Book reviews by Anna Rushall
Roar: A celebration of Great Sporting Women by Sam Quek
Roar: A Celebration of Great Sporting Women is great to dip into in reading groups, or citizenship or tutor time sessions, to help open conversations with teens about the challenges they face and whose footsteps they might follow in.
Work It, Lara Bloom by Dee Benson
Work It, Lara Bloom by Dee Benson is thoroughly enjoyable for the intended audience. For promoting and helping to sustain leisure reading in KS3, this title would be a perfect addition to secondary school library collections.
Circus Maximus: Return of the Champion by Annelise Gray
Circus Maximus: Return of the Champion really evokes the historical period of the story, as well as providing an action-packed plot. The plot is detailed and audacious and there is a list of characters, information on chariots, and historical references.
World of Sport by Lawrence Alexander, illustrated by Violeta Noy
World of Sport is an absorbing title, especially in this Olympic year perhaps, but it has much to offer beyond this initial association. World of Sport is a truly valuable addition to all non-fiction collections.
Mawson in Antarctica: To the Ends of the Earth by Joanna Grochowicz
Mawson in Antarctica: To the Ends of the Earth is a great option for supporting curriculum topics and for children who find greater appeal in real-life stories than in fantasy worlds.
Smoke and Mirrors by Barry Jonsberg
Smoke and Mirrors is a credible title for Y6 or KS3 pupils with challenging home lives, who would derive comfort from seeing their own lives reflected in literature; equally well-placed as a title for opening up class discussion around the issues raised.
Grimwood: Party Animals by Nadia Shireen
Grimwood: Party Animals is is perfect for early independent readers and those pupils who have just mastered beginner reads and are ready to finally enjoy a slightly longer story, but for whom it is critical the steps to reading for pleasure success are still available.
The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals by Mike Barfield
The Wild Life of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals is a smashing non-fiction title with endless use in a primary setting this is a book that is sure to be well-thumbed as soon as it is added to collections.
The Moonlit Campout by Ruth Symons
The Moonlit Campout would be a suitable text to support a topic on the dark. It would also be a good way of opening up early conversations around the things that scare us, as one character is afraid of the dark.
I Really, Really Don’t Like Parties by Angie Morgan
I Really, Really Don’t Like Parties is a perfect title for supporting the very young with their first explorations into the world of children’s parties, or indeed any example of attending their first events without an adult.
The Big Day by Rachel Plummer
The Big Day would be a useful addition to classroom collections to promote inclusivity of all relationships. It could also be used as a discussion support text in PSHE.
Solstice: Around the World on the Longest, Shortest Day by Jen Breach
Solstice: Around the World on the Longest, Shortest Day is an ideal KS2 non-fiction title for supporting Geography, Maths and PSHE units. Much more than this though, it is an essential leisure non-fiction title for its ability to quench the thirst of all hungry young fact finders!
The Last Dragon by Polly Ho-Yen
The Last Dragon is an ideal class reader for upper KS2 pupils (Years 5 & 6 in primary school), either as a text for reading lessons or as a stimulus for book talk in PSHE time.
Moving Up by Christian Foley
Moving Up is a useful addition to the bookshelves of upper KS2 classrooms and Y7 form rooms, either as a text for supporting citizenship time discussions or for pupils to dip into independently.
