelist, poet, and playwright. He was born in the seaport of Nantes, where he was trained to follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer, but quit the profession early in life to write for magazines and the stage.
Considered a classic, Around the World in Eighty Days follows Phileas Fogg and Passepartout as they circumnavigate the world. After accepting a bet in London, Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout, Fogg go on a mad dash around the world; from London to Egypt, India to Hong Kong, and onto America’s wild west where nothing goes as planned. Complicating matters is the Scotland Yard who wrongfully pegs Fogg as a wanted criminal.
Bronze reads
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1) Around Ireland with a Fridge by Tony Hawks.
Tony Hawks is a comedian and writer although he originally wanted to be a singer-songwriter. He is also the author of six books.
Around Ireland with a Fridge is the outcome of a drunken bet! Hawks takes his fridge on a month long adventure around Ireland and this book is the story! Highlights include surfing together and meeting the poorest king on earth.
2) Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Elizabeth Gilbert is an American writer, journalist and essayist.
This book is the story of Gilbert’s travels after her divorce. She spent four months in Italy, eating and enjoying life ("Eat"). She spent three months in India, finding her spirituality ("Pray"). She ended the year in Bali, Indonesia, looking for "balance" of the two and fell in love with a Brazilian businessman ("Love").
3)In Search of Nice Americans by Geoff Steward
Geoff Steward had been in the legal profession for a quarter of a century before turning his back on the profession to travel and write.
In Search of Nice Americans is the story of how Steward turned his back on his legal career after the 2016 vote and set off to meet nice Americans to restore his faith in the world. On his travels he meets Joe le Taxi, the former NYPD police officer who was one of the first on the scene at the Twin Towers; Pam and Bob, a paranoid psychologist and a failed actor who once saw the back of Meryl Streep’s head; and Sheriff Duke of Calhoun County, who reintroduces Geoff to the law.
4) The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
FICTION. Nix is the teenage daughter of a time traveller. She has spent her life sailing across the globe – and through centuries – with her father as he
~ 6 ~ obsessively hunts for the map that could save his true love, Nix’s mother. The problem is that finding her could wipe out Nix’s entire existence. This novel has a mix of history, mythology, and fantasy in a plot mainly set against the paradisiacal backdrop of 19th-century Hawaii.
5) Peak by Roland Smith
FICTION - After 14-year old Peak almost lands in jail for attempting to scale a skyscraper in New York City, he is sent to live with his estranged father in Thailand. His father, who runs his own mountain guide business, has other plans. He takes Peak to Tibet instead, so he can be the youngest person ever to climb Mt. Everest. This novel focusses on the physical and emotional challenges of tackling the dangerous mountain.
6) Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbarb
FICTION - All Bria wanted to do when she flitted off to Central America was to find herself – and to mend her broken heart. But her adventure of a lifetime doesn’t quite go as planned and she finds herself stuck on a rigidly organized tour with an age group much older than her 18 years. That is until she meets a dive instructor and his outgoing sister, both experienced travellers. Ditching her tour group, she sets off with them on a true “roughing it” backpacker adventure and finds herself in the process. The author draws on her previous experience as a travel writer to bring the exotic places Bria visits to life with words that fuel the wanderlust of anyone who dares read them.
What else can we do?
There are lots of things that families can do together to support the improvement of reading ability and enjoyment – and not all of them require a book.
~ 7 ~ Talk as a family about reading
By secondary school, most students are competent readers and are less likely to read aloud to an adult. That’s a natural progression, but it doesn’t mean that parents don’t have a part to play. The higher level skills of inference and understanding the craft of an author can be supported by talking about what has been read.
Share a book
Just because you don’t necessarily read together doesn’t mean that parents and children can’t share a book. Young Adult fiction is excellent and well worth a read as a parent. Why not both read the same book?
Model what it is to be a reader
Many parents will read, whether it be fiction, newspapers, online or in any other context. Get in the habit of being seen to read, and valuing reading.
Join the free online library
Library membership a free service for children and adults. There are no overdue fines as books are returned automatically. There is an excellent selection of books, audiobooks and magazines available. The software will work on a range of devices including mobile phones, tablets and laptops
You can join the online library at www.readliverpool.co.uk.
Visit Liverpool Central Library Liverpool
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Liverpool Central Library, William Brown St, Liverpool, Merseyside L3 8EW Monday 09:00 20:00 Tuesday 09:00 20:00
Wednesday 09:00 20:00
Thursday 09:00 20:00
Friday 09:00 20:00
Saturday 09:00 17:00
Good Reading
Fiction books aren’t the only sort of reading material that will help you improve your reading ability.
Reading these will help:
Websites Newspapers Non Fiction
Magazines Graphic novels Audio books
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