Good Reads: South Wilford Endowed C of E Primary School, Nottingham
Our Good Reads were chosen by young people at South Wilford Endowed C of E Primary School, Nottingham. These young critics are the school’s Reading Curriculum Leads and help teacher Amy Greatrex plan and promote reading for pleasure. Amy is a winner in the Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2022, held in association with the Open University and the UK Literacy Association (UKLA), and was chosen for her successful work developing a reading community in school as well as in the home. Thanks to Amy and her students for this selection of Good Reads.
You Choose Fairy Tales
Nick Sharratt and Pippa Goodhart, Puffin, 978-0241488874, £6.99 pbk
Other people would like it because you get to choose your own person and you get to make a story. My favourite part of the book is the villain page because I like to see all the baddies and see what they do. The best villain is the Fox because he says to the Gingerbread Man ‘pop on my nose’and then he eats the Gingerbread Man! It’s a cool trick. The book makes me feel excited because you don’t know what will happen next. I like it because it can be different each time and you can choose a new story. Sometimes my favourite character is to be the Frog because frogs are my favourite animals and then I like to choose a small house for them, like the tent! Ava, Year 1
Ruthless Romans Horrible Histories
Terry Deary, illus Martin Brown, Scholastic, 9781407167022, £5.99 pbk
I think people should read this book because it tells you the history of the Romans and how they put real people and wild predators together to watch them fight. They were called gladiators and I learnt that they were only given a shield and a sword to fight, slaves weren’t given anything and had to fight with their hands! They fought in a Roman stadium called the coliseum and it had loads of windows. The animals were real, so if the lion got out it could escape! I think people should read the whole series of Horrible Histories because the books are accurate and facts, whereas information on the internet can be false. I’ve read the whole series but I’m excited to read the new History of the World and Horrible Christmas books next. The most gruesome one is Henry VIII because he is really gruesome so watch out for that one if you are squeamish! Peter, Year 3
Amari and the Great Game
B.B. Alston, Farshore, 978-1405298643, £12.99 hbk
Amari and the Great Game is an amazing second story of Amari; she has to win the crown so that the enemy doesn’t decide upon a dreadful fate for magician kind. A book full of adventure, mystery, and shocking surprises that will keep you guessing! Overall, this is a page flipping read that I highly recommend. Ellen, Year 6
Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
A.F. Steadman, Simon and Schuster, 978-1398502710, £12.99 hbk
I loved Skandar and the Unicorn Thief because it was a real page turner! It’s about a boy called Skandar who is meant to be tested to see if he’s a unicorn rider but his teachers don’t let him. Then one night there’s a knock on the door and that’s where it all begins. It’s very exciting and a little bit scary. It’s thick so it lasts a while so you can enjoy it for a long time and savour it. It’s also interesting because in it, it pictures unicorns very differently to how people imagine unicorns based on most books. The only downside is that the book didn’t last forever. If you like fantasy, then this is the book for you! Ben, Year 5
The Night We Got Stuck in a Story
Ben Miller, Simon and Schuster, 978-1471192494, £12.99 hbk
This is a fantastic book with a vibrant front cover and an exciting blurb that makes you want to dive into the story more. It is about two children that spend the summer holidays at their grandparent’s house. They really want to climb a tree that’s close by. One night they climb the tree and enter a magical new world. There’s a lady that had been trapped in string and she takes one of the kids. The kid that hadn’t been taken find a bear and the bear gives her three magic berries. She went to a little village that looked wrecked! She later got bit and climbed out of the tree and became a spider. The spider she became was the spider species she saved and made humans and spiders friends! I hope you will read The Night We Got Stuck in a Story as your next book! Esme, Year 4
