Prince Caspian by C S Lewis

 

2009, first published 1951  

Edmond, Lucy, Peter and Susan are summoned to Narnia again.  It happens as they are sitting on station platform waiting for the train that will take them to their boarding schools.  Already boarding school is an exotic concept for many 21st century readers.  Prince Caspian, who should rightfully be the king of Narnia, has used Susan’s hunting horn to call them.

Years and years have passed since they were last in Narnia. The castle where they used to reign is in ruins. Narnia is in trouble again. The talking animals and moving trees are not visible. The current king, Caspian’s uncle, dismissed the history as fairy tales. He is not too worried that Caspian will become king after his death but then he and his wife have a baby and Caspian becomes a threat. Caspian’s life is now in danger.

His tutor rescues him.  He warns him of the danger and helps him to flee.  After the children are summoned, they have to help him to regain his kingdom.  They are aided by Aslan.

The story borders on science fiction.  The humans who now inhabit Narnia actually came from our world, the world to which the children will return.  Aslan warns that Peter and Susan will no longer be able to come back to Narnia as they have become too old. Time behaves oddly: only a few month have lapsed in our world whereas centuries have gone by n Narnia. In our world they are children.  In Narnia they are more grown up and able to take responsibility.

The book is 240 pages long, in blocked text and using an adult font. There is a map at the front of the book and a few illustrations peppered throughout it.          

The Power of her Pen by Lesa Cline-Ransome and John Para

 click on image to find a copy

2020   

This is the story of the ground-breaking journalist, Ethel L. Payne.  We read about how she became a journalist and of how she reported some very important events.  She had to assert herself in a world  that was less tolerant of working women and of black people.

The text is beautifully illustrated.

The book struggles a little with its identity. The text is too dense for the normal pre-school consumer of picture books. The subject matter probably requires the reader to be at least eight years old thought this reader would not need  or appreciate pictures.   

There is also a lot of extra information at the end of the book, including a note form the author, a bibliography and suggested further reading.

This non-fiction book may be very useful for a child who would like to complete a project on Ethel L Payne or who is working on a larger project and women in a man’s world.  

The text uses an adult font but is formatted ragged right.  

The Proudest Blue Ibtihaj Muhammad, S.K. Ali, Hatem Aly

 

2020

emergent readers, Key Stage 1,  pre-school, picture book, ages 4-6, Muhammad Ibtihaj, Ali  S KL, Aly Hatem,  bullying, prejudice, otherness

Asiya, her sister and mother go to the shop to buy Asiya her first grown-up hijab. Previously she has only worn one for special occasions and then gradually at school if she has no sports lessons. Now she must start wearing one all the time.  Her mother wants her to have a pink one but she chooses a vibrant blue one.     

The story is told form the point of view of her younger sister who is very proud of her sibling in her new hijab. Unusually the story for this reader the story is told in a first person narrative. Asiya’s younger sister makes the comparison between the hijab and themselves; the blue is how the ocean meets the sky and in the same way that there is no line between her and her sister. One day others will understand the hijab. There is some bullying and lack of understanding but the two girls stay strong.  

The text is not too dense. It is printed in an adult but large font.  There is information about the writers and the illustrators at the back and also a note from Ibithaj Muhammad, an Olympic fencer. Muhmmad describes her experience of wearing a hijab and what it means to her.   

 

Beauty and the Bin by Joanne O'Connell

 2021

Laura Larskie is proud of her parents and ashamed of them at the same time. They are well on their way to saving the planet. They grow their own food – hydroponically because they weren’t allowed an allotment. They have fruit, vegetables and herbs gowning all over the house. Her parents’ latest venture is raiding supermarket bins for perfectly good food that is being thrown away. Whilst Laure agrees with her parents’ values she knows her peers will find them eccentric. It is all very embarrassing. She doesn’t invite her friends to the house as she is ashamed of it. She never has any money to buy anything new.

Students at her school are invited to become entrepreneurs.  She teams up with sophisticated Year 9 Charley to produce a range of beauty projects that can be made from what you find in the kitchen - or in Lara’s case, in the bins at the back of the supermarket.

There are moments that make you chuckle. But there are also some graver notes. Joanne O’Connell helps to increase the readers’ awareness of the damage we are doing through our over uses of plastic and how the fashion industry exploits workers.

There are also some glimpses of a tender family life.  Laura is particularly close to her younger sister Fern who helps her to make the products. The family members all support each other. 

The ending is upbeat and there are also some delicious recipes for beauty products that you can try at home.

This book is labelled as suitable for 9-11. Lower secondary students would also enjoy it.

South & North, East & West by Michael Rosen

               

 

2007

Michael Rosen has collected folk tales here and retold them in his great story-teller voice.  There are twenty-five stories in total and they come from all around the world.  Each story is illustrated by a different artist. This particular edition of the book supports Oxfam.    

It’s a little hard to identify the reader exactly. The stories resemble those for younger children but the text is tightly packed and on most pages in two columns which suggests an older reader. It uses a sophisticated adult font and is blocked.

The stories would work well read aloud but the “reader” ought to see the delightful illustrations.

There is a blurb for story at the beginning of the book.  These often tell us where the story comes from and how it was collected as well as enticing us to the theme.   Each story anyway as you make your way through the book is labelled with its origin.

At the end of the book there is some information about how Oxfam works. This and the blurbs at the beginning of the book are perhaps aimed at adults rather than the young reader.      

Find a copy here