A retelling of Shackleton’s astonishing journey, well pitched for KS2. This recount of Shackleton’s expedition is accompanied by illustrations, maps and timelines, making it detailed and informative without losing any of the drama of the exciting tale. For more on Shackleton, you may also like William Gill’s fantastic visual retelling of Shackleton’s Journey available on Amazon.
Within a floating ice palace high above the clouds, the Snow Queen operates a snowflake machine, ensuring that it produces perfectly identical flakes. But one day when the Queen leaves her daughter Princess Ellie in charge, the machine breaks and Princess Ellie has to find a new way to make the snowflakes. Princess Ellie creates exquisite and unique snowflakes by hand, making the most beautiful snowfall ever.
A magical adventure story with a strong female lead and overtones of Pullman and C.S. Lewis, ‘Sky Song’ will quickly whisk you away into an enchanting fantasy world. Set in an icy landscape populated by a power-hungry Ice Queen, tribes of children living in secret hide-outs and delightful magical animals, this text cleverly explores how the ‘magic’ of acceptance and tolerance can advance personal and societal change. On their quest to save the kingdom from the clutches of the Ice Queen, adventurers Eska and Flint discover that long-standing borders between different tribes can be broken down and that openness and courage are better markers of identity than ethnicity or class. Fast-paced and sparkling with magic on every page, this book is a real delight. A free scheme of work for KS2 is also available via the author’s website.
This enchanting story is based on a traditional story from the Inuit people. An old woman finds a polar bear cub all alone in the ice and snow. The woman takes the bear home and raises him as if he is her son, caring for him and protecting him. We really enjoyed the wonderful artwork of the illustrations, setting the warmth of the woman’s affections for the cub against the vastness of the icy polar landscape.
This is an appealing information text for KS2, all about everything frozen. Find out about extreme frozen environments, record breaking icebergs and the chilling legend of the abominable snowmen! If you like this, you might also like to try The Hot Book available from Amazon.
A charming story from the author of The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. This story follows a young penguin chick called Otto who finds that it is not easy being small and living in the South Pole! This well-loved story is suitable for Years 1-3.
This new adventure story is a great choice for upper KS2. After fighting hard to gain her place on an expedition, young Stella and her explorer friends embark upon an exciting adventure through vast Icelands. A wonderful mixture of fantasy and adventure, the narrative weaves its way through dangerous and magical encounters with snow queens, unicorns, frost fairies and wolf-whisperers.
The topic of polar exploration is a popular one in primary schools with teachers and pupils easily being able to reel off a list of famous arctic explorers: Shackleton, Scott, Cook, Peary. But how often do you hear the name Matthew Henson among the list, the man who travelled with Captain Peary and claimed to be the first to reach the North Pole?
In Race to the Frozen North, best-selling author Catherine Johnson offers a fictionalised retelling of Matthew Henson’s story, including how his achievements were unfairly suppressed for decades because of the colour of his skin. Published in Barrington Stoke’s ‘super-readable’ and dyslexia-friendly style, this is an accessible read for children in KS2.
This well-researched and highly readable historical fiction book takes its title from the name of the medal that honours the Arctic Convoys during World War II and in recognition of the particularly harsh conditions they endured.
Tom Palmer has taken facts gathered from the Imperial War Museum, among other sources, to compose a gripping fictional story about three teenage Royal Navy recruits from Plymouth: Frank, Stephen and Joseph. Their resilience, fortitude and courage shine as brightly as the Arctic (North) Star against the surrounding darkness. Their very survival, both physical and mental, is threatened by constant attacks from German U-boats, submarines, planes and, most terrifying of all, the German battleship known as the Scharnhorst – not to mention freezing conditions, fierce storms, shattered dreams and rocky relationships. The life-and-death struggle is played out until the very last page.
This book, with its concluding Author’s Note together with the accompanying online teaching notes available from Tom Palmer’s website, provides an exciting and informative classroom resource for the teaching of WWII as a curriculum topic, besides being a book many children will choose for the sheer enjoyment of reading. A thoroughly recommended read, just like Tom Palmer’s other well-researched and highly readable novels.
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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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