What Miss T Read

Today is Empathy Day and after seeing lots of tweets about various books and films that inspire and promote empathy I started thinking about what books I have read and shared with my children in class that have really provoked discussion and empathetic responses.  Here are my top three books to prompt empathy discussions in the classroom.   I use William's Doll every year as part of PSHE and our discussions around gender stereotypes. The book focuses on a young boy called William who is desperate to own a doll; however, those around him continually call him names and try to distract him with typical "boys" toys. Every time I get this book out it promotes such huge discussions on stereotyping and an outpouring of anecdotes from the children in class about their experiences around the topic. I often stop after each insult and together we make an emotions graph of how those words build and build and affect William's emotions. It's a very simple story and idea but the

Aleja is a dreamer who longs for a life of magic and adventure. So when a mysterious ship arrives in her Spanish harbour city, crewed by a band of ruthless women, Aleja knows it's sailed right out of a legend. And it wants her.  But life aboard the Ship of Shadows is more than even she bargained for. It will take all of Aleja's strength and skill to gain the trust of her fellow pirates - and discover what they are risking everything to find ... A Ship of Shadows   is Maria Kuzniar's debut novel and it   is an action-packed adventure set on the sea, filled with pirates, fighting, close escapes and a multitude of enemies of all shapes and sizes. If you're looking for a book filled with strong females then this well and truly ticks all the boxes. Imagine Pirates of the Caribbean but with just Keira Knightley and you're about there. The females in this book do not stop for anything or anyone and it was truly delightful to read another example of children's adventure

At the edge of the woods, there is a great tree. Peep through the branches and you might just see some little people who stand as tall as your thumb and have heads the size of hazelnuts.  Sylvia prefers to be alone rather than play noisy games with the other Tree Keepers. But one day, she finds a baby bird in her favourite hiding place. As Sylvia and the bird become friends, can she learn that sometimes, things are better when you have someone to share them with?  The Tree Keepers: Flock,  is a beautiful debut picture book by Gemma Koomen. The premise of the book revolves around a civilisation called the Tree Keepers, a group of tiny people (whom I imagine are almost invisible to humans) who live in the trees, harvesting, cleaning and generally making the tree appear as appealing as possible. Think the borrowers, but living in trees. The idea of these tiny humans doing the work of nature is one which is easily imagined and the illustrations really help to add life to the words, as you

Everyone thinks that Sophie is an orphan. True, there were no other recorded female survivors from the shipwreck which left baby Sophie floating in the English Channel in a cello case, but Sophie remembers seeing her mother wave for help. Her guardian tells her it is almost impossible that her mother is still alive, but that means still possible. You should never ignore a possible.  You've probably already read this book and if you haven't then where have you been? That's the question I was asking myself when I picked this up after hearing Jane Considine sing its praises in her Writing Revolution CPD videos on Youtube. The examples of language that she was pulling from the book were magical and I knew instantly that this would be my kind of book.  Having already read Katherine Rundell's The Explorer , I was expecting some high-octane action but actually this story has a lovely slow pace to it; plenty of time to digest the characters and the beautiful surroundings of Par

Since her mother’s disappearance, eleven-year-old Tilly has found comfort in stories at Pages & Co., her grandparents’ bookshop. But when her favourite characters, Anne of Green Gables and Alice from Wonderland, appear in the shop, Tilly’s adventures become very real. Not only can she follow Anne and Alice into their thrilling worlds, she discovers she can bookwander into any story she chooses. Tilly’s new ability could even help her solve the mystery of what happened to her mother all those years ago. But danger may be lurking on the very next page… When I read this I genuinely felt like this is the book that had been missing from my life.  Pages & Co - Tilly and the Bookwanderers is the first instalment in Anna James' series, featuring Tilly, a book-loving young girl who lives with her grandparents in their bookshop Pages & Co. From the very start I was invested. Who wouldn't want to live in a bookshop? And if, like me, you spend an awful lot of time in bookshops,

What is a bumbershoot? Or a moonbow? And what does it mean when someone absquatulates...?  Test your knowledge with more than 400 words to amaze, confuse and inspire budding wordsmiths (and adults). All of the words featured in this book are difficult to spell, hard to say and their meanings are obscure to most children (and most adults)! The Dictionary of Difficult Words has been on my bookshelf for a while now and is a firm favourite within my classroom. I first saw it on Twitter about 6 months ago, when a flurry of fellow twitter teachers were purchasing and using it in their classrooms. Keen to improve vocabulary in my own classroom and because of my own love of words, it wasn't long until this fantastic book found its way into my hands.  The book is written by Jane Solomon, a lexicographer (the definition is explained within the book of course!) and illustrated beautifully by Louise Lockhart and each page brings an eclectic exuberance of words. Written in alphabetical order, t

Eleven-year-old Mouse is travelling to see his grandparents on Christmas Eve with his mother and two sisters. But it's snowing, visibility is bad and the car goes off the road, and crashes.  Mouse is thrown from the car.  When he wakes, he's not in his world any more. He meets a sheep named Bar, who can only say Baaa, and a sarcastic horse named Nonky, who is a surprising mix of his beloved toy horse and his older sister. So begins a quest to find a castle in a world of wonder - a world of monsters, minstrels, dangerous knights and mysterious wizards; a world of terrifying danger but also more excitement than Mouse has ever known. When I found this book lurking in my local charity bookshop I almost let out an external squeal. I'd just finished reading The Last Wild and loved it, AND this is an excellent condition proof copy, and there's something slightly magical about proof copies.  Piers Torday yet again transports you to a magical, yet believable world