I nearly didn’t write this post because there isn’t really anything that hasn’t been said about this book, so I’ll keep it brief.
Holes is a classic. Far more significant people than me have loved and recommended Holes, not least Malorie Blackman (on the cover) and Phil Earle (who wrote the forward for this edition). However, for what it’s worth, I am offering my – admittedly, very late to the party – thoughts.
If it’s possible to have a ‘hot take’ on such a widely adored book, mine is this…it reminds me of Catch-22. Both deal with dark subject matter with great humour. Both jump forwards and backwards in the timeline of their stories. Both are exceptional examples of the written word and are to be considered classic works of literary art.
Holes is magnificent and is well worth a read, regardless of your age. As mentioned in the forward by Phil Earle, ‘It tackles themes so meaty that Shakespeare would be jealous: crime, punishment, curses, revenge, retribution, redemption…the list could go on and on.’
If you fancy checking out some other books written for Key Stage 2 children (but enjoyed by all) check out the page linked below.
The Horne Section are a comedy band led by the comedian Alex Horne. While their songs are funny, their music is also technically very good and that balance carries on in this book. Make Some Noise is written with an accessible, humorous tone but the content is also very informative, well researched and a perfect introduction to the world of music for children of about 7+.
Make Some Noise tells the young readers all they need to know (and more) as they begin their musical journey of discovery. Instruments, notation, genre and musical terms are all explained in (child-friendly) detail to give the reader a foundation in music history and theory before setting them off to become musicians and songwriters themselves.
The chapter about genres was a particular favourite for us. The history of many musical genres are explain and then a recommend playlist is included at the end of each section. We asked our smart speaker to play each piece of music and then talked about it. My 11-year-old probably won’t be returning to Thomas Tallis’ ‘Spem in Alium’, which he described as ‘creepy’, but it was a great way for him to explore and discover a great range of music and artists.
I would recommend Make Some Noise to primary school music teachers or teachers who want to improve their subject knowledge, it’s genuinely useful. Last week I was talking to a colleague about ‘pitch’ and I found the best way to explain it to her was sharing a couple of pages from this book so she could explain it simply to her class.
As well as being packed with genuinely useful and interest musical content there are also many laughs to be had. Most of the chapters end with a Taskmaster style task and all of the chapters contain lies that the reader has to look out for along the way. These are revealed at the end of each chapter and our favourites were about the dangers of playing a harp in Wales and finding out about the weasel and the woodpecker. There is also a section about farting musically, so it’s pretty highbrow stuff at times.
This book is great for all of the aspiring young musicians in your life. So if you have a young musician in your life, enhance their musical life with a copy of Make Some Noise.
Tom, age 11, says: “I enjoyed the tasks at the end of every chapter although some were silly and a bit hard. I still haven’t managed to shout ‘MUSIC’ every time I hear music for a whole day. In every chapter there are a few silly lies which are funny, you have to guess what the lies are and on the last page of each chapter you get to find out if you were right.”
Bella, age 8, says: “The Horne Section do a very funny song about peas and I love it.”
Discover more brilliant books for Key Stage 2 children below…