Tag Knights Of

Role Model

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Role Model
Elle McNicoll
Knights Of

Thirteen year old Aeriel Sharpe, the book’s narrator is neurodivergent. Recently her mother has been elected Prime Minister and the family has moved from Scotland where Aeriel loved the snow and wind and the way they made her feel; she’s now struggling to adapt to a very different way of life. At her new school, Aeriel is eager to fit in and is assigned a buddy, Ana, on her first day. Ana has two close friends and maybe Aeriel could become part of their group.

It’s not that simple though, and then Aeriel is put in an uncomfortable situation and faints during a school assembly. This has been secretly filmed and the video goes viral. The PM’s press team step in to ‘help’ and Aerial films a response but this results in her getting even more attention from the media and her being called an inspirational role model for young people. Anything but inspirational is how Aeriel feels though: she’s followed by paparazzi, asked to formal dinners with Royals and more but all she yearns for is an ordinary life and true friends. Eventually she finds everything too much.

One person who does understand Aeriel however, is her older sister, Fizz ,who is also neurodivergent. She does her best to encourage her sibling to find a way to embrace and love herself and in so doing to become the main character in her own life story. Along with some friends from her school SEND department, Aeriel begins to do just that.

Just as every neurotypical person is different, so too is every one who is autistic. As a protagonist, Aeriel does a terrific job of showing that far from being a cliched ‘superpower’, her neurodiversity is integral to the unique, powerful and very special girl that she is. Her story is one that should be read widely by parents, teachers and those around Aeriel’s age.

When The Storm Comes

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When The Storm Comes
Polly Ho-Yen
Knights Of

One rainy day, with considerable reluctance four children, Mali, (who narrates the story) Fara, Jonesey and Petey find themselves together in the school library after lessons. They’ve been chosen by very pregnant teacher, Ms Devine, to form a book group panel and she joins them to explain what this entails. Meanwhile, the weather has deteriorated and a fierce thunder storm brings floods. Leaving for home is now impossible as the doors are jammed. Worse, they’re unable to make contact with the outside world so bedding down for the night appears to be their only option. What to do about food soon becomes an issue with Petey keen to have more than his fair share and this contributes to the worsening mood of them all.

Suddenly a man appears: it’s Lowly, the school caretaker and he’s been on site all the time. As things become increasingly perilous, the children begin to realise that they must all trust one another and pull together. Then Jonesey is injured by a falling branch and loses consciousness. Can they escape from the terrible danger? Mali will have to give it his all if he’s to find a way through to the outside and get the aid of emergency services.

With the issue of climate change rearing its head, this is a thrilling, thought-provoking story, full of tension wherein the four children learn much about themselves and one another.

The Lucky House Detective Agency

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The Lucky House Detective Agency
Scarlett Li, illustrated by Sian James
Knights Of

Living in Leighton-on-Sea, eleven year old Felix and his best friend Isaac absolutely love detective stories and both boys spend a lot of time helping in Felix’s family’s Chinese takeaway, called Lucky House Takeaway.

One evening during a specially busy time the family’s lucky money plant brought from Hong Kong – Optimus Prime they call it – crashes to the ground. Mum is devastated and so the boys decide to use their detective skills to find out who knocked over the precious plant and prevent bad luck from befalling the Lee family. Their initial list of suspects comprises everyone in the takeaway at the time, including regular customers and Felix adds Nina Ding his cousin and nemesis ‘know it all Nina’ they call her.

As they’re repotting the plant, the boys find an old coin with Chinese characters and begin asking around about it. Could the accident by any chance have anything to do with a long lost Chinese treasure? They ask Mr Tsui, who tells them about an old box linked to a visit from Li Hung Chang, a Chinese diplomat from the 1800’s. A vital clue or a red herring?

With an interesting cast of characters, a wealth of information about British-Chinese culture and incidents aplenty, this well-plotted, exciting story is a fun mystery for KS2 readers that will certainly keep them guessing. With Felix’s final “The Lucky House Detective Agency is open for business. Let’s roll.” I wonder what mystery will come their way next?

Olly Brown, God of Hamsters / The Big Breakout

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Olly Brown, God of Hamsters
Bethany Walker , illustrated by Jack Noel
Scholastic

Olly Brown is obsessed with hamsters, so much so that when told to write down three targets for the final weeks in his year 6 class, his first is ‘Look after the class hamster at home for one weekend.’ He’s absolutely determined to do so and then by means of a spot of subterfuge he succeeds in smuggling home Tibbles; that is despite the fact that his dad is supposedly allergic to the creatures, not to mention his hang-ups about health and safety.

Surely though it was just the one hamster he took, so what are all those others doing creating havoc (and a great deal of poo) in his home.

He can’t tell his dad but he must share this news with somebody: that somebody is his best friend Stan. The trouble is Stan then starts calling him such names as ‘Master of the Hamsterverse’. It’s certainly pretty amazing that the furry beings can communicate with Olly, certainly Tibbles can.

In addition to the hamster invasion, with the end of term drawing ever closer there’s the class outing, leavers’ party and more to contend with so it’s no surprise Olly feels as though things are spiralling out of control.

How on earth and in the Hamsterverse is Olly going to extricate himself from all this? To find out you’ll need to get yourself a copy of this hilarious book. Also funny are the drawings by Jack Noel who appears to like hamsters too, if the number he’s drawn for Bethany’s story is anything to go by.

Add to KS2 class collections: what fun it would be to share this with a Y6 class in their final term.

The Big Breakout
Burhana Islam, illustrated by Farah Khandaker
Knights Of

This laugh-out-loud story concludes the trilogy featuring Yusuf and his crazy escapades.
Yusuf’s elder sister, Affa, is about to have a baby and Yusuf – who has now gained a fair bit of street-cred. – is determined to become the best ever uncle to the soon to be born addition to his extended family. Not only that but he’s currently ‘man of the house’ in charge of his amma (mum) and Nanu (gran) who needs to pay a visit to the opticians.

At school, as form captain, he’s charged with showing the ‘very special visitors’ ie Ofsted inspectors aka MI5, around his school while keeping Chompy the school chameleon out of their way. What could possibly go wrong? Errm …

I laughed my way through this wishing I’d met this British Muslim family in the previous two books and will certainly seek them out. Not only are they ideal for bringing more diversity to KS2 class collections, Yusuf, his family and friends are enormous fun to read about and Farah Khnadaker’s black and white illustrations bring out much of the madness and mayhem for which the well-intentioned Yusuf is responsible one way or another.

Mind and Me / Barney the Horse

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Mind and Me
Sunita Chawdhary
Knights Of

This funny story is about much more than just losing your pet rabbit, which is what Maya, the girl narrator of this book does. 

When she wakes one morning she discovers her beloved Pooey is missing from his house beside her bed. Mysteriously it appears that the rabbit must have opened the door herself.

It’s also about lies and their consequences; determination, lots of poos (rabbit ones for the most part), identical twin cousins – the daughters of Maya’s favourite aunt who has a ‘way of sprinkling happiness over everyone’ – a warm, loving family and Mind. Mind is Maya’s own mind that acts as a kind of prompt, voice in the head alter ego. Into all this, author Sunita Chawdhary weaves occasional snippets of information about Indian customs and life in India, (Maya’s mother is from India), a few pearls of yoga wisdom, lots of humorous black and white illustrations and more.

Most of the book relates what happens when Maya, aided (sort of) and abetted by cousins Tanya and Anya search for Pooey, though it’s only Maya who knows what they’re actually looking for.

There’s plenty to delight younger solo readers in this, Sunita’s debut chapter book; this adult reviewer loved it too.

Barney the Horse
Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Guy Parker-Rees
Harper Collins Children’s Books

This book contains three short stories set in turn at Nethercott farm, Treginnis and Wick Court which constitute the Farms for City Children Organisation set up by the author and his wife to give city children, (who come to stay along with their teachers), experience of such things as feeding sheep, milking cows, looking after horses and generally interacting with other animals and the natural world.

The first, Missing! is a little boy’s account of what happened when he and his classmates went to feed the sheep and discovered that one of the lambs wasn’t there. The farmer declares that the one who finds the errant lamb will be awarded the ‘farmer of the day’ badge. This results in the narrator straying a bit too far, just like the object of his search, in what turns out to be a very dramatic rescue.

In Bird Boy, story two, Matt is staying away from home for the first time. Despite enjoying the stories by the fire in the evenings, the berry picking, eating the beans he’s helped to gather, and the interactions with the animals, the boy feels homesick. It’s the wealth of birdlife though, that makes all the difference for Matt. He especially likes to observe the swallows that have nested in one of the barns and are rearing their young. 

What he doesn’t anticipate is that he will play an important role in the early life of one of the little chicks.

The third story is a retrospective one told by an adult narrator and contains an empowering message.. Go For It was the motto of the narrator’s Grandma and it was this catchphrase and her gran’s birthday gift that were responsible for the story teller going to stay at Wick Court with her primary school friends. She tells how her interactions with the horses there, especially Barney, completely changed the course of her life.

For younger readers, these gentle tales, accompanied by Guy Parker-Rees’ plentiful, spirited black and white illustrations, convey the lasting effects a stay on a child-friendly farm can have.