Torben Kuhlmann’s Edison is a brilliant addition to a unique science series we love, and just as recommendable as the other books – Armstrong and Lindbergh.
This beautiful text is a longer picture book, and feels more like a large-format chapter book with full-page illustrations, drawing Key Stage 2 readers into a brilliant illustrated adventure with science themes of light, design, discovery and invention. The story follows a young mouse, Pete, on a quest to uncover the mystery of his ancestor’s lost treasure, a journey that unexpectedly leads him and an old Professor into the fascinating world of submarine design and the history of invention.
The narrative weaves real-life scientific discovery into a fantasy plot, and the author’s notes at the end provide a brief history of Thomas Edison and the history of the lightbulb.
Kuhlmann’s unique and detailed illustrations are stunning, often telling aspects of the story themselves and providing incredible detail to pore over and discuss. Impressive, and highly recommended!
‘What was it like to be an Ancient Roman’ is clearly written and easy to read. In 10 quick-to-read chapters, this short book describes many facets of Roman life – including the gory parts. Topics include how the empire began, life in towns, entertainment, life in the countryside, rulers and armies, religion, inventions and the end of the empire. The final chapter speaks about the huge impact Romans had on the world and the legacy they have left behind.
This would be great as a class read when learning about the Roman Empire in lower KS2, but equally could be used by pupils for individual research. The dyslexia-friendly format from Barrington Stoke is wonderfully accessible and each chapter would be a great basis for reading comprehension lessons.
An absolutely great short chapter book, highly recommended.
This captivating picture book is based on the real life experiences of Rosa, a Jewish girl living in Vienna. The story contains the memories of the author’s mother and her family experiences during WW2.
Beautifully illustrated, we follow the journey of Rosa and her family, as their family business is forced to change how it operates, how the place they call home changes and how they hold on to hope through the darkest timest. This picture book is a perfect addition to a library for a World War 2 topic but it is also a good discussion point for PSHE for a number of themes including migration, tolerance and difference.
Perfect for UKS2 learners and a worthy picturebook for older readers to add to topic or library collections.
An interesting and accessible guide to daily life for the Ancient Maya.
This is a short chapter book, at just under 90 pages, but it is packed with knowledge, presented in an accessible way. It has 9 sections, covering who the Maya were, daily life, inventions and discoveries they made, as well as theories about what happened to them. Throughout the sections, illustrations and helpful diagrams are also included.
This is such a useful book, great for teachers to use to support them with lesson planning, but also great for children to access if they want to learn more about a particular area of Ancient Maya.
A gripping mystery adventure that young readers love to pick up, with powerful historical insight into nineteenth-century colonialism.
Anushka is the princess of an Indian kingdom. To her anger and frustration, the British East India Company has taken not only her land but also her family’s most precious emerald. Along with her father, Nush travels to Buckingham Palace to visit Queen Victoria. There, Nush employs all of her determination and resourcefulness to reclaim the jewel to where it belongs and bring restoration to her country. At the same time, she finds herself caught up in a royal mystery involving the British royal children and the Queen herself.
Year 7 readers will love this pacey Victorian story that provides plenty to think about as well as a highly likeable feisty female lead.
This is a unique picturebook by celebrated poet Carol Ann Duffy and illustrated by Jane Ray.
A witch steals a girl’s sack of happy endings, which she has collected to carry through the forest before bedtime. Now, without the happy endings, children all around are sad and distressed because their bedtime stories are ending unhappily. Resourceful Jub finds a golden pen and creates her own happy endings instead.
With fairy tale motifs and an original concept, this fascinating picturebook is well suited for KS2.
Kate on the Case is an absolutely gorgeous introduction to the mystery genre for young readers. This smaller-than-average chapter book is illustrated and a brilliant choice for readers just getting to grips with chapter books.
Kate is an aspiring reporter, and finds herself embroiled in a mysterious locked-room mystery about a train.
This is a really sweet story, with enough mystery to keep readers excited but nothing too scary. Readers will enjoy the animal and human characters, the moments of humour, the gently unravelling mystery and the unexpected twist in the tale. There’s also a Teachers’ Resource pack to download, that would make this book a great choice for guided reading in Year 3.
Izzy loves science. She loves experiments and wants to be an inventor. When she is summoned to help get some fairy tales back on track, she is sceptical – she doesn’t believe in fairies and magic. But can she use her science knowledge, along with a little imagination, to help everybody out?
This early, illustrated chapter book by Zanna Davidson is great for budding scientists or anyone with a curious mind. Mixing well-known fairy tales with science and experiments shows that you don’t have to believe in just one or the other. Izzy is a strong character who knows her own mind but who also realises that sometimes you have to adjust your beliefs. The book is set out in a way that makes it very accessible for emerging readers. There are no long pages full of text: the story is set out in a way that incorporates the illustrations by Elissa Elwick as part of the story, rather than an addition. Speech bubbles, maps, explanations and experiments are interspersed throughout the book as integral elements of telling the story.
This makes it very user-friendly and an ideal book to those starting out with longer texts. That’s not to say it’s and easy book- the vocabulary is challenging in places and scientific vocabulary is used appropriately throughout.This would be a great addition to any class book shelf or school library.
A beautiful collection of poems about mindfulness from a diverse range of poets, suitable for all age groups. There are a few poems included that were familiar to me, but most were new to me and I enjoyed discovering them. I loved the illustrations bringing the poems to life and I thought these could also inspire follow-up work in the classroom.
This would be a great book to use for a whole-school focus on poetry as each year group could use a different poem. The poems could be used during PSHE lessons, during mental health week, or as inspiration for children’s own poems in KS2.
The biographies of all the poets and illustrators at the back of the book were a lovely touch and would encourage children to learn more about them.
Alanna and Austin are at their Aunt Kessie’s art studio and find a magic face painting set that transports them onto a pirate ship and takes them on a grand adventure. As the two see a small ship approaching with two thieving pirates, they take on the task of protecting the New Leaf pirates.
This magical story is so vibrant and full of imagination. It is exactly the kind of story that children with wild imaginations love. This story transports the reader to a whole new world with something as simple as a magic face-painting set
This book would make a fantastic independent reading book for those just starting out with chapter books and is also perfect for anyone with a vivid imagination or who loves adventure stories.
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)
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