Book Reviews
A slowly building collection of reviews of the books I have read or used myself in teaching or training.
The weblinks at the bottom of this page are useful sources of texts on particular themes.
Upper Key Stage 2
A story with a clear climate change message for the eco-warriors in your upper key stage two class, this debut novel from Hannah Gold will certainly give lots of opportunities for discussion and debate.
The friendship between the polar bear and eleven-year-old April, and the adventures and dangers they experience together might present some challenges for less flexibly-minded readers (I struggled a little with the mix of fact and fantasy) but differences of opinion are the starting points for passionate conversations! I was also caught-up in an authentic search for factual information to help me separate these two strands in the story.
Bear Island, the setting of the story, is a real place; the map at the beginning of the book is factually accurate, and I was delighted to find that the heart-shaped lake that April and Bear visit also exists in real life.
Loss, grief and loneliness are explored through April's relationship with her father, a widowed research scientist stationed on Bear Island to measure, record and analyse the weather conditions.
Levi Pinfold's beautiful black and white illustrations throughout the story are a perfect enhancement of Hannah Gold's words.
Upper Key Stage 2
October and her dad live in the forest, largely self-sufficient and isolated from the outside world. October is wild and loves the open spaces that she and her dad manage and care for.
On her eleventh birthday, everything changes for October; her dad has a terrible accident and she is forced to live with her estranged mother in the city while he slowly recovers. October refers to her as 'the woman who is my mother' - the difficult relationship between them is one of the themes of the story.
The language is utterly beautiful:
'We head towards our little house when the fire has died and the air freezes the ends of my hair. When I lift my hand to feel them i find crunches of frost like jagged stars. We tramp past the pond and the surface is already pulling tight with ice... ' (p13)
This was one of those stories that I read more and more slowly because I didn't want it to be finished!
Other Sources
CLPE provide excellent free resources including a searchable database and a collection of 'lists' focused on particular themes, authors, illustrators or celebrations.
Book Trust's website includes a 'bookfinder' with age / stage and book-type filters to help children, families and teachers find the next book to keep a child reading.
'The School Reading List is curated and reviewed by a small group of librarians, English teachers and parents who meet in school holidays to discuss books that have worked well with groups of children, new releases within the last 12 months and the shortlists for children’s literature awards.'
Book Awards
Book award long- and short-lists are brilliant for finding the best of newly-published children's books. Some of these also involve schools in the selection process.
Yoto Carnegie Medal for outstanding books for children and young people; Yoto Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration. Judged by children's librarians.
Celebrating children's books; the only children's book awards judged by teachers.
An international publisher's prize focused on picture book illustration.
Awards of the American Library Association; Caldecott Medal for picture book illustration and Newberry Medal for literature for children.
Awards for Children's Non-Fiction, Illustrated and Fiction