Half term’s over, the clocks have gone back and we’ve even seen a few new Christmas books arrive in our office…the second half of the Autumn term is truly upon us!
While we’re settling into the eight-week run toward the next holidays, you can find our most recent newsletters here which will update you on some of our ELS news. Alternatively, you can follow us on twitter where we’re always sharing our thoughts: @NorfolkELS
Below you’ll find our team’s Friday Reads are below- let us know what you think!
Apryl: Oi Cat! by Kes Gray, illustrated by Jim Field
First there was Oi Frog!, then Oi Dog! and now…a Cat?!
Kes Gray and illustrator Jim Field are back for another installment of their wildly successful Oi! series, a simple idea perfectly executed. Cat is plagued by gnats and- as frog has cruelly changed the rules- the mat on which he would usually sit is out of the question. As the book progresses, Cat finds that many of the things on which he could sit have been claimed by other animals- a pony on macaroni, anyone?
I love these books; Field’s illustrative style is one I adore- even the end papers are brilliant! The use of rhyme throughout is something children (and adults!) will have fun with, and makes for a brilliant guessing game: dingoes on…flamingoes?!
(Hodder, £12.99 hardback, ISBN 9781444932515, find it at a Norfolk Library)
Harriet: The Explorer by Katherine Rundell
A gripping adventure for upper juniors, this is an exciting survival story set in the Amazon jungle. This author has an ability to create an incredibly vivid landscape without apparent effort, and there are many moments when the reader wonders if this novel could possibly have a happy ending.
Four children are sole survivors of an air crash which has deposited them in a remote and wild part of the Amazon, and they need to not only escape unharmed but also learn how to get on together. Their relationships and very individual characters are what makes the novel really appealing, interwoven with the steamy dangers and wild beauty of the jungle.
(Bloomsbury, £12.99 hardback, ISBN 9781408854877, find it at a Norfolk Library)
Zoë: Corpse Talk (Season 1) by Adam Murray
This book, by Phoenix Presents, is great for reluctant readers because of its style: a chat show in graphics.
This humorous book takes the reader on a historical journey with a difference. Meet all manner of people – dead, naturally – as they are interviewed by Adam Murray. Find out their secrets; their obsessions; their mistakes.
Which person will interest you? I enjoyed the discussion with Dick Turpin. As a child, I’d watched a television series which romanticised his character. Adam’s interview presents quite a different character!
(David Fickling Books, £8.99 paperback, ISBN 9781910200018, find it at a Norfolk Library)
Our archive of Friday Reads can be found just here)
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