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Author & Illustrators

James Patterson Books

From two heavy-hitters in children’s literature comes a biographical novel of seismic cultural importance…

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Kwame Alexander and James Patterson join forces to vividly depict his life up to age seventeen in both prose and verse, including his childhood friends, struggles in school, the racism he faced, and his discovery of boxing. Readers will learn about Cassius’ family and neighbours in Louisville, Kentucky, and how, after a thief stole his bike, Cassius began training as an amateur boxer at age twelve. Before long, he won his first Golden Gloves bout and began his transformation into the unrivalled Muhammad Ali.

Fully authorised by and written in cooperation with the Muhammad Ali estate, and vividly brought to life by Dawud Anyabwile’s dynamic artwork, Becoming Muhammad Ali captures the budding charisma and youthful personality of one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.

This is a book for secondary school children.

In the first chapter of this book the main character Finn dies. Finn is a normal boy attending a normal school – until one day that all changes. He decides to go on a bike ride and a van knocks him off the top of a cliff and he dies from his injuries.

For the rest of the story Finn is a ghost who is trying to come to terms with the fact he has passed away and the impact it is having on the friends and family he left behind. As he is doing this he finds another friend who I also a ghost Izzy. They help each other to complete their ‘unfinished business’ before they move on. The story does have a surprise ending but we won’t spoil it for you!

The book talks about death, ghosts, unfinished business and moving on the heaven. I think any adult considering using this book with children would have to consider the impact that the content could have on those pupils. It is a piece of fiction but it would definitely open pupils minds to the concept of death and what happens when people die. This might be a difficult subject for pupils to read about and understand – making it most suitable for KS3 children to read at the discretion of guiding adults.

Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he’s got an ace plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off. With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe tries to break every rule in his school’s oppressive Code of Conduct. Chewing gum in class – 5,000 points! Running in the hallway – 10,000 points! Pulling the fire alarm – 50,000 points! But when Rafe’s game starts to catch up with him, he’ll have to decide if winning is all that matters, or if he’s finally ready to face the rules, bullies, and truths he’s been avoiding.

Introducing Max Einstein – child genius and number one fan of Albert Einstein.

As a thirteen-year-old girl living on the streets of New York, Max knows nothing of her past. Max doesn’t have many friends but thankfully, conversations with her namesake, the famous physicist, mean she is never alone. Conscious of her prodigious abilities but also her social standing, Max intentionally underperforms at college to blend in with the crowd. Outside of college Max devises crafty inventions to help the plight of her homeless companions.

A turn of events sees Max recruited by the Change Makers Institute and sent to Jerusalem. Here Max finds herself in competition with other bright-minded teenagers to win the ultimate prize of solving the world’s greatest problems – using science. 

The Genius Experiment is bursting at the spine with scientific trivia in the form of facts, theories and outside-the-box thinking. Einstein’s relativity and Newton’s motion are thematic to the story. Throughout the book are sketches of Max’s notebook drawings, which depict her ideas and innovations.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:

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Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Does the book contain anything that teachers would wish to know about before recommending in class (strong language, sensitive topics etc.)?

Would you recommend the book for use in primary schools?

yes

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