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Black Dog - Levi Pinfold

So, a book a week has been tricky to maintain, but after a break, here is another one! The reality of teaching is that it is so all consuming that time to blog has been hard to come by, but that isn't the only reason for the break. I've become quite hugely obsessed with Parkrun, which is rather magnificent; I cannot believe that these wonderful events ,which are marshalled by volunteers up and down the country, are free to attend and enjoy. If you haven't, you should try one! As I would usually find time to recommend books on a Saturday morning, that's been the thing that has given way for my new obsession!

This week I've gone for a picture book, and it's 'Black Dog' by Levi Pinfold.

Beautiful illustrations adorn this wonderful book which is all about understanding you fears.

A giant black dog arrives on the doorstep of the Hope family - no literally, a giant one. As the story progresses, the size of the dog decreases (linked with the level of fear the family have with it). When the family in the story finally confronts the black dog, they realise it is not as scary as it seems. They learn that the black dog is friendly and playful and that they have been missing out on enjoying their time with it because of their fears.

I led an enjoyable assembly on this book with Year 5 and 6 back in the Autumn, so hopefully it is a book they will remember!

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The London Underground: 50 Things to See and Do by Geoff Marshall

Growing up I loved the London Underground and not just riding it around either. The map fascinates me and I still have one blue-tacked up in my classroom store cupboard now - it's probably a little out of date now, given the new lines and stations but the principle is the same!

This book is full of little gems about the quirks and the history of the London Underground - I know I would have LOVED it as a child, and to be fair I read it in one go as an adult and learnt an incredible amount from it.

A good non-fiction text to use in guided reading sessions, and a lovely book to dip in and out of at home if you have a child who, like me, loves all things London Underground.

Short and sweet this week, but to finish:

Here's a quiz question and the first child to come to me with the answer can have a raffle ticket: What is the busiest station on the underground network? Come and borrow the book from me if you're not sure!

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Twitch - M.G Leonard

Wow, it's Week 10 - where are the weeks going this year - and it's World Book Day week. We don't dress up in our school, not because we're spoil sports but because in my view it's a day for celebrating and promoting reading, not consumerism. Whilst I like to think we celebrate reading every day at Little Green, we are doing a couple of extra special things - the book fair arrives and we're joining an exciting webinar with Louie Stowell too! A celebration of books.

Back to the point, and this week I'm celebrating a fantastic adventure story which is nestled beautifully on our Year 6 spine (younger, more able readers would enjoy this one too though!).

Twitch is a mystery/adventure book about a young boy who has a keen interest in birds - hence 'Twitch'. Bird watching requires keen observation and patience, skills which also lend themselves to being a good detective. You can probably see where this one is heading...

A fun story to read as a shared read, and the beginning of a series of books (Spark & Clutch so far!), Twitch has been hugely popular amongst our Year 6. It tackles themes around dealing with bullies too - always great for Year 6 discussion. M.G Leonard writes brilliantly with clarity for young children - her book 'Beetle Boy' has always been a firm favourite at Little Green.

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There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom - Louis Sacher

Class story is my favourite part of the day, and I like to do it every day. I also like to mix things up when it comes to book selections, keeping it fresh and sharing books that I’ve enjoyed. Having said that, one consistency in my teaching over the past few years is making ‘There’s a Boy in Girls’ Bathroom’ my first class reader with my new Year 6 classes - why? Because it’s hilarious, the chapters are great lengths for reading aloud and, most importantly, the main character - Bradley Chalkers - proves that it’s never too late to stop viewing yourself as a monster from outer space; this is the perfect message for new Year 6s, especially the ones who have written themselves off as ‘naughty’.

Bradley is the class bully/clown/disengaged child who seats at the back of the class - last seat, last row. He cuts up his tests, hates homework and is the only child with zero ‘gold stars’ on the class chart. Then Jeff arrives from another school and is placed next to him.

A strange, love/hate relationship is formed over time, with the help of Bradley’s loveable counsellor Carla (another good reason to pick this book as a first class reader). With a number of funny twists, turns and cataclysmic collapses along the way, we follow Bradley’s journey to redemption through the book, which will make you both laugh and cry.

The brilliant ‘Holes’ is the more famous cousin of this book by Sacher, who is a supremely talented author and both books are on our school reading spine.

Summary: laugh out loud funny, excellent as a class reader and brilliant for children to relate to characters throughout. One of my absolute favourites.

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The Many Worlds of Albie Bright - Christopher Edge

Teachers aren't meant to have favourites, but this teacher does have a favourite children's book and it is this one.

I first read Albie Bright's inter-dimensional story back in 2016, and ever since it has been a 'go to' recommendation for me. Albie is a young boy who has sadly lost his mother, but he goes on an incredible (and emotional at times!) journey to try and find her - literally crossing dimensions and entering other worlds! How does he do this? With a laptop, a banana (did you know they're radioactive?), and a cardboard box.

Blending science with humour, Christopher Edge's books are brilliant for engaging Year 5 and Year 6 children. We have plenty on our Reading Spines and have put this book into Year 6, but it could easily be read by slightly younger pupils.

A very gentle introduction to the idea of the multiverse, the book is a gripping adventure with a number of twists and turns.

And in breaking news...drum roll please... Christopher Edge visits Little Green in April - so it's a great time to get this book read before meeting him.

Enjoy!

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Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good by Louie Stowell

'Mr Hyde, when is the next Loki book coming out?' - I need to record an automated response to this one because I hear it so much.

Fans of Wimpy Kid and graphic novels will love this fun series about Loki, the god of mischief, who has been banished by Odin and sent to Earth in the form of an eleven-year-old boy. In amongst the doodle-like illustrations and the pencilled in anecdotes, teachers and parents will find good vocabulary to extend KS2 children - it's a brilliant book for Year 5 and 6 to use as an independent reader.

Over the last couple of years, this series has really captured reluctant readers and opened their eyes to the terrifying idea of enjoying books and laughing out loud at them. I found them pretty funny myself too!

In summary, great for Wimpy Kid fans or reluctant readers, and really funny!

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A History of The World in 25 Cities - The British Museum (Turner & Donkin)

Another slight delay - this time due to a brilliant Year 6 trip to the Tate Modern, and a Saturday morning Parkrun.

I’ve gone for a non-fiction pick this week, and a text which I enjoyed reading myself and I’ve used lots in reading lessons too. This book, in collaboration with The British Museum, takes you on a chronological journey through 25 cities which have had a significant role in the world - from ancient Jericho to Victorian London, Islamic Granada to modern Tokyo - there is so much to learn!

This style of large, beautifully illustrated non-fiction book always flies off of my classroom bookshelf.

If you want to learn more about the cesspits of Jorvik in 900AD, or if you didn’t know there was a Hyde Park, Sydney (who knew!?) then this is a great fact finding book for be you. A shorter review today as the book will do a lot of the talking itself! Highly recommended for KS2 children.

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D-Day Dog by Tom Palmer

A question teachers often get asked is ‘What is a good book to get boys reading?’ I’m not a huge fan of that narrative - the book I’m about to suggest has been hugely popular with boys and girls in my class - but it is certainly the case that Tom Palmer’s books capture the imagination of those reluctant boys who otherwise struggle to find the right book and I’ve had quite a few success stories along that line over the past couple of years. Thanks Tom!

I’m sort of focussing on ‘D-Day Dog’ in this blog, but there isn’t a book by Tom Palmer that hasn’t hit the mark for me so far. He is supremely talented at making the history surrounding the two World Wars relatable for 11-year-olds through accessible fiction; if you get the chance to listen to Tom speak about how he researches for the content of the books, you should jump at it.

Barrington Stokes publish the books meaning they are dyslexia friendly and not overbearing for lower attaining readers. I’ve even had parents mention to me how much they’ve enjoy reading the books with their children too! The beauty of D-Day Dog for me is that is is written in modern times and presented as a young boy, Jack, looking back and learning about the past and how it relates to his present, and his perspective on war - particularly with a father serving in Afghanistan.

Also, who knew there were parachuting dogs during the Normandy landings!?

In summary, a fantastic book to target reluctant Year 6 (or older!) readers - high interest and accessible.

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Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Ghosts by Katie and Kevin Tsang

As a Year 6 teacher of over a decade, I've stepped out of my comfort zone a little for this week and I'm promoting a brilliant Lower KS2 book. The Sam Wu series are hilarious for all ages; we decided to put one on our Year 3 spine, and it's been hugely popular with children going on to Year 4 and continuing to read the series independently.

The books contain great vocabulary to stretch and develop LKS2 children - the first page of this one alone offers up the words 'recently', 'genuine', 'certified' and 'especially' - all great examples of those words which children will begin to come across more often as they move through junior school and beyond.

The illustrations (think Wimpy Kid style) are hugely popular too and break the text up nicely for readers who are put off by longer blocks of text.

I also love the character of Sam Wu, who is a bit of a scaredy-cat really, but is desperate to prove the opposite. There are definitely lessons in these books around common childhood fears and how to deal with them!

In summary, great for laughing out loud with all ages, but particularly useful for developing vocabulary of Year 3s as a shared read.

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Fairy Tales Gone Bad: Creeping Beauty

Joseph Coehlo, Waterstones Children's Laureate, is brilliant and I often use his poems and stories as quick class readers or assembly stories.

The Fairy Tales Gone Bad series are funny, gruesome and entertaining books to use in class, and in particular my class and I enjoyed the third one in the series: Creeping Beauty. Self described as a 'prickly tale', I'd pitch the book at Year 5 up, only because whilst it is written in short and accessible sentences, some of the language could be tricky for a Lower KS2 reader to read independently. It's great for developing vocabulary though!

The illustrations (Freya Hartas) too, and there are many of them, are excellent and match the narrative brilliantly well.

In summary, a twist on a traditional fairy tale with strong, diverse female characters and roles, and recommended for upper-KS2, lending itself particularly as a shared read.

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Dreadwood by Jennifer Killick

As teachers, we aspire for a classroom in which reading is the culture; children hanging back at breaktime to compare page numbers; 'queues' waiting for a book to be read so they can read it next; children running back from the Book Fair excitedly declaring that they have the latest book in the series; children begging their parents to let them stay up reading. This culture doesn't come easy and requires a lot of whole school investment, and building on the hard work of previous teachers too. One thing can really help though, and it's that first book which goes 'viral' in the class; the book which captures this years cohort - their book.

For me this academic year, that book was Dreadwood by Jennifer Killick and the subsequent books in the series too. These books are great and are loved by Year 6s and Year 7s, and I think the reason for that is simple really - they're exciting and they're written in a language the children can relate to. They're relevant because clearly Jennifer Killick 'gets' her target market.

The books are termed 'horror' but they're not going to traumatise an 11 year old. The concept behind Dreadwood is a Saturday detention gone wrong, and without giving away the reason, it's certainly not something I want to come across in my school!

So I'm recommending the Dreadwood books to anyone who lives or works with a child who 'hasn't found the right book yet' because I fancy this could be it.

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How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? by Mac Barnett (illustrated by Jon Klassen)

With the Christmas holidays kicking off for us yesterday, what better place to start than with this brilliant Christmas picture book, which will get laughs from all ages.

So, just how does he do it!? Does he shrink down really small? Does he go head first or feet first? What if you don't have a chimney?

Whilst this book doesn't give you the definitive answer, it certainly prompted some great discussion and laughs - not only with my three-year-old at home, but with my Year 6 class too. The brilliant illustrations can be revisited numerous times too - for me it's the eyes, and the subtle shifting of the pupils of Klassen's illustrated characters that make them so emotive!