The phones are ringing, project boxes have left the building and our inbox is peppered with enquiries: Norfolk schools may only have been back in session for a few days, but we’re already thinking of the summer holidays as a distant memory…Christmas is on the horizon, though…!!
Ready for the start of term, both our Bookbites and HighLights newsletters are now online and can be viewed here and here. We’ve also updated our list of INSET for the Autumn term which you can find here, PLUS a flyer for our exciting Language is Power conference taking place next year (find that here). Keep your eyes peeled for a conference blog post soon, but we’re already very excited about it especially as this year’s Carnegie award-winner Tanya Landman will be appearing! How great is that?
Back to business: Friday reads anyone?
Gail: How the Library (Not the Prince) Saved Rapunzel by Wendy Meddour, illustrated by Rebecca Ashdown
A sweet fairytale twist with a pro library message. Rapunzel is bored and unhappy looking out of her window with nothing to do and none of the delivery people in the neighbourhood can be bothered to climb up to her. One day she’s offered a job at the local library which gives her a sense of purpose and improves her self esteem! Written in rhyme with lots of multicultural representations in the illustrations.
(Frances Lincoln, £6.99 paperback, ISBN 9781847806628)
Georgie: Have You Seen My Monster? by Steve Light
“Can you spot the friendly monster as well as twenty shapes – squares, triangles, trapezoids, ellipses, kites and more – hidden among iconic fair attractions from the fun house to the Ferris wheel. Maybe the monster is judging the pies? Or perhaps he’s at the monster truck rally?”
As someone who shivers at the thought of anything remotely maths related this book is an excellent way to engage with shapes. The quirky black and white illustrations help to highlight the different colourful shapes as well as the correct terminology. I would recommend to any teacher struggling to make learning shapes seem fun to students who are more on the arty side!
(Walker Books, £11.99 hardback, ISBN 9781406359435)
Harriet: Whistling in the Dark by Shirley Hughes
This may not be autobiographical, but it does feel as if it may be, at least in parts, and all the more authentic because of it. Set in the Liverpool area during the Second World War, it provides a vivid illustration of what it must have felt like to be a child living through the Blitz, with a mix of fear, deprivation, excitement, boredom – and hunger. The children also have to cope with adults’ failings, and there is no perfect resolution. This is a good read particularly if studying the Second World War in upper KS2.
(Walker Books, £9.99 hardback, ISBN 9781406360295)
Zoe: Maisie Hitchins and the Case of the Stolen Sixpence by Holly Webb
I always enjoy a mystery; and the story being set in Victorian London was an added draw.
Maisie Hitchins longs to be a detective so, when the Butcher’s boy is falsely accused of stealing a sixpence, she knows what she has to do: find the real culprit!
We meet her strict Grandmother, who runs a boarding house, along with the servants and lodgers. Altogether, they are an eclectic mix of interesting characters.
This is a pleasant, easy-to-read mystery story and I’m looking forward to reading Maisie’s further adventures with her dog, Eddie.
(Stripes Publishing, £5.99 paperback, ISBN 9781847153715)
(For our previous Friday reads, look here)
The Book Trolley 