Author & Illustrators
A hauntingly beautiful story about growing up, exploring the secrets of the past, and facing the darkness within.
Ettie has lived blissfully with just her grandma for company and the wild woods as her playground. Until she meets the mysterious Cora and she starts to crave more – now she wants to explore further, to discover secrets of her own. So, when Cora leads her to the hidden quarry pool – deep, cold, beautiful and dangerously inviting – Ettie is ready to jump straight in. But the quarry has secrets too, and Ettie will have to dive deep into the darkness to uncover them…
This poignant story of courage and hope makes links to ancient myths and fairy stories to show the darkness and light in stories, and show that not all stories end with happily ever after. Gripped, I read this haunting adventure story in one sitting as I was intrigued by the characters in the book. Having so few characters made me more connected with them and their story and want to find out what was going to happen next.
An easy independent read for a more mature Year 5 or Year 6 reader. The author shares her love and knowledge of nature throughout the story with beautiful descriptions to share the power of nature from gardening to swimming in tarns and caves, whilst telling the story of Ettie uncovering the truth about her family and what has happened in the past.
Merrylegs is a beautifully written and illustrated picture book about a riding school pony who yearns to have a more exciting life. He doesn’t realise that all the children love him as he is, despite his friend Feathers telling him so, and wishes he could be like the tall beautiful racehorses that he sees from his paddock. Day in and day out he gives rides to children, plodding and clomping around the riding school, and even though he makes so many children very happy, he is not happy at all as his life isn’t as exciting as the racehorses.
Then a fair comes to town and in the middle is a beautiful carousel with the most beautiful painted horses. Feathers and Merrylegs visit the fair and all Merrylegs wants to do is be a carousel horse, and be surrounded by laughing and smiling children. That night as he falls asleep he dreams that one of the carousel horses comes to take him away on a magical adventure, flying through the night and dancing among the stars. The next day he is the happiest he has ever been because now he has hope, and with that hope he has learned to love himself as he is, changing Merrylegs’ view of himself forever, his stumble clop turning into a clippetty trip.
This is an uplifting, satisfying story of friendship and self-belief, told through Pam Smy’s illustrations and gentle text, with the aim of showing that you can achieve your dreams. The illustration style is clear and accurate with many details to spot. The nostalgic palette colours almost everything apart from the appearance of the carousel horses, which enhances their magical properties. The rhythm of Merrylegs’ strides, repeated often in the text, will encourage young children to read along.
A short and powerful chapter book about life in the cotton mills for children during the Industrial Revolution.
Bess is sent to a London workhouse after her Ma falls ill and passes away. She decides to move to a northern rural cotton mill where she is promised a better life, an education and better living conditions. This is not the reality, but instead she is put to work as a threader on the large, noisy and dangerous machinery in the overheated mill.
On her first day, she and the others are told of the vicious and blood-thirsty mermaid who lives in the millpond, who will attack any child who tries to escape the mill or work – Bess thinks this is nonsense and is a myth. However, when she finds herself in trouble and wanting to leave her new ‘home’, she sees something in the murky waters – reaching for freedom.
This is a dyslexia-friendly chapter book that is also thought-provoking and rich with historical information about life for working children in Victorian times.
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Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
Year group(s) the book is most suitable for:
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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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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