BOOK OF THE WEEK
20 November 2024
Hello Bookworms!
Did you enjoy my suggestions last week? Here are 2 more wonderful books for you to read, delve in and see what you think … maybe one of these will become your favourite!
If you haven’t looked yet, I have shared a copy of our new Lion Print magazine, under our Further Resources tab. Do take a look as I think you will like some of the stories our younger pupils have written at the beginning of the magazine and give you inspiration for your own writing. There is also some incredible art work from our pupils.
If you’d like some more ideas of great books to read, do check out our Reading List.
The Boy Who Biked the World – Part One – On the Road to Africa by Alastair Humphreys
Tom really wants to be an explorer. His favourite book is an atlas and he follows adventurers not footballers. His schooldays are spent daydreaming about travelling from Tibet to Timbuktu. A private wish blurted out loud started his freewheeling adventure: I’m going to cycle round the world. His classmates laughed. No one believed him, least of all his teacher. The mountains will be too high! The desert is too hot! Everyone shouted their reasons why his dream was impossible. But it was a funny thing, the more that people told him he could not do it, the more Tom found himself wanting to prove them wrong.
Discover Africa by bicycle in book 1 of a delightful children’s adaptation of Alastair Humphrey’s journey around the world. In this charming caricature of Alastair Humphreys’ infamous circumnavigation of the world on his bike, children are swept along with the character of Tom, an adventurous boy who feels there must be more to life than school.
The first part of The Boy Who Biked the World follows Tom leaving England, cycling through Europe and all the way through Africa to the tip of South Africa. Along the way, young readers are introduced not only to the various fascinating landscapes he passes through, but also to the various people who so happily embrace him as he traveled on his journey.
With engaging illustrations, postcards, and journal entries throughout, this book provides an immersive experience for any young adventurer.
‘Enjoyable to read, whatever your age and remains page-turning to the end – a trick missed by much travelogue. The Boy Who Biked The World deserves a place in the stocking of every cyclist who hopes to pass their passion onto their children.’- Tim Dawson (Sunday Times)
‘The Boy Who Biked the World is a fun, educational account of the first stage of Tom s journey round the world, riding the length of Africa’ –Sustrans
‘An enjoyable adventure story packed full of facts…it covering subjects such as geography, religion, languages ’ – Book Zone For Boys
‘If you’ve been around the block a few times and learnt a lesson or two, think what you might have picked up going all the way round the world. That’s what I did. I went round the world. On a bicycle’ – Alastair Humphreys
The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson
Found abandoned in a bear cave as a baby, 12-year old Yanka has always wondered about where she is from. She tries to ignore the strange whispers and looks from the villagers, wishing she was as strong on the inside as she is on the outside. But, when she has to flee her house, looking for answers about who she really is, a journey far beyond one that she ever imagined begins: from icy rivers to smouldering mountains meeting an ever-growing herd of extraordinary friends along the way.
Interwoven with traditional stories of bears, princesses and dragons, Yanka’s journey is a gorgeously lyrical adventure from the best-selling author of The House With Chicken Legs.
Shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2021.
Winner – Indie Book Awards 2020
Winner – Wales Book of the Year 2020
‘Marvellously-drawn characters and a timeless style of prose.’ – BookTrust
‘Charming and wintry, with a flavour of Russian fairy tales’. – The Sunday Times
‘The wildest imaginings have the ring of truth in this spooky fable’. – The Telegraph
‘A great read for more adventurous readers.’ – Carousel Magazine
‘Written with passion and compassion, Anderson’s talent as a weaver of magic and creator of evocative landscapes is growing with every book.’ – Daily Mail
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