Tag: Reading For Pleasure

Coventry Inspiration Book Awards: The Second Eviction!

Once again, we are saying goodbye to another group of excellent books.

Reception and Key Stage1  have lost Tiny And Teeny by Chris Judge. Glengadget is the teeniest, tiniest town around. Deep down, in between the blades of grass, lives Tiny with her best friend, her pet Teeny in their apple home. Every day of the week, they have a different neighbour to meet – they do some gardening for Mandy Small, read to Bitsy McGee and give Minkin a hand with her lively twins. Then disaster strikes. Tiny and Teeny find their teeny-tiny world turned upside down, when their house is destroyed by a falling rock. They are helped by their neighbours and other townsfolk  to find a new home.  A real celebration of community and ingenious uses for everyday objects.

Year 3 and 4 say goodbye to Derek The Sheep: Danger Is My Middle Name by Gary Northfield. Grumpy but lovable sheep, Derek, is always looking for the greener grass in life, but he is constantly thwarted in his plans by the other meddlesome (and tiresome) animals on his crazy farm]. From the legendary pages of the Beano, Bog Eyed Books presents the third graphic novel in the popular Derek the Sheep series. These outrageously funny and increasingly loopy stories can finally be savoured by fans old and new.

Year 5 and 6 lose the heart-breaking graphic novel When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Mohamed Omar, illustrated by Iman Geddy. Omar and his brother Hassan, two Somali boys, have spent a long time in the Dadaab refugee camp. Separated from their mother, they are looked after by a friendly stranger. Life in the camp isn’t always easy. The hunger is constant, but there’s football to look forward to, and now there’s a chance Omar will get to go to school… A stark look at the lives of child refugees that is sure to spark much discussion. The stunning illustrations tell the moving story when there are no words to express what is happening.

You can vote to keep your favourite book in the competition at https://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/140/coventry_inspiration_book_awards

And finally, it’s Deaf Awareness Week in the UK this week, so I’ve chosen a brilliant book that has a hearing impaired main character – Max And The Millions by Ross Montgomery. 

Max hates life at St. Goliath’s Boarding School. The Headmaster, Mr. Pitt, is nothing like the caring teacher he portrays himself as. Every assembly Max is made to sit in the SPECIAL SEAT because he wears hearing aids. He’d far rather hide away with the caretaker, Mr Darrow, making miniature models. But, hours before the summer holidays are due to begin, Mr Darrow disappears, which means Max has to put their emergency plan into action.

When Mr Darrow still hasn’t returned as the start of the new term looms, Max discovers a miraculous transformation in the caretaker’s room, and finds himself in a race against time and Mr Pitt to save the new world and its inhabitants.

The inhabitants of The Floor have even more to worry about as the three tribes are locked in a battle for resources and all-out war seems ever more likely. Can newly crowned King Luke bring the Tribes together and keep the peace while Max battles Mr Pitt to save them all?

Brilliantly written, Ross Montgomery combines great characters, a pacey plot and huge handfuls of humour to create a rip-roaring adventure that had me howling with laughter from beginning to end in one sitting.

Year 6 interview with Arctic Star author, Tom Palmer.

Tom Palmer’s historical fiction is guaranteed to be excellently researched and packed with emotion; his new book,  Arctic Star, excels on both counts.

From the very first chapter, you are drawn into Frank, Stephen and Joseph’s lives aboard HMS Forgetmenot. Dark humour peppers their voyage across the freezing seas where the dangers are not only from the enemy.

It’s winter 1943 and teenagers Frank, Joseph and Stephen are Royal Navy recruits on their first mission at sea during the Second World War. Their ship is part of an Arctic Convoy sailing to Russia to deliver supplies to the Soviets. The convoys have to navigate treacherous waters, sailing through a narrow channel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases on the Norwegian coast. Faced with terrifying enemy attacks from both air and sea, as well as life-threatening cold and storms, will all three boys make it home again.

The intricacies of the three men’s friendships are expertly highlighted, which makes some of the conversations more harrowing for more sensitive readers. They create a myriad of discussion points too, from how friendships survive a fall out, to dealing with loss and grief, why people chose to go to war and how they survived their experiences

The differing perspectives are never clearer than when discussing their convoy’s destination, Murmansk in Russia. The ideology in theory doesn’t match the reality they find on shore leave, opening up a huge discussion on different political ideologies and ways of life

For a very different perspective on WW2 and a very different battlefield, Arctic Star is an all action, heart-breaking story of friendship and survival. Tissues are a must. Here’s what Year 6 thought:  

  • I love how it goes straight into the action and doesn’t stop!
  • I like how every chapter ends on a cliff hanger which makes you think a lot.
  • I love how there is humour even though it is a really serious story.
  • The description is so good it puts images in my head.
  • I like the chemistry between the characters and that they have such a strong friendship.
  • I like that it’s based around an aspect of WW2 we don’t normally get to read about.
  • I love that it is based on real events and you can feel the emotion in the story.

Now for the interview!

Miss Cleveland has lots of books on her bookcase. Why should we pick Arctic Star?

I’d say you don’t have to. But, if you like stories of war, adventure and danger – that feature friendship – then you might enjoy it. But compare it to some of the other books and choose the one you like the sound of most.

How would feel if you were one of the characters from Arctic Star, and how would you deal with that emotion?

I don’t know is the honest answer. I’ve never been in a shipwreck, but my job is to try to imagine it. To be honest, I compared it with the time I was in a ship in the North Sea in a force 9 gale and another time that my best friend died (aka Stephen). Then I drew from those emotional situations. Not easy, but it is good to use traumatic things you have been through when you write, I think. Most of the time.

Why do you think it’s important to write about things that have happened in history?

So that we are well informed about the past, meaning we can deal better with the future. There are lots of misconceptions about history and I think it is our duty to understand it properly and be respectful to those involved – and their memory.

Are there any other historical periods you would like to write about?

The Iron Age, in particular Queen Cartimandua.

Which of your books are you most passionate about and why?

After the War. Because I met some of the Holocaust survivors it is about and they told me they wanted me to write about their story because – to be quite honest – as they were very old, they would be dead soon and the story needed to be told when they were gone.

How long does it usually take you to write a story?

Football books = 2 months. History books 6 to 9 months.

Do you have any unfinished writing projects?

Yes. They are ones that didn’t work out.

What do you do if you are struggling for ideas?

Make a scrap book of images and ideas. Do lots of plans. Play with different ideas and juxtapose them until I find the right idea for me.

If you weren’t an author, what would you like to be instead?

An explorer.

Which children’s book characters would you like to go on a socially distanced picnic with?

The Cat in the Hat. That’d be a good laugh.

About Tom Palmer Tom is the multi award winning author of over fifty children’s books including three Puffin football series, Football Academy, Foul Play and The Squad, and 15 books for Barrington Stoke.

Huge thanks to Tom Palmer for answering our questions and to his publisher, Barrington Stoke, for arranging it for us.  

The Midnight Guardians by Ross Montgomery

My final recommendation of 202o is a wonderfully Christmassy fantasy from Ross Montgomery – The Midnight Guardians.

Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest… When Col’s childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians – a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight – Col must race to Blitz-bombed London to save his sister. But there are darker forces at work, even than the Nazi bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything.

Magic, mythical beings, and so much love all woven together to create a captivating read perfect for escaping into that will live long in the memory and has earned it’s place on the bookshelf in my heart.

Col is so convincing as the young evacuee desperate to be with the only family he truly knows in time for Christmas, while Ruth is a tenderly written Jewish refugee. Their teamwork, tenacity and courage shines throughout the story and I love the way they support each other.

I loved the weaving through of folk lore and childhood friends, making this a fantastical take story set during the Second World War. Darker aspects of the war are not shied away from, but every dark moment is tempered with a glimmer of hope shining in the distance.

But my favourite character? Mrs Evans! Her eccentricity hides the truth and knowledge in her words and actions. I laughed, cried and I really want to wipe my memories so I can do it all over again for the first time.  A wonderful story for Year 3 and up.

Armistice Runner by Tom Palmer

This week’s book recommendation links to Remembrance Sunday, and is suitable for children in Year 4 up…

Lily is a fell runner and is training for the first big race of the season in the Lake District village where her grandparents live. She discovers from her grandmother (who has Alzheimer’s disease) that her great-great grandfather was a trench runner during the last few days of  World War I. Given a box of his things, Lily becomes enthralled with his trench running logs which contain far more information than times and distances – it’s a diary of his time in France.

Full of family, endurance, determination and heart, this is a well researched reminder of the lives of the men in the trenches that we remember this Sunday, and how we can honour their memory through our actions today. Kindness and empathy echo throughout the story that you are sure to be as determined to finish as Lily was to read Ernest’s diary entries.