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Eloise Williams Books

honesty and lies

Honesty and Lies

Chapter book
resources-available

Set in 1601 at the end of the Tudor period, this story is written from two points of view to cover both Honesty’s and Alice’s perspectives, which gives the reader the added advantage of knowing what the other character does not.  The tension of the court and the danger for girls in that day and age is ever-present and the reader is completely immersed in Elizabethan life and can imagine it all, complete with smells and severed heads. In fact, it is that very detail that makes this book such an immersive read. You feel Honesty’s revulsion at the washing process, the biting cold, the contrast between rich and poor.

Whilst Queen Elizabeth I makes a brief appearance, this is not about royalty, but rather those nameless individuals who lived and died without recognition to keep the Court going and the ordinary people, who lived in grinding poverty which we cannot begin to imagine, right in the same building as the richest and most powerful people in the land.

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the tide singer

The Tide Singer

&
Chapter book, Dyslexia-friendly
dyslexia-friendly

In the wake of a tempest hitting her town, Morwenna is left to take care of a stranger washed ashore.

The storm is just another of many that have plagued the town for years – people blame the tide singers, legendary sea people who are said to charm storms with their singing.

Morwenna has never believed the tales, but when she is left alone with the stranger, she realises this is no ordinary girl. Can the stories be true? Can the girl control the tides with nothing more than her voice?

Her arrival brings danger of a different kind, and Morwenna must draw on all the courage she has in order to stop a conflict that could destroy her home…

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Wilde

Chapter book

Eloise Williams, the Children’s Laureate Wales, has followed up the brilliant ‘Gaslight’ and ‘Seaglass’ with another intriguing and mysterious tale.

Wilde thinks she is weird. In fact, she knows she is weird. It takes a great deal of effort for her to blend in at her new school in Witch Point, especially when her arrival seems to coincide with the start of some very strange things happening. Birds behave strangely around Wilde and she keeps waking up in strange places not knowing how she got there. Things become more and more strange as the Year Six class get further into rehearsals for their end of year play about the local legend: a witch called Winter. Her classmates start receiving threatening notes containing curses that are signed by ‘The Witch’.

Magical and mysterious, this is a story about acceptance. It is about learning to accept yourself in order to be able to truly let in those around you and ‘fit in’. It is also about the conflict between the desire to be like everyone else and the need to be yourself. Wilde is desperate to work out what is happening to and around her. She wants to feel more connected to her mother and senses that the key to the mysterious happenings lies with her past. As the curse letters continue and accusations fly, Wilde has to find out who she really is, where she belongs and who she can trust with the truth. There are echoes of Skellig in this story in terms of warm friendships, dealing with loss and a touch of magic.

Fans of Eloise Williams’ work will not be disappointed with Wilde.

Reviewer: Caroline

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Seaglass

Chapter book

Seaglass is essentially a ghost story but explores and delves into various aspects of mental health throughout. The main protagonist, Lark, is dealing with isolation, worry and prejudice. She also struggles with anger and her coping strategies are explored in the book. There is the underlying theme of mental illness when it comes to Lark’s mother also and how she deals with this differently to how Lark may tackle situations. This is finally discussed in more detail towards the end of the book. An interesting and impactful read for mature upper KS2 children and those in KS3.

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Gaslight

Chapter book
teachers-favourite

A change from the many stories set in Victorian London, this popular novel finds its setting in nineteenth-century Cardiff.

With a gripping plot from start to finish, this book tells the story of a young girl called Nansi, who tries to survive the bleak reality of being impoverished and female in the perilous streets of Victorian England.

We love the cast of characters and the richly evocative Victorian setting.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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yes

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