Tag Peter Francis

The Infinity Rainbow Club: Viola and the Jurassic Land Exhibit

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The Infinity Rainbow Club: Violet and the Jurassic Land Exhibit
Jen Malia, illustrated by Peter Francis
Beaming Books

In this, the second in The Infinity Rainbow Club series, the focus is on Violet. Readers of the first story will recognise her as Nick’s friend and classmate who is learning to manage her OCD. Now the two are partners at a dig being undertaken by palaeontologists including Violet’s mum who works at a natural history museum and her dad, a botanist.. The teacher in charge of the Infinity Rainbow Club. Ms Daisy has arranged for all members plus families to join the dig at Paleo Park over the weekend.

No sooner have the children begun work than Violet and Nick discover what could be a dinosaur bone and sure enough, straightaway Violet’s’s intrusive thoughts start up. She constantly checks her work and worries that how ever carefully she does everything, something will go wrong. What she needs to do is to find how to trust what she’s doing and to enjoy enjoy the Jurassic Land exhibit that is the outcome of all the effort she and the others – Nick especially – have put in.

Jen Malia once again provides a child-friendly picture of a neurodivergent child and her supportive family that includes the wonderful Lao Lao, her grandmother.

A book to share with younger KS2 children who will gain a valuable insight into obsessive compulsive disorder and how one individual manages anxiety, intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviours.

The Infinity Rainbow Club: Nick and the Brick Builder Challenge

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The Infinity Rainbow Club: Nick and the Brick Builder Challenge
Jen Malia, illustrated by Peter Francis
Beaming Books

This, the first of a new series, follows Nick, who like the book’s author is neurodivergent. This means that he experiences the world differently from many of his primary school classmates who do not have autism.

When teacher, Ms Daisy, announces to members of the Infinite Rainbow Club that the children are going to participate in the very first Brick Builder Challenge and asks them to choose partners, Nick realises that with eleven in the group, one person will be left without a partner and he hopes it will be him. He prefers working alone. However, he’s then told he will partner a new girl, Ruby who is joining the club the following week.

We stand behind Nick’s head as he endeavours to get on with his siblings, share his friends with others and, having qualified for the finals of the Brick Builder Challenge, heed the warning he must do better in working collaboratively if he and Ruby are to win the district competition.

Can Nick manage to do this?

Having taught quite a lot of neurodivergent children in my time as a primary school teacher, I know that in each one, the condition manifests itself differently. Jen Malia shows this so well in the story: I love the way Ms Daisy addresses the group as ‘Brilliant buzzing brains’. I also love the way his empathetic mother gently supports Nick, especially when his emotions overwhelm him. Woven into the story too are ways in which the children learn and use coping strategies – breathing techniques, fidget toys, wobble cushions and spend time in the sensory gym – a helpful insight for neurotypical readers.

With engaging illustrations by Peter Francis, this is a book to include in KS2 class collections.