Author & Illustrators
We absolutely love Tony Bradman’s historical fiction, and Greek Boy is a fantastic follow-up to highly recommended history favourites like Anglo-Saxon Boy and Viking Boy. Set in Ancient Greece, the story follows an Athenian boy called Nikos who finds himself thrust into the brutal reality of the Greek Navy to prove his family’s loyalty to the city state.
If you don’t mind a bit of blood, guts and gore, this is the one for you. The story explores themes of loyalty and betrayal, while plunging readers straight into the high-octane world of ancient warfare.
Steeped in historical detail and clearly well researched, the story is aided by a helpful historical note about the context. This gripping adventure brings the Ancient Greece curriculum topic to life for Upper KS2.
We are very fond of Tony Bradman’s history-themed fiction, and this new 1941 Blitz adventure is a fantastic addition. It follows the Cobb Street Commandos, a spirited gang of East End children determined to support the war effort in their own way.
The story weaves in details about rationing and the Home Guard, handling wartime themes in a way that will make sense to today’s young readers. The characters are brave and full of pluck, showing the power of community spirit in overcoming hardship.
With an accessible font and well-spaced layout, this is a top recommendation for KS2 pupils who enjoy a history themed read.
This exciting story brings the gunpowder plot to life for young readers.
Cecil the spymaster and his assistant, Jack, learn of a new plot to kill the king. They are determined to catch the plotters in the act. The trouble is, where do they begin their search?
Full of secrets, excitement and danger, this short text is suitable for struggling readers but engaging enough to give confident readers a quick, fun read.
Suitable for use in schools as guided reading texts or for reading independently.
This latest historical fiction from Tony Bradman has all the elements of a traditional historical adventure story, with a thoughtful and courageous hero who’s out to prove himself navigating the Roman world and who’s naturally skilled in a classic sword fight. The story is exciting, tightly plotted, and grounded in enough research for the setting to be thoroughly convincing.
Lucius is eager to be adopted by his new stepfather and to make his way in Rome, but instead finds himself packed off to Londinium, where he discovers a ruthless assassin on his tail. To escape, he joins the Roman army under a false name. His bravery and loyalty quickly earn him recognition from his commanders, but the more he gains success, the more he wishes he could reclaim his true identity. As danger looms on the northern border, Lucius’s position becomes more precarious and secrets from his past threaten to resurface and destroy everything he has fought for.
While not especially complex, the narrative is pacy and well-written, with great chapter headings that read like newspaper headlines. It would make an excellent page-turning read-aloud or ‘read for pleasure’ recommendation in any class studying Roman Britain at Key Stage 2.
Weaving together fact and fiction, this short adventure, written by Tony Bradman, is set in 2,300 BC and the advent of the Bronze Age.
The tale opens at Stonehenge where Maglos and his high priest father are preparing for the important mid-summer sacrifice. Suddenly Maglos’ uncle murders his father on the sacred altar and makes Maglos his slave. He is rescued when two strangers arrive from a far distant land and he travels with them learning the secrets of smelting copper and then bronze. He eventually returns to Stonehenge to avenge his father’s murder.
The story reflects on the value of friendship and companionship and also demonstrates the skill, resilience and humanity of our ancestors so long ago. As with all Barrington Stoke books, the text is a well-sized font on coloured paper to support readers who have dyslexia, and the text will appeal to older readers without being condescending. The black and white illustrations by Martin Remphry add atmosphere throughout.
Mum won’t get out of bed. His best friend has dumped him. And school work is just too difficult. Jayden wants to do the right thing – but how can he when it feels like the world is conspiring against him? Everything is going wrong, and when a supply teacher turns up to take his class, Jayden’s sure things will keep on getting worse. But Mrs Wilson is not quite the teacher Jayden expected … can she help turn his bad day around? A touching and sensitively told story of life as a young carer from beloved author Tony Bradman. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+
It’s party time at The Number Tower in this hilarious new story about a group of number friends. Three is very excited about having a birthday party. But when the other Digits arrive, things don’t go to plan. There isn’t space for everyone to sit or enough cake to go around. Can the Digits find a way to save the party and give Three the best birthday ever? Perfect for understanding greater and less, double and half – you can count on the Digits to make numbers fun!
Join the Digits for another action-packed adventure!
When the Digits start squabbling over whether odd or even numbers are best, Ten challenges everyone to a football match to settle the argument. Ideal for understanding odds and evens – you can count on the Digits to make numbers fun! This playful picture book series about a group of number friends is ideal for developing early maths skills.
World War 2 is the setting for this short, dyslexia-friendly chapter book and is a common history topic in schools. Many of the great books for primary-aged children set in this era may be too challenging for some readers and so this book enables children to catch a glimpse of life during the war and also learn about some of the important features of life: rationing; schools; the changing roles of adults; evacuation and the black market (through the unique storyline of a girl trying to get hold of a banana in times when all food was in short supply).
The focus of the story is a young girl’s concern and care for her mum at a time of great stress and strain on family life, where dad is away fighting in the war and mum has taken on a new job, working long hours in the factory. There are many parallels that the modern reader could draw with their own experiences. The print is clear without too many words on the page.
Author Tony Bradman also visited our blog recently to talk about why there should always be a gap on the shelf for books that help readers see the bigger picture of the war from a new lens.
November 1920. The body of an unknown soldier is to be buried at Westminster Abbey. The war has claimed the lives of thousands of men whose bodies will never make it home, and the Unknown Warrior will represent them all. As hundreds of people crowd to Westminster Abbey, Daisy knows she has to make it to the ceremony. Because although they call the warrior ‘unknown’, she is sure that he is her father…
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
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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