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Chapter Book Round-Up: 10 You Might Have Missed

Every month our panel of reviewers reads a selection of children’s books and tells us what they think. Our Review Panel includes teachers, librarians, education consultants, headteachers, teaching assistants and education lecturers, and this week they have been telling us about the newly published chapter books that have caught their attention over the last few months…

 

1. Grimwood

by Nadia Shireen

Reviewer: Angela Kent

Available here

Ted and Nancy are urban fox siblings, whose parents fled the city leaving the cubs to fend for themselves. Nancy is tough and protective, whereas Ted is the younger, less mature and more lonely cub. The story follows the siblings from their city den and scavenging from the Speedy Chicken bins to escaping to the sanctuary of Grimwood – after an unintentional encounter with a spoilt, greedy cat called Princess Buttons.

 

Grimwood isn’t exactly the peaceful sanctuary they were expecting, but as well as meeting crazy characters such as a thieving eagle, riotous rabbits and dramatic ducks, we start to see a change in the siblings. Ted appears to be more settled, happier and enjoying making new friends whereas Nancy seems more on edge and pining for their life back in the city. What will happen when Princess Buttons discovers their refuge?

 

Grimwood is a wacky, anarchic animal story, full of nonsensical mayhem. I do think the story will certainly appeal to KS2 (although possibly not the most sensitive in this age group – as there are incidents of biting off heads, tails or feet!). There’s a dark and whacky humour to the story that will delight fans of Dahl or Mr Gum and plenty of discussion points such as the relationship between the fox cubs, the changes in their personalities and the desire to find refuge. The book could work as a class reader and a fun and quirky independent read for ages 7-11.

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: September 2021

 

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2. 1947 – Torn Apart: The Partition of India

By Swapna Haddow

Reviewer: Natasha Kendrick

Available here

It is October 1947 and the British Raj have just left India as an independent country: the country is splitting into two states; Pakistan and India. This split is not only geographical but the start of a divide of religions and therefore the country’s people – the start of the Partition of India.

This story follows two young boys, Ibrahim (a wealthy Muslim) and Amar (a Hindu street child). Ibrahim is split from his family after they are violently attacked as they try and flee Delhi to the safety of Pakistan. Delhi is no longer the safe place he grew up: he soon begs for the help of Amar to help him to the Pakistan border with the promise of money – something Amar has never had. They start their journey and learn more about each other and soon their new friendship is tested to the highest level and they must trust each other if they want to survive.

The Partition of India is something that I did not know a lot about and after reading this story I feel that I know so much more. The story, although fictional, utilises factual information and is set around real places and events. The use of the two boys gives the reader an opportunity to hear the events told from both sides, using the voices of children at the heart of Partition. Some of the scenes are reflective of the violent nature of the real-life events, making the book most suitable for readers in Year 6 and beyond.

 

The book also contains an Author’s note with a short summary of the history of this time which ends the story allowing the reader to reflect upon what they have read. There is also a timeline outlining the history which could be used as a helpful teaching aid. The story uses Urdu and Hindi language so there is a page at the front to explain these.

 
 

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication date: August 2021

 

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3. Between Sea and Sky

by Nicola Penfold & Kate Forrester

Reviewer: Natasha Kendrick

Available here

 

It is the future and environmental disasters have struck the world, leading to great floods covering most of the land. Pearl, her younger (illegal) sister Clover and their father live on a floating oyster farm providing food for the nearby prison ship. Pearl believes that the nearby land is poisonous and refuses to set foot on it, especially after the death of her mother. She enjoys her life of swimming, exploring the water and finding forgotten treasures that wash up upon the shore. However, her sister dreams of an education in school on land and meeting new people to make friends.

 

Their lives dramatically change when ‘Landlubber’ Nat comes to stay for the summer while his mum conducts research on how the oyster farm could help the people on land become more self-sustainable. He has left the strict curfews, rules and consequences of land and brings with him a huge secret, which could end catastrophically for everyone. When he has to confide in the sisters for their help, will he receive the help he needs or will danger arrive for all of them?

 

This book’s storyline is poignant in present times due to its links to our world’s threatened ecology from climate change. The story highlights quite starkly what could happen if we do not look after our environment. The two sets of characters from contrasting lives tell separate aspects of the story from different perspectives, which tie together satisfyingly at the end of the book.

 

I really enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down; I just wanted to find out what happened! As someone who cares about our environment, it made me think about our world, especially when there were hints to certain countries and the present situation that we face. I think that this book could be used in Upper Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 and it would be a fantastic stimulus for creative writing and learning about the impact of climate change.

 

Publisher: Stripes

Publication date: July 2021

 

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4. Lightning Falls

By: Amy Wilson

Reviewer: Christine Ivory

Available here

Ghost House has been Valerie’s home for as long as she can remember. She loves her slightly unconventional ghost family, especially her best friend Meg, and enjoys haunting the guests that arrive. However, she knows she is different. She is a hallowed ghost after all: she can do things the others cannot. When a strange boy turns up and reveals that she is not a hallowed ghost, her whole world is turned upside down. However, before she can find out about Orbis, the magical world where she came from, she must save it.

 

I really enjoyed reading Lightning Falls due to its fantasy twists and fabulous characters. Throughout the book, it is hard not to empathise with the main character, Valerie, as readers come to know her as a compassionate and determined girl and are taken on the journey with her as she navigates the difficulties of finding out her past. The author’s thoughtful descriptions give readers a real insight into the inner thoughts, feelings and motivations of this sensitive character – who is likeable and relatable to so many.

The relationship between Valerie and Meg is particularly endearing, showing that strong friendships can have such a positive impact on your life. I particularly enjoyed how the friendship endured the difficulties and changes throughout the book, as I think it is important for children to see examples of this.

 

The fantasy world of Orbis would be perfect for inspiring writing in Key Stage Two and Lightning Falls would be a great addition to any school library.

 

Publisher: Macmillan

Publication date: August 2021

 

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5. How To Be A Human

By Karen McCombie & Thy Bui

Reviewer: Emma Hughes

Available here

 

Kiki lives in Fairfield with her Mum and her little brother Ty. Her Dad, however, has recently moved to Birmingham which is many miles away. Without him around the family rely on their childminder, the somewhat quirky and eccentric Eddie. To outsiders, it seems like Kiki is living her best life. Her recent transition to Secondary School has been smooth; she is popular and hangs out with the cool kids. She must be the envy of her old primary school friends.

 

When a freak storm hits the town, Fairfield residents are shocked by the damage that has been caused. Buildings are destroyed. Roads and houses are flooded. Trees are down. Even the local primary school is closed. But Ty is convinced that there is something else is going on. Something supernatural. Unluckily for Kiki, Ty was ready to tell anyone who would listen. Even the local news reporter. Cringe! And so begins Kiki’s fall from grace.

 

When Kiki’s music teacher notices her slump, he tries to prevent her from falling into a downward spiral by asking her to perform at a school event. With Wes. Wes isn’t cool. Wes is the opposite of cool. What could they possibly have in common? Well, more than either of them could bargain for.

 

Meanwhile, Star Boy has been watching them both, from the safety of the school basement. He is observing their behaviour in his own personal space mission. He can’t quite understand why human children treat each other the way do, and in an attempt to get a closer look, he accidentally reveals himself to his specimens. Kiki and Wes now need to work together to get Star Boy out of the music room and then plan what to do with him until he is rescued. A friendship of sorts ensues, which lightens up Wes’ life, but Kiki’s old friends soon came crawling back. Can Wes trust Kiki to keep their secret?

 

This is the first book in what is shaping up to be a very exciting series, with themes of friendship, transition to secondary, inclusion and learning to see things from another’s perspective.

Publisher: Stripes

Publication date: August 2021

 

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6. Rules For Vampires

By Alex Foulkes & Sara Ogilvie

Reviewer: Kristen Hopwood

Available here

 

Leo is 111 years old and a vampire. It is about to be her birthnight and she must hunt for the first time. However, Leo feels an awful lot of pressure from her family to get this right, not least from her terrifying mother, Sieglinde von Motteberg. If Leo messes up her hunt, she will bring shame on the family name. However, things don’t quite go to plan for Leo and she then faces a race against time (before her mother returns) to have a successful hunt, where she ends up joining forces with an unlikely companion: a ghost. The two must help each other complete their respective missions within only a few days, but unfortunately, others are out to thwart them, from a ghost coming into his full ghostly powers and Leo’s meddling sister, Emmeline.

 

The relationship between the characters at the centre of the book provides an added layer of interest to the story. Leo and Minna get off to a rocky start, but I like the way it develops over time as they get to learn more about each other’s pasts. The pair encounter lots of obstacles along the way but work together to overcome them and use their skills to their advantage.

 

Full of dark, gothic humour, this book is a perfect read for this time of year as we approach Halloween and will be enjoyed by children in Year 5 and up who like gothic adventures and mysteries filled with twists and turns.

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: Sept 2021

 

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7. Not If I Can Help It

By Carolyn Mackler & Nina Goffi

Available here

 

Not If I Can Help It sees award-winning author of YA fiction, Carolyn Macker continue her foray into middle grade writing with this heart-warming story about fifth-grader Willa who, with the support of her amicably divorced parents and her therapist, overcomes daily struggles with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

 

Not even Willa’s easy going, football-mad best friend Ruby, is aware of Willa’s carefully curated life. That is, until Dad announces the big news that rocks Willa’s life and sends her anxiety levels through the roof. Dad has been secretly dating Ruby’s mum for a year and now wants to get married. Willa does not like change and she definitely doesn’t want his dad and Ruby’s mum to be together, let alone get married. Will it ruin her friendship with Ruby? How will she explain the realities of her SPD with nowhere to hide? As if life weren’t difficult enough, will mean girl Avery make it ten times worse?

 

Not If I Can Help It is an engaging read which introduces readers to a character with Sensory Processing Disorder perhaps for the first time. As a child of divorced parents, we also see Willa coping with being co-parented and being faced with the prospect of becoming part of a blended family. It’s refreshing to see the adults in the story portrayed so positively as we see how they work together to help Willa negotiate life’s challenges. At no point, however, do you feel that they are too saccharin. The author has created characters that we want to root for and the book leaves us feeling uplifted.

 

This is a great read for upper KS2 and deserves a place on the bookshelf. The story would sit well alongside Wonder, A Kind of Spark and Can You See Me for promoting inclusivity. While the difficulties around SDP take centre stage, they are naturally woven into the narrative. Teachers wanting to promote inclusion and empathy will find this a highly accessible choice for upper KS2 readers.

 

Publisher: Scholastic

Publication date: August 2021

 

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8. The Incredible Talking Machine

By Jenni Spangler & Chris Mould

Reviewer: Gabby McConalogue

Available here

 

The Incredible Talking Machine is a gothic Victorian adventure story from Jenni Spangler, the author of the fabulous, The Vanishing Trick.

 

This time, the story is set in the heart of Manchester, in a theatre nestled amongst the hustle and bustle of the cotton mills. In this theatre works and lives our heroine, Tig.

Always getting into scrapes, Tig loves her life in the theatre, even if she is always at risk of losing her job from her deceitful boss, Mr Snell and on the look-out for the house ghost – Cold Annie. When the future of the theatre is threatened, a new act arrives – a talking machine – that both fascinates and horrifies the audiences. This machine and its curious inventor hold a dangerous secret that might change Tig’s world forever. Together with her friend, Nelson, she races to solve the mystery and possibly save all that she loves.

This story is a great adventure. You can’t help but like the main character, Tig, and root for her throughout the story. The setting is suitably gothic and even comes with a mad professor and resident ghost. It links beautifully to tales from the time – The Phantom of the Opera, Frankenstein and Jekyll and Hyde come to mind. The villains are truly dastardly and the adult characters behave as you would truly expect: both protective and dismissive of a child’s imaginative ideas.

 

The Victorian setting highlights the plight of working-class families during the time as well as issues around child labour. As the story progresses, the reader gets more of an insight into life working in the cotton mills of the industrialised city and this novel would work well to supplement reading alongside a Victorians topic. I was happily surprised to discover in the Author’s note that The Incredible Talking Machine was based on a real-life automata that was presented at shows in the 1840s. Even though this machine was not appreciated at the time, the technology did lead to some interest from the telegraph and telephone inventors who followed!

 

The Incredible Talking Machine is a fun, exciting and slightly creepy adventure story that will capture the interest and imagination of many.

 

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication date: June 2021

 

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9. The Cartoons that Came to Life

By Tom Ellen & Phil Corbett

Reviewer: Jacqueline Harris

Available here

 

Finn is unhappy – he has moved from Cornwall with his parents because of his dad’s job. He has no friends at his new school and his parents are also miserable in London. He is also being bullied by the class bully Barney. The only thing that he enjoys is drawing cartoon stories of his creations, Arley and Tapper. The day Barney ruins his confidence, Finn stops drawing and it would not spoil the plot to say that the cartoon characters come to life. But cartoon characters in the real world can only cause mayhem. How will Finn manage to send them back to Toon World?

 

This is a madcap, zany adventure – perfect for any comic lover. The brilliant cartoon illustrations perfectly capture the story and bring it to life. There is humour and jokes throughout the book and the bullying is portrayed without real violence- which makes it really suitable for Lower KS2.

 

The really interesting aspect is that Tom Ellen wrote the cartoons of Arley and Tapper when he was only ten years old. It means they really capture the essence of childhood fandom for comics and fantasy worlds. There is also the message of finding your ‘superpower’ and being braver, which will really appeal to children.

 

This book is delightfully daft and a pacy adventure story which would work very well with children just moving on to chunkier texts. It has enough illustration to make it manageable and the engaging characters will become a big hit with children I suspect. Hopefully there will be a follow up story- it does seem to imply there might be at the end.

 

Publisher: Chickenhouse

Publication date: July 2021

 

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10. Kiki Kallira Breaks a Kingdom

By Sangu Mandanna

Reviewer: Christine Ivory

Available here

 

Kiki Kallira is not a hero. She is not brave, daring, or strong. She is the kind of girl who worries about her mother being murdered by geese if she leaves the door open. But she can do one thing… draw. Drawing takes all of her anxieties away. That is until she unwittingly unleashes mythological creatures from the Hindu legends she draws in her sketchbook and is given no choice but to become a hero, or both her world and the one she has created will be in big trouble…

 

To say I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. The story has a diverse cast of characters and pays tribute to the Hindu legends that inspired it. Full of fantasy, adventure and friendship, it is bound to be a winner in many classrooms.

Kiki has to be one of my favourite main characters that I have read recently. The descriptions of her anxieties and how it affects her life really will resonate with many children. By following Kiki and her journey to discover whether she can be the brave hero that the world needs, children learn that heroes come in all shapes and sizes and everybody has their own strengths.

 
 

Publisher: Hachette

Publication date: July 2021

 

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Thank you to the publishers of these titles for sending us copies of the books and to our review panellists for reading and reviewing.

 
 

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