Verna Wilkins' Black Stars is a series of profiles of black achievers. These titles tell the life stories of actor Rudolph Walker, writer Malorie Blackman and poet Benjamin Zephaniah.

Nikki Gamble suggests these readable books can be used as a focus for a literacy unit on biography and autobiography.

Nikki Gamble explores character and point of view in Anthony Browne's Voices in the Park

Four different voices tell their own version of the same walk in the park. The radically different perspectives provide depth to this simple story about overcoming adult snobbery, which explores many key themes such as alienation, friendship and the ...

This work introduces Miss Ottoline Brown, an exceptionally inquisitive Mistress of Disguise, and her partner in crime, Mr Munroe. No puzzle is ever too tricky for the two of them to solve ...Ottoline lives in a stylish apartment in Big City with a small hairy creature called Mr Munroe. Together they look after the Brown family's eclectic collections - and dabble in a spot of detective work. ...

Mythology is the ultimate book of gods, heroes, monsters and mythical beasts of ancient Greece. It is packed with novelties including a gold quill and writing paper, a pop-up Pandora’s Box and golden oak leaves for fortune telling.

Written by Lady Hestia Evans in 1825, Mythology is based on the record of her travels through Greece, where she discovers the wonders of the ancient myt ...

Archie's War by Marcia Williams is a fictionalised autobiographical scrapbook charting the fortunes of the Albright family during the war years 1914- 1918. The story is presented through the eyes of Archie Albright, who is ten years old at the outset of the war.

In the classroom context, ...

If you like traditional ghost stories that raise the hairs on the back of the neck, then this one is for you. Andrew Matthews' The Shadow Garden owes something to the style of M R James classic ghost tales.

We have put together some teaching suggestions which could be incorporated into a un ...

The War and Freddy is a perfect whole class novel for pupils in year 3 or year 4 and can be sued as a starting point. It is deceptively simple, accessible but thematically rich providing much scope for discussion. It could also be used as for guided reading with confident fluent readers who may not yet have the stamina for more complex plots and subplots.

September 1939 ...

Using Roges' Gold as a class novel provides opportunities for studying Elizabethan England, theatre and mystery stories. Download our reading guide written by Bridget Carrington.

 Rogues' Gold teachers' notes

Synopsis: This is a mystery adventure story full of drama, death, intrigue and scandal, ...

Luke Slater's teaching Guide for The Snow Spider provides scope for discussion of the themes and issues in this thought provoking and moving novel.

Teaching Guide for The Snow Spider

Snow Spider Reading Group Prompts