A great short story which I could see benign enjoyed by more reluctant readers. The text is relatively big and spaced nicely and the pages have lots oA great short story which I could see benign enjoyed by more reluctant readers. The text is relatively big and spaced nicely and the pages have lots of doodles and illustrations making them very engaging. I have also heard the Tom Gates series is great for children with dyslexia. The story follows Tom‘s friendships, family life and school life. The book is fun and full of exciting event for KS2 children. ...more
The book was okay but I wouldn’t read it as a whole class story. I was unable to decide what age range this book would be most suitable for and enjoyedThe book was okay but I wouldn’t read it as a whole class story. I was unable to decide what age range this book would be most suitable for and enjoyed by. The humour and characters seem like it is aimed at LKS2 children but some of the themes and language seem more like they are from a young teens book. I also thought some of the descriptions were quite over the top meaning you had to decode what some of the sentences were actually trying to say because there are so many similes and metaphors. There are themes of divorce, separation, cheating, abandonment from parents and death of a parent. Although I think it is very important for children’s books to cover these topics, I think there was too much of this to the extend that there wasn’t much of a story to the book. I also thing religion was covered quite insensitively and it seemed like they were making a joke out of Jo being religious. Not my favourite book but I can see children enjoying the humour from it. ...more
Another great Planet Omar book! A nice short but fun adventure story about Omar and his friends as they go on an adventure to Scotland to try and get Another great Planet Omar book! A nice short but fun adventure story about Omar and his friends as they go on an adventure to Scotland to try and get a signed copy of a book for Daniel’s little sister who is ill in hospital. There are nice themes of friendship and family throughout the book. There are also links to the Muslim faith, a great way to educate children and promote diversity within the classroom. This would be a good book for children just beginning to read novels as it is short and the pages include lots of pictures and different fonts and sizes of text. A fun story with lots of positive themes to explore with children. ...more
**spoiler alert** This is not the sort of book I would usually pick up or enjoy however I can definitely see children being very captivated by it and **spoiler alert** This is not the sort of book I would usually pick up or enjoy however I can definitely see children being very captivated by it and invested in the story. I would read this book with lower or upper KS2 children. Seren is an orphan who is sent to live with her godparents. On the way she meets a man in a train station who gives her a parcel to look after, he never returns so she ends up taking the parcel to her new house and it turn out to be a man stuck in a crows body. The house is very quiet and only the two housekeepers live there, the godparents are away in London after the mystery of what happened to their son Tomos. Everyone knows They took him but they do not know how to get him back. Seren’s braveness allows her to search Tomos’ room for clues and find the magical people who have captured him. With the help do the crow they save Tomos and return home. ...more
This story is about a young boy who is angry and doesn’t listen to adults. He realises he has been holding his mum’s passing inside him and not dealinThis story is about a young boy who is angry and doesn’t listen to adults. He realises he has been holding his mum’s passing inside him and not dealing with his emotions. The book has a lovely message that those close to us are never really gone and will always be a part of us. This book could be helpful for children who may be experiencing similar things themselves. I probably wouldn’t use the book as a whole class text as I think it could potentially cause unnecessary stress and worry for some children however I can see how useful it would be for some to see a character coping with a similar experience to themselves. If used 1:1 I think the book could support children from year 1 - year 6. ...more
A fantastically inspirational story of Malala Yousafzai’s life told by herself. The book is aimed at children and gives them an insight into her fightA fantastically inspirational story of Malala Yousafzai’s life told by herself. The book is aimed at children and gives them an insight into her fight for the right for girls to go to school. Malala is a brave and fearless person who, despite putting herself at great danger, continued to go to school and speak out for girls education while the Taliban were targeting her. The book could be shared with year 6 children to allow them to understand Malala’s life and the importance of her work. There are lots of descriptions throughout the book to help children understand different ideas and events as well as a glossary of key words. An important book to raise children’s awareness of equality and human rights. ...more
This Shakespeare book for children is a great alternative for KS2 children to help them understand the story. I used the book with year 5 children whoThis Shakespeare book for children is a great alternative for KS2 children to help them understand the story. I used the book with year 5 children who followed along very well, understanding what was happening and being able to read the book for themselves. The text is relatively big and accompanied by illustrations which breaks up the text and well adding to children's understanding. I would definitely use the book when teaching Shakespeare to KS2 children....more
**spoiler alert** A fantastic book about a boy who realises it’s better to be kind than the bully. Hector is the school bully and along with his two fr**spoiler alert** A fantastic book about a boy who realises it’s better to be kind than the bully. Hector is the school bully and along with his two friends, causes the other children a lot of problems. He especially doesn’t like Mei-Li the teacher’s pet. Hector plays a trick on a homeless man and it goes further than he’d planned. He feels bad for his mistake and wants to apologise until he suspects this man is the thief from the news. Hector tell the police and later realises he made a mistake and must help to put it right. Hector realises he needs to work with Thomas and Mei-Li as well as other homeless people to stop the homeless getting blamed. An exciting adventure story which shows Hector as he transitions from the school bully to saving the homeless. Children who may be finding themselves sick in the pattern of not trying might connect with Hector and realise they are allowed to change. There is lots of information at the back of the book about bullying and the homeless. A fantastic book for KS2 children. The book could be read as a whole-class read or used to base a unit of work around. ...more
This is a great book which is full of adventure and excitement making it engaging for ks2 children. There are lots of illustrations and different stylThis is a great book which is full of adventure and excitement making it engaging for ks2 children. There are lots of illustrations and different styles of text throughout the book which makes the pages interesting to look while reading. The excitement and unpredictability of the story makes the reader want to read on and I think ks2 children would find the book exciting and funny. The book could be used to support a child whose grandparent is facing dementia as it can help the child understand the disease in a more child friendly way. Children could also learn ways of coping with a grandparent with dementia from Jack’s experiences. This book could also be read alongside a topic on WW2 as there are continuous links with the war throughout the entire story. At the end there is a glossary with key words which can further support children’s understanding of these new or unusual terms. I would recommend this to ks2 children or read it allowed to the whole class. You could create an exciting receptive context for this book by hanging war planes from the classroom ceiling like Jack does in the story. ...more
Ella on the Outside is a lovely story of friendship. There are many important themes throughout the book including loss, bullying, illness and prison.Ella on the Outside is a lovely story of friendship. There are many important themes throughout the book including loss, bullying, illness and prison. This book would be good for lower KS2 children as either a read aloud story or for independent reading. There would be many opportunities for good quality discussion from this book and it would support a PSHE series of lessons well. This book may also be appropriately read in upper KS2 due to the important themes especially with children who have experienced or are experiencing things like bullying, or the loss or illness of a parent. At the beginning of each chapter there is a letter Ella has written to her dad, relating to the previous events which have happened. These could be used by the children to annotate and take inspiration from when learning about and writing their own letters. It would be important to consider the theme of the book as if children are currently experiencing any of the topics, it may be too upsetting for them....more
This is a lovely story about how Owen deals with the loss of his father and gets help for himself and his mum. Owen’s mum really struggles after the dThis is a lovely story about how Owen deals with the loss of his father and gets help for himself and his mum. Owen’s mum really struggles after the death of his father and Owen ends up doing everything for both of them before asking his friends mum to help. Owen is very quiet at school but faces his fear of speaking aloud to help save a solder statue in the memorial garden. This is a beautiful story of determination, love and family which could be read in lower KS2 or upper KS2 depending on the individuals in the class. The style and level of complexity of the story points towards this book being aimed at year 4/5 children however Owen is on secondary school which seems a bit strange but is not overall obvious so could still be relatable and enjoyed by much younger children. ...more
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