Beauty and the Bin is a story about a young high school student named Laurie who finds herself torn between her family’s obsessions utilising food waste and living as ecologically as possible, being a good friend to those who understand her (although her family’s way of life is a closely guarded and embarrassing secret), and pleasing the most influential and popular girl at school who happens to have picked her out for her own benefit.
The book is primarily a tale about the pressures a young person feels as self-awareness, other people’s perception of you, and fitting in, becomes all-important. When she is caught by Charley, the most popular and prettiest girl, and the ‘influencer’ in school, rummaging through supermarket bins for perfectly good food, this is the lowest point in Laurie’s life. However, the ensuing conversation leads Charley to learn of Laurie’s ‘Beauty in the kitchen’ profile, where she promotes her natural skin-products she has made from fresh foods. These appear to be the perfect products to win the school’s enterprise competition and so Charley assumes Laurie’s co-operation and partnership, leaving Laurie to abandon her friends, who go it alone. A fortnight of compromising begins, all which places her on an uncomfortable and chaotic journey as she tries to keep pace with Charley and her manipulation, whilst losing out on her relationships with those that matter – her family and friends.
The main theme is eco-life style and food waste, but this story also offers an excellent example of how the influence and pressure of social media on young people can become more important than reality. Charley’s constant promotion of having the next big thing, including a yet-to-be made invention by Laurie, her use of intimidation in order to remain in control and maintain approval ratings, and her carefully crafted image, begins to take a toll on Laurie, as she realises that she has been taken advantage of and she has compromised her own ethics. What will it take for Laurie to be true to herself? The satisfying ending provides the answer and wraps up a good read, all with recipes for natural facial products for readers to try at the end of the book.
The Weather Weaver is the first book to be published by Tamsin Mori. A self-declared childhood nomad, Mori’s love of her maternal home of Shetland is evident from the start.
Finding herself dumped on the Isle of Shetland while her parents work away on a research vessel, Stella soon finds that life with her recently bereaved Grandpa does not match the sunny memories of her earlier childhood. As she grapples with her Grandpa’s never-ending anger and disappointment she is befriended by the unlikely figure of Tamar, an eccentric old woman. Afraid to appear rude, Stella sets off on the seemingly unfeasible mission of catching a cloud, little realising how dramatically her life is about to change…
The story tackles the effect of bereavement and separation with sensitivity, without feeling like it has been sugar-coated in any way. Mori delicately weaves the story as Stella faces her own fears and rebuilds the relationship she once had with her Grandpa, gaining strength in her self-belief along the way. Mori also manages to balance the reality of life as we know it, with that little bit of magic spun throughout, leaving the reader (or at least this one!) gazing at the clouds, wishing they could weave the weather too.
In schools, the story would be good as a basis for a discussion on the basis of myth and legend or as a PSHE opener on the possible effects of bereavement or separation on those left behind. This would also make a great book to keep pupils hooked at the end of the day with just enough mounting peril to keep them wanting more without scaring those more sensitive souls.
My only complaint of the book is the number of late nights I succumbed to as I really didn’t want to put it down! I don’t know if Mori plans to write a sequel, but I truly hope so.
After the success of The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yates last year, primary-teacher-turned-author Jenny Pearson is back with a new and hilarious tale of ordinary children on extra-ordinary adventures. Life isn’t easy for Lucy. Her mum has depression and is difficult to care for, often being unwell for long periods that leave Lucy needing the help of a family friend. Lucy is great at fixing broken objects, but wishes more than anything that she knew how to fix her mum. It becomes clear that mum might need some time to stay at a place that can help her, and Lucy goes to stay with Aunty Sheila for a while.
Aunty Sheila loves car boot sales and is larger than life, always treating Lucy with kindness and a sense of fun, but life there is not the same as being with mum. With the help of friendly neighbour Sandesh, Lucy comes up with a way to make things right again. It’s an ambitious plan that involves meeting an 80s pop icon who was once acquainted with Mum, appearing on a TV show and smashing a world record – but as far as Lucy is concerned, no aim is too high when it comes to making her mum happy again. What follows is a humorous romp as Lucy and Sandesh search for a world record to smash with a range of hilarious consequences.
The humour is perfect for Key Stage 2 and the story also explores the subject of parental mental health issues in an age-appropriate way. This is a smasher of a story; the author knows her audience extremely well and pitches both the comic and more serious elements at just the right level. The relationships that Lucy forms with Aunty Sheila and Sandesh are lovely, and demonstrate how – while nothing can replace the closeness that Lucy craves with her mum – the warmth and loyalty of others can make the world of difference during hard times. This strand of the plot may serve as a valuable encouragement to children affected by similar issues that reaching out for or accepting support from others is sometimes the very best course of action.
A laugh-out-loud rumpus woven through a touching story of family and friendship, from the duo behind the popular Charlie Changes into a Chicken series.
If you’ve ever heard a young child asking Siri their questions or scrolled through your family’s Alexa history (from Are you alive? to What’s the best way to get rid of earwax?), you’ll quickly understand the premise for the humour in this story.
This book tells the story of Uma, whose father has barely spoken a word since her mother passed away. Uma’s only real company is next-door neighbour Alan Alan Carrington. One day, after an unlikely alpaca-related incident, Uma comes across a strange earpiece that seems to be able to give the answer to absolutely everything. Or at least, almost everything. What follows is a laugh-out-loud adventure that sees Uma digging deep into her soul to search for answers to questions about her life that she has barely dared to ask before.
Sam Copeland’s writing is characteristically brimming with humour – from bonkers situations and slapstick to puns and witty asides in the footnotes. We loved the characters – particularly the dynamics between Uma and Alan Alan, who are a super duo, and the villainess Stella Daw who is a Cruella De Vil for modern times. The story is also deeply poignant in parts as it explores the themes of family, grief and community. The plot culminates in a riddle to solve deep within a village crypt, and Uma’s intrepid venturing in the underground tunnels beautifully mirrors her own soul-searching as she explores her emotions about her family situation.
This is an absolute winner of a story that has all the right ingredients to be an instant hit with readers in Key Stage 2.
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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
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Curriculum links (if relevant)
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