Wide Eyed Editions ISBN 9781847809933 £17.99 A stunning collection of 60 information charts about human history that follow cultures and civilisations from prehistoric times through to modern times. We learn about the world’s first cities, how writing evolved, the history of money, and the invention of everyday things like soap and false teeth. I particularly…
Catnip ISBN 9781910611081 £6.99 An informative adventure story set in Cambridgeshire in 1860. Bill is curious about the world around him. One of his experiments causes his father to lose his job. We feel his father’s pain and shame. Bill tries to help his family by selling fossils he has found, but he does not…
Hodder Children’s Books ISBN 9781444941845 £6.99 I found this book rather a struggle to engage with initially. The somewhat simplistic, and at times clumsy, language jarred as I read and I found the consistent emboldening of selected words and phrases throughout the text rather distracting. It tells the tale of Chloe, who on her eleventh…
Andersen Press ISBN 9781783446469 £6.99 This is a reissue of a book published in 2007 called Abela, but if you do not have a copy it is well worth buying. It is the story of two young girls, Abela who lives in Tanzania and Rosa who lives in England. It follows the girls through trauma and…
Stripes Publishing ISBN 9781847159229 £6.99 This is a fantasy adventure story set in the Longest World, a series of islands and archipelagos. It is the story of Cass, a young acrobat who wants to join the renowned Circus Ship touring the world. It is a story of pirates, swords and magic – set in the…
Orion Children’s Books ISBN 9781510105010 £6.99 An accomplished novel for children aged 9-11 examining the issues surrounding the current refugee problem. Onjali Q Raúf has created a very recognisable group of friends and their classroom life through her careful characterisation and descriptions of events. Most children will recognise the school bully, the unpopular teacher and…
Chicken House ISBN 9781911490579 £6.99 The Book of Boy is a fantasy adventure story set in Europe in the year 1350, just after the death and destruction caused by the Black Death, when over a third of Europe’s population died. It is the story of Boy, a hunchback goat-herd on a French estate, who can communicate…
Hodder Children’s Books ISBN 9781444938791 £12.99 This is the hard-pressed teacher’s answer to prayer, especially but not essentially if they are still including a study of WW2 in their history curriculum: a play about the evacuation, the Manchester blitz and its effects on the lives of all those caught up in any or all of…
Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781781129 £5.99 A three-story collection ideal for children who like their stories to be scary but set among familiar surroundings. Three friends share tales about strange happenings in houses in their street – a deserted garden, a spooky cellar which hides a sad story and a message in a dream which leads…