January Reads

I know I'm probably on my own when I say January is probably my favourite month of the year. Christmas has been and gone, and my birthday too, but I'm feeling voucher rich with Waterstones vouchers and ready to spend them all in one go.... Here is what I read during January and my thoughts on each. Enjoy :-)

A Tale for the Time Being - Ruth Ozeki

This Buddhism related novel was a Christmas gift from my brother. It is the story of Ruth, a Japanese-American living on an island off the coast of Vancouver with her husband, and Nao, a Japanese teenager who was forced to move back to Tokyo after her father lost his job in America.

The story begins with Nao's diary being washed up on the shore of Ruth's island, encased in a Hello Kitty lunchbox. Ruth assumes that it must be debris from the Tohoku tsunami in 2011. Ruth goes on a desperate search on the internet for evidence of Nao and her family, and in doing so, becomes obsessed with the situation.

A 2012 Man Booker Prize nominated novel, this is just so real. The characters are wholly believable, the story is compelling and it's filled with Japanese culture. As somebody with no knowledge of Japanese culture before having read this book, these are helpfully explained with footnotes.

Number the Stars - Lois Lowry

Number the Stars is the story of ten year old Annemarie living in Denmark in 1943. Annemarie's best friend, Ellen, is Jewish, and the book tells how Annemarie's family get involved in smuggling Jews out of Denmark to Sweden in fishing boats.

Lois Lowry explains in the afterword that, although this story is fictional, the events the story recounts really did happen to thousands of families. Before reading this story, I had no knowledge about the rescue of Danish Jews, so it was interesting to learn that around eight thousand Jews were evacuated to Sweden meaning over 80% of Danish Jews survived the Holocaust.

I really enjoyed this simple but powerful book. It humanises people and shows their strength and courage. I strongly recommend it to KS2+ children and adults alike.

Raymie Nightingale - Kate DiCamillo

Raymie is a ten year old girl who has known for two days that her dad has snuck off from her mum with another woman. Raymie has a plan to win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition in hope that her dad will see her in the newspaper, and be so proud that he will return home to her and her mum.

The three girls in the story are all very different, but their loneliness brings them together. I absolutely adored each one of the girls and they won my heart for sure. A perfect read for KS2.

Lies We Tell Ourselves - Robin Talley

Lies We Tell Ourselves is the story of Sarah Dunbar and nine black students who are the first to attend an all-white school in Virginia. It begins on their first day at the new school where they are not protected by their police escort. It is also the story of one white girl at the school, Linda, her father is the community's main support of segregation. Linda is set against integration but is forced to work with Sarah on a school project.

I had some knowledge of the civil rights moment before reading LWTO, however I didn't realise the extent of the violence and hatred which is powerfully written about in this book. It is told in dual narration which shows the contrast of both girls narratives and it focuses on issues of racism and LGBT.

Wigglesbottom Primary: The Magic Hamster - Pamela Butchart

Three more stories of primary school craziness in Miss Riley's class. Miss Riley knows what is happening, but class 2F are convinced the hamster is up to mischief.

The Wigglesbottom Primary books are a massive hit in my Year 2 class as an end of day read, and this was yet another hit. This was funny, engaging and my class can always recognise the classroom drama that Pamela Butchart shares in our own class. I was heavily persuaded by 29 six year olds to buy The Toilet Ghost immediately after finishing The Magic Hamster.

Inside Out and Back Again -  Thanhha Lai

In 1975, ten year old Ha lived in Saigon with her family. Her father was an officer in the Vietnamese Navy and was captured nine years before. The Vietnam War reaches her family home, and they are forced to flee to Alabama, America.

Inside Out and Back Again is written in verse, something I found difficult to begin with. However, the more I read of the book, the easier I found it. It felt more like how people would talk and felt fitting for a young girl feeling out of place. It is told from the point of view of a young child, and is the first book I have read that details what refugees endure and her transition to America is so real.

Sky Song - Abi Elphinstone

Confession: I haven't read any other Abi Elphinstone books.
Sky Song is the story of a girl named Eska who has been captured inside Winterfang Palace by an evil Ice Queen who rules Erkenwald.  Eska is imprisoned inside a cursed music box with no memories of who she is or why an evil Ice Queen wants to steal her voice.

I absolutely adored this story and the themes included. Challenging narrow-minded beliefs to becoming more open-minded and having tolerance of people. It made me wish I was a KS2 teacher so that I could read it again with a class.

The 1,000 Year Old Boy -  Ross Welford

Alfie Monk wants to be like any other 11 year old, except he's actually over one thousand years old. He longs for friendship, but knows himself and his mother must live a very quiet life. Alfie's mum dies in a fire, and he begins to think that he would prefer to grow up living a normal life.

This was such a heart-warming story celebrating friendship and trust. The different perspectives it is told from showcased how the three friends use their different strengths to support each other, and I know some KS2 children who raid my bookshelf will love this.

Piggy Handsome - Pip Jones

This is the story of a very confident guinea pig, named Piggy Handsome, who is having a meltdown. With the help of his budgie friend Jeffry, he faces obstacles on his journey to fame.

I inhaled this book one Saturday morning and found myself laughing till the end. My class are big fans of Pip Jones (Izzy Gizmo, The Chocolate Monster) and I know they are going to adore this as our next class read. We will be able to discuss some challenging vocabulary, whilst it will also challenge my different voices for characters (eek!).