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Letters from the Upside

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Book Synopsis

A captivating story about finding friendship and hope … and a place where you can spread your wings. From Carnegie Medal winner Katya Balen.

Con has been angry ever since Dad left. He doesn’t want to be. He wants to play FIFA with his best friend Kyron; to make his mum proud; to let people’s words about his dad roll off him like water. Instead, rage builds inside him until he explodes. Now even Kyron is scared of him. And when Con gets suspended from school he knows he’s let everyone down. The good person he longs to be feels unreachable.

And then his neighbour, Mr Williams, lets him in on a secret.

Up on the roof of Con’s building, Mr Williams keeps homing pigeons. Their feathers are the colour of pearls and storm clouds. Every day they fly out, carrying messages to people in other towns before finding their way home. Mr Williams wants Con’s help looking after them. Con can’t believe it. How could someone like him be trusted with these delicate creatures? But slowly, Con begins to believe that he can.

Then Mr Williams goes away for a few days. Con is left in charge, and he begins to wonder whether the pigeons might be able to bring home more than just messages. Perhaps they could find his dad.

Our Review Panel says...

Con’s in trouble . . . again. Since his dad left, he doesn’t seem to be able to control his temper and this time someone has been hurt. Suspended from school for three days and in danger of losing his best friend, something has to change.

After accidentally locking himself out of his flat, Con is invited to the Upside, a rooftop garden he didn’t know existed, by old Mr Williams. And there’s a further surprise – Mr Williams’ pigeons. Con quickly develops a love for these gentle, intelligent birds. So much so that Mr Williams leaves him in charge of them for a few days. But then, disaster strikes . . . Will Con let his anger continue to burn and consume him and everything around him? Or will he find the true Upside to life?

This book is, at times, difficult to read. Con is lost and confused, and burning with an inner rage. Watching the impact of a kind neighbour and his beloved birds on him is heart-warming, as is seeing the power of positive action on a whole community. As you would expect from Katya Balen, another beautifully written, well-told story.

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Letters from the Upside: Teaching Notes

A resource pack provided by the publisher to accompany the book Letters from the Upside.

Letters from the Upside

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