Author & Illustrators
The Kingdom Over the Sea is an action-packed adventure story that is bound to grip and enthral many readers. After Yara’s mother dies, she discovers a letter with instructions to a magical off-the-map kingdom called Zehaira. Despite being a land of magicians and deep magic, all is not well in Zehaira as magic has been banned and the alchemists under the rule of the Sultan are devising a nefarious plan.
The story idea itself is unique, interesting and refreshing – I have not read a story of origin quite like it before. It was easy to picture the magical world of Zehaira and to see it come alive through the words on the page. It is a place that readers would want to visit! There are many interesting and relatable layers to the society of Zehaira – children could certainly use this world to discuss themes such as fairness, equality and justice. Zehaira would be a great example of a fantasy world that children could use as inspiration for writing their own stories similar to the genre.
The weaving of shimmering magical elements throughout the book is achieved most excitingly and adds an element of fun, but also danger. Seeing spells written in a poetic-like form and displayed in different fonts was a particular highlight of the book for me.
The characters in this book are likeable, relatable and diverse. The main character, Yara is a prime example of standing up for what you believe. This book was a really enjoyable read and is bound to be a huge hit in Year 6.
This classroom classic by award-winning Michael Morpurgo is an animal story set in World War 1. We love this new abridged edition of Morpurgo’s classic text, with colour illustrations by Tom Clohosy Cole.
This moving story explores the themes of military animals, conflict, peace and friendship. Some readers may be surprised to discover how horses were used in the war, and the mirrored experiences of the human and the animal reflect the consequences of conflict for both humanity and the wider natural world.
Older readers might like to use this as a companion to the original, longer text, or to explore it as a standalone. The combination of words and pictures is brilliantly brought together, with the use of light and dark in the illustrations bringing the story to life in an almost cinematic way.
Edda lives in the occupied Netherlands in the 1940s. It is a scary time, as German soldiers are taking young men from the streets and forcing them into hard labour in Germany. Edda has already lost an uncle to this brutality, and she has two brothers, one already in hiding to avoid being taken by the Nazis. Edda is also secretly working for the Resistance, at great personal risk. She even wonders if it is worth it, until things in her hometown get much, much worse.
The story of Edda is based on the early life of the film star Audrey Hepburn, who was half British and half Dutch. Whilst fictional, it contains many true events in Audrey Hepburn’s life, including the killing of her uncle, actually mentioned in Anne Frank’s diary. Aged only fifteen Audrey/Edda worked for the Resistance and showed incredible courage in the face of unimaginable cruelty and horror. As the war dragged on, people were slowly starving to death, as well as facing brutality on the streets of their towns. According to the information at the end of the book, more than 22,000 Dutch people died of starvation during this period, something I never knew.
Teachers teaching about World War 2 will find this book an invaluable resource to add to the plethora of books written about the period.
Best-selling author Tom Palmer has a track record of bringing together his passions for sport and history in popular stories with a high appeal in primary schools. His gripping story, Armistice Runner, brings into the spotlight messenger runners on the front line of World War I. As with all of Tom’s books published by Barrington Stoke, these books are ‘super-readable’ due to their accessible layout including a dyslexia-friendly font and tinted paper. This is a wonderful story to use in KS2 classrooms to explore the history of the World War 1 Armistice.
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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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