The one and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

The one and only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

A beautiul, funny, engaging, sad and moving story.
A great read aloud 📖 It was enjoyed by my children aged 6+. Think would be a great individual read for age 8+.

The book is fiction but based on the true story of a gorilla named Ivan who was captured in the Democratic republic of Congo, transported to the US and then spent the next 27 years in a cage in a road side shopping mall with some other animals.

The story tells the story from Ivan's point of view and how he wonders if there is another way to live.

It opens the conversation about how animals are treated.

A great question to explore this is:

Is it ever okay for animals to be kept in captivity? 

Khadijah (Radia Allahu Anha): Worksheet and book review

A book I would recommend to anyone - we read it aloud and the children aged 8 years+ all enjoyed. The passages that talked about Surah revelations engrossed them and they would recite what they knew. 

The book is beautifully written, very descriptive and can take you back to the markets of Makkah. A very emotional read. A truly inspirational woman that every Muslim girl should look up too. Not only the 1st wife of the prophet ﷺ, the first to embrace Islam but a business women, mother and community pillar.  

The prophet Muhammad ﷺ said:

"She had faith in me when the people rejected me. She believed in me when the people disbelieved in me. She supported me with her wealth when people prevented me, and Allah blessed me with children through her and not through any other wife".

This worksheet below is to record information about Khadijah رضي الله عنه

Book Review - Refugee by Alan Gratz

 

This book is about 3 young people and their journeys for refuge. They are from 3 different countries and eras but all shared similar struggles trying to find safety. They were all looking for a brighter tomorrow.

Josef, a young Jewish boy that has to leave Nazi Germany in 1938 with his family. He board a ship to Cuba to find a refuge there but all doesn't go to plan.

Isabel, a young Cuban girl that leaves Havana in 1994 on a home made boat to escape Fidel Castro and hunger riots. She is headed to Florida to find a safer, brighter future. 

Mahmoud, a Syrian boy who leave Aleppo in 2015 with his family after his house is destroyed in an airstrike. Syria no longer safe, they head for Turkey with the dream of seeking refuge in Germany. 

I read this book aloud to my older 3 children aged 10+ who were gripped from the beginning, rooting for the characters and hoping they find a new home safely with their families. The fact that the characters were around the same age as them, allowed them to connect with them and put themselves in their shoes. 

The story brought history and statistics into reality.  The book creates an empathy for refugees and the struggles they face. There were so many harrowing and heartbreaking moments in the book. At times I struggled to read on, not knowing if i could without breaking down, my heart ached.

So many discussions came from this book: 

* My children thought about if they had to leave their home - with only a few personal belongings, just to be safe. The thought of having to find a new place to call home, a new language, culture - a new beginning. 

* Discussion about the people in the book who helped the refugees on their journeys and those who didn't. 

*What we can do to help refugees and current situations of those around the world. 

*How the childhood of the characters were affected by their journeys.

I would highly recommend this book for children 10+. It is very emotional and extremely sad in parts but the stories are gripping. Not only does it allow you to put yourself in their shoes, it highlights that people are still suffering today and that we have a duty to help. 

Book review - Clever Lands by Lucy Crehan

 A must read for those interested in education and how different top performing countries run their systems. 

This book is written by Lucy Crehan, a teacher from a London inner city school. Working in an area where they is lots of deprivation, Lucy felt that all the work she was putting in wasn't making a difference to the children. She first hand saw how systematic disadvantages affected many of the children in her school and limited their future options. 

Lucy began thinking about the education systems from around the world that were classed as the top performers (well above the UK). She was curious at what these systems did for students and teachers that puts them above the rest.

Lucy spent a year travelling to 5 different countries, stayed with teachers or families and went into the schools to see first hand how things were done and to explore their education systems. 

 The 5 countries were:

• Finland
• Japan
• Singapore
• China
• Canada

Lucy goes into details about all the systems, about what is expected of children, how parents view the systems, how teachers are viewed and more.

She finishes the book with 5 principles for a top performing education system. 

Coming from the UK where children start school the September after their 4th birthday, the main thing that stuck out for me is that in Finland, Singapore and China children don't start school until they are 7 years old. In Japan and Canada they start at 6. 

What is focused on before this in pre-school is that children learn life and important skills through play. I love this and the fact that these children are out-performing their counter parts in the UK shows that there is no adverse affects in starting formal education a bit later. 

This is a principle that I would love to see implemented in the UK. Children starting formal education at 7 years old. Having taught in the foundation stage and seen some of my children struggling to grasp things at 4 years old, I believe this would hugely benefit children, their mental health, development and their academic progress.

The boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne

I was recommended this book from my sister as we had been studying World War 2. 

We read this aloud and the children listening were between ages 12 and 7. It is a gripping read and rather emotionally upsetting in parts. 

This book is told in through the voice of a child - Bruno (age 9). His father is a soldier (Nazi) who works for Hitler and moves Bruno and his family to Auschwitz where he has been posted in 1943. It is written in a way that hooks you and is understandable even for children. 

Bruno's innocence is demonstrated through the book as he has lack of understanding what his father does and what is happening to the people behind the camp. The book led to many discussion while we were reading about the behaviour of humans and the atrocities of what happened in the concentration camps.

A big theme of the book is the friendship that Bruno makes after moving to Auschwitz with a Jewish boy that is behind the fence. Bruno does not understand about the camp his new friend is in and what his dad is involved in. 

He tries to learn more throughout the book but is often conflicted when believing his father is a bad person. The book takes a twist that none of us expected at the end (Be aware this is upsetting and my children were very emotional when we finished). 

I would recommend this book as we all enjoyed the read and learnt more about the holocaust and the atrocities that happened. I would definitely say it is for late ks2 age children + (ages 10years +) for reading alone. My 7 year old enjoyed the book as we read it but needed the discussions we had about it as we went to allow her to understand more. 

The Wild Robot Escapes by Peter Brown

This is the sequel to ‘The Wild Robot’ and my children were desperate to read it to find out what happens to Roz the Robot. It didn’t disappoint and we all enjoyed it.

As well as some of the character from the first book, the adventure introduces some new lovable characters that help and hinder Roz on her journey.  Like the first book it has a great mix of technology and nature. 

The book has some great themes in that can be used as discussion starters and follow up work:

·        being different

·        friendship

·        helping others

·        technology

·        nature

·        decision making

·        belonging

I would say this is a must read for all children - a real modern-day classic.

The Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q. Rauf

A great children’s book with an important message in it about refugees and the reality of the journey and hardships they face when they are forced to flee their homes due to the war and dangers.

 I enjoyed this book as well as my children and finished the last page sobbing, it is truly an emotional roller coaster. My children got into the book quickly and were eager to read it daily to follow the adventure and find out what happens. I would say this book is great for age 8+.

“It is funny, sad and happy all in on book. I like how the bullies do not win and those doing good are the main characters” Son age 11

The story is told in the voice of a 9-year-old girl and it follows her and her three friends as they make friends with the new boy in their class, find out his story and want to help him. Ahmet is the new boy; he is a refugee who ran away from a real war – the ongoing war in Syria. 

 A fair amount of the story is told in the children's school and some of the themes other than the refugee crisis that are touched upon are friendships, bullying and helping others- all things that children can relate too. The book also has a great diversity of characters. 

I think that this book should be in every classroom and is a great book to read aloud or complete in story time. It can lead to so many discussions. My children have been inspired to help refugees and are looking into projects.


One more great thing about the book is that a portion of the money made from each book sale will be donated to charities that help refugees around the world.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

We read this book as a read aloud. All 5 of my children aged 12, 11, 9, 7 and 4 listened.


The book is recommended for ages 8-12 years but as I said all of mine listened and really enjoyed it. As an adult I would look forward to our daily read aloud sessions.

It is heartwarming, exciting and fun; themes such as friendship, helping others and survival make it engaging for all.



This is a survival story essentially about Roz the robot who is stranded on a wild island after the boat that is carrying a cargo of robot is destroyed in a storm. All of the robot are destroyed except for Roz, who is accidentally activated and then has to learn to survive on the island.

Her journey captivates the reader as she has to learn to makes friends with the animals on the island and how to survive. The twist at the end of the book left my children asking for me to buy the next book; The Wild Robot Escapes. We are looking forward to it.

I would highly recommend this book.