Author & Illustrators
Tom Palmer is an English author of children’s books, celebrated for his works that often centre on history and sport. A reluctant reader in his childhood, Tom Palmer has openly credited articles about football as the material that aided his interest in reading. This experience has informed his writing, leading to books that are particularly popular with reluctant readers.
Tom Palmer’s chapter books, generally aimed at readers aged 9-14 (Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3), include popular titles such as Angel of Grasmere, Foul Play, Resist and the Football Academy series. His books often focus on history and sport, and many are published in a super-readable format through Barrington Stoke so that even more readers can access and enjoy them.
Palmer’s significant contribution to literacy in the UK has been recognised with the National Literacy Trust’s Ruth Rendell Award. His books have also received numerous other honours, including the Historical Association Young Quills Award for Resist and the FCBG Children’s Book Award for both D-Day Dog and Armistice Runner. After the War was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal, and Arctic Star was awarded the BooksForTopics Book of the Year award in 2023 for Upper KS2 Best Curriculum Support.
Tom Palmer’s well-researched books frequently appear on recommended reading lists, including BooksForTopics recommended Year Group booklists, Second World War booklist, history booklists, books about WW1, KS3 History Reading List, children’s books about football, dyslexia-friendly books and KS3 sports and PE booklist.
If you are looking for historical and sports-themed children’s novels or shorter accessible reads for KS2 and KS3, explore the highly recommended world of Tom Palmer.
Author’s Website: https://tompalmer.co.uk/.
If you are new to Tom Palmer’s books for children, we recommend Armistice Runner as a good book to start with.
Ben is at his happiest playing for United and is getting top marks from the coach. But every day at school is a trial for Ben, as he struggles to hide a huge secret from his teachers and classmates.
Ben’s secret is starting to affect his game – can he swallow his pride and ask for help before he sidelines himself – for good?
Thinking and talking about war with children is difficult. Is war exciting? Are all soldiers brave? Is playing war games violent? When is killing other people justified?
These are the sorts of questions raised by Jack, the eleven year old boy at the centre of Tom Palmer’s new story, D-Day Dog. Jack’s dad is a reserve soldier about to be called up to Afghanistan and Jack couldn’t be more proud. At school, the class is preparing for a trip to Normandy to visit the site of the D-Day landings and Jack is already really excited.
But as Jack learns more about war, through learning about the life of his new Syrian classmate Kasandra and reading about WW2 Private Emile Corteil and his dog Glen, he begins to question everything he thought he knew about war.
This is such an important book to read to all children who are learning about war and the impact it has on the lives of the people and animals involved. Through the voice of Jack, Tom Palmer sensitively yet unflinchingly discusses the consequences and emotions involved in warfare. Brilliantly researched, the book is full of fascinating facts which are woven together to create a truly moving and gripping read.
Dyslexia-friendly in a clear, uncluttered font, this is a must-read for all 9-12-year-olds, not just in this year on the commemoration of the D-Day landings. Reading aloud to a whole class would allow the children to discuss the plot and the questions as they are unveiled through the story. It would also work well as a read-alone book or one to read at bedtime. But, do leave time for conversations afterwards. The ideas and issues contained within this simple and compelling story are too important to gloss over.
Set during this year’s World Cup in Russia, a Syrian refugee living in the UK discovers her rescue cat can predict England’s football scores. But can Gus handle his fame?
Boys United: the first book in the Football Academy series by Tom Palmer
Jake loves football and dreams of becoming a professional footballer. He’s worried about his height though – what if he’s too small for football? But on the day of his trial Jake is quick on the ball and scores – he’s made it! Jake can’t wait to pull on his shirt and join the team. But someone at the club wants to make his life difficult. Can Jake face up to the bullies and become man of the match again?
Stay on the ball this season with the first four stories following the boys in United’s under-twelves.
Danny is obsessed with two things: football – especially City Football Club – and investigating crimes. So when England and City footballing hero Sam Roberts is reported missing the day after Danny saw him being taken, blindfolded, into the bowels of the City FC stadium late at night, he’s determined to get to the bottom of it. But is Danny getting into something he can’t handle?
As well as being a huge football fan, Tom Palmer has an international reputation in reader development. He is a coordinator of the Reading Partners consortium, works with The Reading Agency, Booktrust and the National Literacy Trust, and has been the official writer for the Premier League Reading Stars scheme for five years. He is the author of the Football Detective series, also for Puffin Books. Tom lives in West Yorkshire with his wife and daughter.
It’s the proudest moment of Jack’s life – his debut as a professional footballer. Now he has a chance to achieve his dream of playing for his country. But it’s 1914 and the world is at war. Talk of sportsmen’s cowardice leads to the formation of a Footballers’ Battalion and Jack has little choice but to join up. The promise of a Cup in Flanders offers a glimmer of hope, but Jack and his teammates will have to survive a waking nightmare if they are ever to play again. A stunning new edition of Tom Palmer’s bestselling novel based on the true story of WWI war hero and footballing legend Jack Cock.
Football Detective, Danny Harte, takes on a Russian billionaire who is threatening to destroy the English game. Most of the action takes place in Russia and the stadiums the World Cup finals will be played in.
This well-researched and highly readable historical fiction book takes its title from the name of the medal that honours the Arctic Convoys during World War II and in recognition of the particularly harsh conditions they endured.
Tom Palmer has taken facts gathered from the Imperial War Museum, among other sources, to compose a gripping fictional story about three teenage Royal Navy recruits from Plymouth: Frank, Stephen and Joseph. Their resilience, fortitude and courage shine as brightly as the Arctic (North) Star against the surrounding darkness. Their very survival, both physical and mental, is threatened by constant attacks from German U-boats, submarines, planes and, most terrifying of all, the German battleship known as the Scharnhorst – not to mention freezing conditions, fierce storms, shattered dreams and rocky relationships. The life-and-death struggle is played out until the very last page.
This book, with its concluding Author’s Note together with the accompanying online teaching notes available from Tom Palmer’s website, provides an exciting and informative classroom resource for the teaching of WWII as a curriculum topic, besides being a book many children will choose for the sheer enjoyment of reading. A thoroughly recommended read, just like Tom Palmer’s other well-researched and highly readable novels.
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.
In the ‘Defenders’ series, best-selling author Tom Palmer brings together his passions for football and history in haunting stories that are ‘super-readable’ due to their accessible layout, including a dyslexia-friendly font and tinted paper from Barrington Stoke.
In this story, football-lover Seth discovers that dark and supernatural forces are at play when he witnesses a horrifying Viking massacre in his local football stadium. Together with his friend Nadiya, it is up to Seth to put an end to the violence and save the town.
This book has a really exciting storyline and is quite gruesome in parts, not shying away from the violent nature of the Viking invaders. The book would hold a particularly high appeal to readers who like action stories or football.
review
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
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Curriculum links (if relevant)
Any other comments
Any other comments