Collections of short stories appear to be much in demand, but they are not always easily found, especially for the older KS2 children. This is a very personal collection of stories and some random observations by the author. If you start off by understanding his quirky sense of humour, then you won’t go far wrong.
What is really fascinating is the comparative length of the stories. Many of them are only one page in length and I think the longest is about five pages. This is a story called John Erskine IV and is a delightful story of why you really should listen when homework is given out. The narrator’s older sister has to write about the character called John Erskine, but because the internet is down and her phone has been confiscated, she is a bit stuck. In the end they write a totally fictitious account of this person’s life and low and behold the teacher thinks it is great, because they have thought ‘outside the box’.
The author is writing as the narrator of these stories and this really adds to the sense of connection that we have. We also have the fact that the same area of Winterton appears in many of the stories. This somehow adds to the feeling that this is all real and we are part of the community. With some of the very short stories I felt as if they were just introductions and wanted to know a little bit more; this would seem to be a great opportunity to get children involved in creating extensions to these tales. The author has put a section at the end of the book, about ‘write your own stories’, so this would work really well.
Rob Walton is a Writer, Poet and Performer and this exuberance shows in this new work. Children are going to love dipping into this Potpourri of stories and reading them to their friends.
The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Award has been running since 2008 and has been the launch of many successful careers in the world of children’s literature. The winner in 2022 was Sarah Harrison, with a book entitled “Eddie’s Demons”. This has since become the story that is known as “The School of Doom” I must admit that I do prefer this new title and I am delighted that the book has now found its way out into the wide world.
I was delighted to be asked to take part in this blog tour and the title of the book definitely attracted my attention. The question is absolutely “what is STUFF”? The word is a term that just about every person uses and it is not easily defined by the individual. However, in this book, the author tries to give us a very broad definition of those areas that can be seen as stuff by many of us.
age. This means that all nurseries, foundation stage environments and primary schools need to have a wide range of materials, that can support children through a variety of situations.
surfaces, no matter how many times you cleaned, and the day was broken up by taking them outside and carrying around their poo in a little bag. It meant that you really couldn’t leave food out anywhere: I left a Victoria sponge out once and left the room, and it lasted maybe ten seconds. It also meant that, no matter what, you always had a companion. At the end of the day, you could always come home to find someone who wanted to plonk on the sofa next to you and fall asleep, tail softly wagging.
that also covers the black experience through a daily record. These volumes cover the first and second six months of the year and each day highlights major events through history. It is richly illustrated and highlights the names of historical characters and events. There is a comprehensive index. This is accessible for upper KS2, but probably sits better in a secondary library.
The heroine of this story is twelve year old Amberley Jain, who was paralyzed in the jet crash that killed both her parents. Her close friend is Ricardo, a young technical genius, who is blind and depends on the high tech glasses that allow him to see the world around him. Their home colony has been under threat from giant mutant insects, that were created after a deadly meteor strike. Because of their young age, the children are not allowed to help in fighting this threat, but they know that they need to do something. Re-building her parents’ spaceship, the ‘Firehawk’ and its very specialized firepower seems to be the only way to save the world that they know. However, the two young people face opposition form the adults who do not really believe that they have the skills to complete this enterprise. But as the mutants get ever closer and even more large and dangerous, the options seems to be diminishing at a rapid rate. Can Amberley and Ricardo defy expectations, despite the risks to themselves, and save the only home that they know?
you hanging on to your seat. It is one of those extremely readable stories that is as much about the action as it is about the characters. In this case the two central characters are having to overcome physical disabilities but they are determined to still be useful, despite the misgiving of the adults. I love the way that the book is laid out in different sections, with different fonts to designate their purpose. Firstly there is the old type, that looks as if it is written on an old typewriter and which shows the messages being sent back to Earth from the colony. We also have other fonts to show different members of the defending pilots and council. My favourite sections are those where we see the images and technical data for the various ships that are used by the defenders; they feel almost like the descendants of the Thunderbird’s rescue machines. Overall this is a wonderful science fiction story that feels as if it reflects elements from the classical sci-fi of the 1950s and 1960s. It is going to appeal to both boys and girls and maybe even those who have not tried this genre before.
countries, including as an English teacher in China, a secondary science teacher in Cameroon, and a teacher trainer in Malawi.
Given the events of the last six months, both in this country and abroad, it is easy to understand that young people will perhaps wonder what the adults are doing and how it will affect them.
National Non-Fiction November has been part of the book scene for nearly 15 years years now and its importance has grown dramatically over that time. As chair of judges for the Information Book Award I have been very conscious of the impact that these different projects have on highlighting information books and their importance, not only in studying but also as part of Reading for Pleasure.
real sense of fun in many of the facts and I particularly enjoyed finding this comment which is very amusing; it is definitely a case of “what goes around, comes around”, as cotton nappies were the norm until the 1980s in the UK; I am sure many people still have memories of the daily task of washing them.