What’s for Dinner, Mr Gum? – Andy Stanton

What’s for Dinner Mr Gum? is the 6th in the series by Andy Stanton and it’s full of the usual nonsense, adventure and wordplay. This one includes and random chapter from a different book (funny), a missing chapter that you can go online to find (not so funny) and a bonus story at the end about what Jake the dog had been up to the whole time and why he wasn’t in the story.

As usual the story centres around something awful that Mr Gum and Billy William are up to and how Polly and her friends save the day. This time though, Mr Gum and Billy are at way with each other and Polly’s gang have to find a way to intervene and bring peace back to Lamonic Bibber.

As ever, love saves the day, and love comes in the form of Thora Gruntwinkle. The pin-up butcher from Olde London Town. Although, the path to true love didn’t quite go as the heroes had planned, we still ended up with a positive resolution.

It’s another very funny book from Andy Stanton which included many laugh out loud moments. He’s written loads of funny books and I talk about loads of them in this blog post from a few years ago.

Tom, age 11, says: “I really liked the book and my favourite bit was when Friday said, ‘cropper in the flopper.’ I’m not sure why, but it did make me laugh a lot. The Mr Flamingo chapter that was accidentally printed in the book by mistake was also very funny.”

Bella, age 9, says: “My favourite character was Philip the Horror, CHATTER CHATTER CHEE!”

Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…

Kensuke’s Kingdom – Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo is one of this country’s most famous, respected and prolific authors and Kensuke’s Kingdom is one of his most well-known books that regularly features on junior school reading lists.

It’s an epic adventure of a boy (Michael) and his dog (Stella Artois) who wash up on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean following an accident on the boat he was sailing with his parents.

It’s a fantastic premise for a story and this island setting has been seen many times before in some of the greatest novels ever written – Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, even Peter Pan. The reader gets to image how they would survive (and, if indeed, they think they might) in such a place with none of the comforts of modern life and without the support of their family.

If you are doing an Explorers and Survivors topic in KS2, it a great story to contrast with a non-fiction book, such as Ernest Shackleton’s adventures in the Antarctic. It’s also not too long, which is always helpful for a class text.

Tom, age 11, says: “I really like the book because it was a fun, exciting adventure. I think it might be fun to be on a deserted island because I quite like being on my own. Then again, I’m not sure how I’d get food and water. I’d have to go and scavenge around for food and I wouldn’t know where to look. It would probably just hurt my legs a lot and I wouldn’t like that.

I think the saddest part of the story was when Michael left the island. I understand why he had to go and be with his family, but it must have been hard to leave Kensuke.

Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…

Striking Out

Striking Out – Ian Wright and Musa Okwonga

Full disclosure, the boy and I are both massive Arsenal fans so we were probably always going to feel favourably about a book co-written by Ian Wright. I idolised Wrighty when he played for Arsenal in the 90s but I tried not to let that inform my opinions of the book too much.

The story centres around Jerome Jackson, a 13-year-old boy with an exceptional talent for football and a dream to make it to the very top. Jerome doesn’t have the easiest life and is struggling to get noticed for the right reasons until a chance encounter with Ian Wright sets him on a path to future stardom. It’s not all plain sailing for Jerome, but his mum, Wrighty and other members of his community are there to support him when he needs it most.

As a kids book about football it’s very good. The action described on the on the pitch is exciting and believable and the coaching advise that Jerome (the main character) is given is insightful and genuinely useful. Despite his faults, the reader really wants Jerome to do well as he progresses along his footballing journey.

However, Striking Out is much more that just a kids book about football. The story also addresses some substantial issues in a child-friendly way that opens the door for important conversations at home or at school. Domestic violence, racism, bereavement and peer pressure are among that issues raised in Striking Out which led some great conversations with my son.

Music also plays a key role in the book. Ian’s frequent cameos in the story often come with a musical recommendation for Jerome and the reader. Personally I’ve recently discover the music of Kirk Franklin and I Smile has become a singing assembly song, thanks to this book.

Tom, age 10, says: “This is different to other books I’ve read because it’s about a boy who has a very different life to me and about how hard it is for him. It’s interesting because it’s about Jerome’s journey to become a footballer and how he’s seen by scouts and seen as having potential. I like the way they describe the football in particular. I liked it when Ian first saw Jerome score a goal at Hackney Marshes and another favourite part was when he got accepted into St Joseph’s.”

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Dead Good Detectives – Jenny McLachlan

Sid and her best friend, Zen, love to play spooky games in the graveyard of their small, coastal village. One stormy night Sid inadvertently frees a 300 year old pirate ghost from a mysterious Halfway House. The story that unfolds is how Sid and Zen help Captain Bones and his crew find their treasure so they can cross over to the other side.

Parallels to McLachlan’s previous series, The Land of Roar, were clear to me. Both stories are exciting adventures with unpredictable twists and turns along the way. Sid reminds me of Arthur, as both were the unassuming heroes of their stories who displayed bravery they probably didn’t really feel they would have been capable of beforehand. Zen reminded me of Win, the carefree loyal sidekick. But above all, McLachlan writes a great baddie. In both series the villains are revealed slowly over the book and the suggestion of them alone, strikes fear into the band of characters working against them.

Tom, age 10, says: “I like Jenny McLachlan books because they always have a good mystery. This time I liked the theme of mystery and history. My favourite character is Zen because he’s funny and silly and doesn’t really care what people think about him. I really liked Elizabeth too, because she’s funny.

Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…