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Author & Illustrators

Morris Gleitzman Books

Chapter book
For three years and eight months, Felix has lived in a convent orphanage high in the mountains in Poland. But Felix is different from the other orphans. He is convinced his parents are still alive and will come back to get him. When a group of Nazi soldiers come and burn the nuns’ books, Felix is terrified that his Jewish, bookseller parents will also be in danger. After escaping from the orphanage, Felix embarks on a long and dangerous journey through Nazi occupied Poland, befriending a little orphan girl called Zelda and a kindly dentist, Barney, who hides and cares for Jewish children. But when the Nazis discover them, Barney makes the ultimate sacrifice for the children.

This is a really funny book that makes a popular choice to read aloud in KS2. Limpy the toad knows that human beings don’t think highly of toads, especially when they drive their enormous cars over them. Limpy sets about on a mission to save his family and help humans to see that toads are not so bad after all.

Full of suspense and cliff-hangers, this book is proving very popular in Upper Key Stage 2 classrooms. The story follows Jamal, a boy from a war-torn part of Afghanistan. When the government discovers that Jamal’s mother is illegally running a school, his family is forced to leave home and they try to seek asylum in Australia. The journey is frightening and full of dangers and when Jamal finally reaches Australia, it does not turn out to be quite as welcoming as he expected. A gripping text that tackles difficult issues head on in a sensitive but realistic way. We also recommend the sequel Girl Underground.

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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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.)?

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yes

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