Catherine Pelosi: My Favourite Curious Minds in Children’s Literature

To celebrate our Better Reading Kids’ Book of the Week, Quark’s Academy – a jam-packed, science adventure celebrating curious minds, invention and discovery – we had the author, Catherine Pelosi, compile a list of her favourite curious minds in children’s literature. Full of plucky and intelligent protagonists, this list is guaranteed to keep young readers engaged to the last page!

Words || Catherine Pelosi

I’ve always considered curiosity to be one of the most admirable qualities someone can have. Curiosity makes so much possible. It opens doors, creates adventures, uncovers, reveals and explains. There are many characters in kids’ fiction who have curious minds, but these are my favourite.

Alice in Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Alice was brave and curious enough to follow the white rabbit in the first place.

Hermione in The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Hermonie is clever, hard-working and determined which makes her a fantastic problem solver.

Milo in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

It’s Milo’s boredom, but also his curiosity, that takes him on an eye-opening adventure to Lands Beyond.

Matilda in Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda has pretty rotten parents, but that doesn’t stop her from feeding her curiosity by reading – a lot!

Meg in A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Meg is determined to find her missing father and will do anything to do it, including travelling through time and space!

Ben in Gangsta Granny by David Walliams

Ben thinks his Granny is boring, but he makes the effort to learn more about her and is amazed by what he discovers.

Coraline in Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline is driven by her curiosity to open a door she isn’t meant to and enters a whole other world by doing so.