Marcus Sedgwick Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson I think this is one of those books that people underestimate, either because they’ve forgotten they’ve read it, or never have. Maybe there’s too much Disney in people’s memories of it. The original book is powerful, dark, compelling and sinister and I love it. In the Night Kitchen by…
Barrington Stoke (www.barringtonstoke.co.uk) ISBN 9781781125359 £5.99 Are you casting around for a text to inspire a reluctant reader aged 8+? Do you have few books in school where your ethnic minority pupils can see themselves reflected in the protagonists? Then this first book in a new series might be just the answer. Winningly, it uses…
Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781781125229 £10.99 If, like me, you are an admirer of Jackie Morris’s beautifully evocative work, then you will not be disappointed by this latest offering. If she is a new name for you, then just a simple online search for images of her many book-covers will surely be enough to draw you…
QED ISBN 9781784935535 £8.99 A fascinating non-fiction book which invites its readers to ‘explore’, ‘investigate’ and ‘create’, as they learn about different facets of the busy wind. This beautifully presented, 62- page book is simply bursting with information. Each double-page spread starts with a carefully explained introductory paragraph, followed by well-thought illustrations and interspersed with…
Quercus Children’s Books ISBN 9781784294212 £6.99 We Are Giants is a gripping story about a girl whose father has died and whose mother has dwarfism. It is equally a book about growing up, family, moving house and so many other experiences which children in upper KS2/lower KS3 will find utterly relevant. Amber Lee Dodd set…
Quercus Children’s Books ISBN 9781848668621 £12.99 I picked up this book with considerable anticipation both on merit of the author and the fact that it is a Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize winner. Yet I found it very difficult to access with my children’s fiction ‘hat’ on and constantly felt, as I read, that I was…
Nosy Crow Ltd ISBN 9780857636300 £6.99 I must admit that I am a little biased here. First, I am Welsh. Second, I studied for a Welsh history degree that featured on the topic of this tale. The early part of the 1900s was a time of great exciting in Wales and the opening up of…
Franklin Watts ISBN 9781445150444 £12.99 What a really good idea – the stories of six survivors of the Holocaust told largely in their own words. It makes a moving testament to one of the most evil events of the Twentieth Century. The simple statement of such troubling times brings home the enormity of the event.…
Orion Children’s Books ISBN 9781444010701 £6.99 This is another terrific story in the ‘Spymaster’ series – this time the action takes place in the court of Henry VIII whilst staying at Greenwich Palace. Set in 1532, when tensions with Spain are rising, the action centres around finding out who is leaking information to the Spanish…