Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Home > Books > Angel of Grasmere

Angel of Grasmere

Add to Favourites
Please login to bookmark Close
dyslexia-friendly

Book Synopsis

Tarn grapples with the loss of her brother at Dunkirk as she faces the threat of Nazi invasion in the Cumbrian countryside in this gripping wartime tale from Tom Palmer.

July 1940 – as Tarn struggles to come to terms with the loss of her beloved brother in the chaos of the British retreat at Dunkirk, she and her friends scour the hills around their Lake District home, watching for any signs of the long-dreaded Nazi invasion.

But as the war drags on, with little good news from the front, the locals become aware of someone carrying out anonymous acts of kindness, such as saving a flock of sheep from a snowdrift and getting help for an injured farmer who might otherwise have died.

With no one claiming credit, they come to think of this unidentified stranger as a kind of guardian angel, but when his identity is finally revealed, can Tarn come to terms with the truth…?

Our Review Panel says...

Tom Palmer creates a compelling historical story set in the Fells of the Lake District during World War II.

Dealing with issues such as PTSD and desertion, this book could have been a very difficult read, and yet it never strays into that. Almost instantly, the reader cares about Tarn, the main character and what life was like in the North during the War. The story also captures the hardships of farming communities as well as the suspicions and fears of the time.

Palmer always researches his stories meticulously, and this shows. Barrington Stoke books might be an accessible read, but this is not less of a story or indeed less of anything. The simplicity of the text makes it all the more impressive that this story is a compelling and interesting read that is hard to put down.

It is a book full of kindness and shows village life in the past clearly for us city dwellers. Above all, it is a book about humanity and what it means to be part of a war and a village.

This book is available on these booklists:

Booklists you might also like...

Subscribe to our newsletter

Your Review

Stone Girl Bone Girl

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