Barrington Stoke (www.barringtonstoke.co.uk) ISBN 9781781125359 £5.99
Are you casting around for a text to inspire a reluctant reader aged 8+? Do you have few books in school where your ethnic minority pupils can see themselves reflected in the protagonists? Then this first book in a new series might be just the answer. Winningly, it uses football as the ‘hook’ and straight away we empathise with Jatinder, a young Sikh boy who, while away at football summer school, fails to rise to the challenge of a free kick and despises himself for his inability to take a risk. Esther and Steve, his adult hosts, are sympathetic and lend Jatinder a book on Hardit Singh Malik, the first Sikh fighter pilot. Cleverly, the author slips into ghost story mode and after a few unexplained sightings, Jatinder suddenly finds himself back in time as an adult fighter pilot in Malik’s Sopwith Camel. He gets shot down, taken prisoner by the Germans and then has the opportunity to perform an act of supreme bravery and of great personal risk- the book’s key theme – before returning to the present.
This addition to the Barrington Stoke stable is a welcome one. The text is very readable, utterly gripping and truly authentic sounding, because Palmer, as author in residence at the RAF museum, is meticulous in his research. This further evidence of the diversity of British troops in the war was fascinating and the notes at the end explain how he has melded true stories about an Indian, an American and a German airman from the First World War into this tale. The glossy, high quality cover includes a cut out model Sopwith camel, with the promise of further models in the two titles published later this year. Add this to your school library now.
Sue Barrett, former primary deputy head and senior lecturer in Primary Education at CCCU
