<![CDATA[STORY SHACK

<![CDATA[STORY SHACK - Blog]]>Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:22:36 -0700Weebly<![CDATA["One Tiny Dot-Let Kindness Grow" By Lucy Rowland and Gwen Millward]]>Sat, 21 May 2022 18:04:10 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/one-tiny-dot-let-kindness-grow-by-lucy-rowland-and-gwen-millward

This sweet little blue dot is a must have dot in a must have book in your must have assembly book collection.
It's a really great read for all ages as it appeals to Reception but the drawings and message reach far up to grown ups too.

We've even been asking how we can make the blue dot grow even bigger in school every day.....

]]><![CDATA[Reads to remind us why it's good to be KIND]]>Mon, 25 May 2020 20:25:26 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/reads-to-remind-us-why-its-good-to-be-kind

All we have is to be kind to each other, it's the most important thing in this world. If you can't say something kind don't say anything at all.......
This lovely collection reminds us, in a very touching and 'just right' way that kindness is key so if you haven't already got them in your school add them to your collection from your local bookshop because they really need your support right now.
In 'The Suitcase' by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros a strange animal appears with only a suitcase in his possession-he looks so sad and weary. Three friends come upon the animal and find out how to be kind in the best of ways even though, at the start, they are rather suspicious.

In 'Three by the Sea' by the amazing Mini Grey (Traction Man, Biscuit Bear and Hermelin to name but a few) the cat, the mouse and the dog rub along together in sweet harmony in their home. The dog keeps the garden, the cat does the housework and the mouse does all the cooking...until one day a stranger comes along and turns their world upside down.
See what happens and how the three overcome this intrusion....

Lastly a book with a slightly different theme but nonetheless important, especially at this time. 'When Sadness Comes to Call' by Eva Eland is a really vital book for all of us because it acknowledges that it is normal and ok to feel sad. It is part of our human ness and it offers a different perspective. Instead of immediately worrying about feeling sad and immediately trying to change it it steers us in a different direction.
It's a really lovely way of representing sadness and actually I think it is great for grown ups too.

Really hope you are reading reading reading in these strange times. It's the thing that is keeping me going and I'm trying to finish lots of books I started pre lockdown but I haven't got very far!
I'll tell you more about them later.....in the meantime enjoy the sun and curl up with a book whenever you can-reading is GOOD FOR YOU.

]]><![CDATA[Tell me how you are getting on with your book making]]>Mon, 25 May 2020 09:06:17 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/tell-me-how-you-are-getting-on-with-your-book-makingHello everybody, I hope you are experimenting with book making this half term. Tell me all about what you are putting in your books. I'd love to hear about it.
If you would like to send me some pics

via TWITTER @Storyshacker

email at sarah.gallagher1@btinternet.com

HAPPY BOOK MAKING
]]><![CDATA["Invisible in a Bright Light" by Sally Gardner]]>Sat, 11 Jan 2020 20:34:49 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/invisible-in-a-bright-light-by-sally-gardner

Such a magical, fairytale but with twists, turns, suspense, surprise and HEART.
Sally Gardner weaves her magical writing through the world of theatre (where she her her first career as a designer). This is a beautiful read for 9+ children. I couldn't put it down. This is up there with 'I Coriander' which is one of my favourite books ever ever so that's saying something. Go and get a copy and curl up with a book in this grey 2020 January.

]]><![CDATA[Summery adventures with a book]]>Wed, 07 Aug 2019 09:52:44 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/summery-adventures-with-a-book

August stretches ahead so why not catch up on all those books you've been wanting to read. Here's a selection of old and new above AND you could support your local library and find them in there for the reading challenge. What is there NOT to like when you can get to wonderful worlds, have amazing adventures, see things differently and FEEL for free when you join a library. GO ON AND JOIN UP for adventures for life at
www.suffolklibraries.co.uk/events-activities/summer-holidays/summer-reading-challenge/

]]><![CDATA[Do you have a restless girls at home.....]]>Thu, 20 Dec 2018 18:46:10 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/december-20th-2018

This wonderful book is an ideal Christmas gift for any aged girl-restless or needing to be restless. Indeed I think Jessie Burton's fairytale is a MUST HAVE for every family with girls in it. It's a beautifully told fairytale with the most wonderful illustrations by Angela Barrett. It is thoughtful, subtle, heartening and hopeful for anybody who wants to raise adventurous children. Get a copy - you won't regret it whatever age you are.

]]><![CDATA[Some old, some new-all wondrous reads....]]>Mon, 13 Aug 2018 17:21:33 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/some-old-some-new-all-wondrous-reads

Emma Carroll's 'Secrets of a Sun King' is a great story with interesting, inspiring characters-ones who make you feel something. It's got intrigue, suspense and history in it's whole being. There's really nothing to dislike about this book at all apart from, on a personal level it wasn't out quite in time for a big project on Egypt last term!

It's a really atmospheric read, I would say from 9+, with lots of lots of talking points and a mix of 20th century history and ancient history. The book starts off in post WW1 London but this is very cleverly and subtly intertwined the unfolding events of Howard Carter's discovery AND then a much bigger leap back into time with another layer of story set in Tutankhamun's time. The links between are seamless and the story unfolds with the sights, smells, sounds of London and Egypt so you feel you are there. It's simply an excellent read for the summer whether you know anything about Ancient Egypt or not - I think it will inspire you to want to find out more.......in fact I"m off to read it all again I think as it was just so good I couldn't put it down.

I'm not sure how 'The Snail House' by Allan Ahlberg and Gillian Tyler came to be in Storyshack's possession but it's so sweet and charming I'm not letting it go! Not only is it a lovely sharing book I can see it also being a wonderful teaching resource opening up lots of magical discussions about being small and what the world would look like along with 'The Borrowers', 'The Minpins' and 'Mrs. Pepperpot' amongst others.
The illustrations are really beautiful and in a really natural style so all in all very inspiring for lots of imagining.

]]><![CDATA[Thornhill by Pam Smy]]>Sat, 11 Aug 2018 19:45:34 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/thornhill-by-pam-smy

This is an immensely powerful book which should be on every young adult's book shelf. I leant it one Year 8 who is one of those annoyingly lucky people who are able to read in the car and he read it all the way from Cornwall to Snape. I wouldn't use the word enjoyed to describe the book-it's achingly sad. It draws you in so that it's a compelling and intense experience when you read the book. Don't believe anybody when they say books with illustrations are easier than any other book. It's always really sad when I hear lots of, to be honest mainly grown ups, making comments about graphic novels implying that they're some kind of second best reading experience. They really aren't .....THORNHILL is just one of the many many wonderful graphic novels out there.
It will be at FOLK EAST STORYSHACK if you'd like to have a look.

]]><![CDATA['We need words,' she said. 'Why can't you see that? We can think because we have words. Without them, we won't have memory to look at the past or imagination to glimpse the future. Without words we will be imprisoned in the here and now for ever.']]>Sat, 04 Aug 2018 20:10:36 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/we-need-words-she-said-why-cant-you-see-that-we-can-think-because-we-have-words-without-them-we-wont-have-memory-to-look-at-the-past-or-imagination-to-glimpse-the-future-without-words-we-will-be-imprisoned-in-the-here-and-now-for-ever

What a powerful read. Wow this is very difficult to put down and, although a dystopian setting, is by no means a copy of anything else out there. I don't really want to say too much beacause YOU MUST READ IT. Letta is a wordsmith in training. Her job is fundamental to the whole basis of the 'Ark' - the name of the place where survivors from the 'Melting' live (post Global Warming catastrophe).

The book has some complex ideas and to get the most out of the story and all the implications and hidden meanings I would say 11+.

There's a fight to think for oneself-that's why language is seen as being important and therefore is only 'given out' in small supply. I found that idea both fascinating and horrifying. There is much that resonates today in so many ways. For a book about losing the power of words the opposite is true ....the words here really strike a chord. It's not just dystopian on the surface with no depth-it's a book to really make you think.

I'll leave you with this quote about the leader of the Ark...
'John Noa banned the arts because he didn't want us to be unsettled. He didn't want us to ink for ourselves. He didn't want us to be any different from the sheep in the fields. But we ARE different......'
Yes we are because we can read, create and imagine....PLEASE READ.

]]><![CDATA[3 reading treats as summer reading starters.....]]>Wed, 25 Jul 2018 15:10:27 GMThttps://www.storyshack.org/blog/3-reading-treats-as-summer-reading-starters"Illegals are a plague, and it's my solemn duty to guard the borders of Nevermoor and protect its true citizens from Republic scum trying to weasel their way not the Free Sate'
Jupiter turned serious. 'A noble and valiant cause, I'm sure,' he said quietly. 'Protecting the Fires State from those most in need of its help.' "

'Nevermoor' by Jessica Townsend is a book which has been tempting me for the whole year. I've realised I've had a poster up for it in the classroom for a year too. Finally I opened it a few weeks ago. It's definitely one for Harry Potter fans but it's original so no worries there. There is magic in it, characters you emphasise with and an air of many mysteries. It has some pertinent things to say about how we treat people who are most in need of help....The book also involves some magical umbrellas hence the front cover. A book for 8+, a super holiday and beyond read to get your summer reading started.

'SPORK' by Kyo Maclear and Isabelle Arsenault has been around for a while but I happened to read it in assembly and it completely captivated it's audience-quite rightly too. It's a wonderful story-I didn't think one would feel very moved by a utensil with feelings! It's more than that though-a wonderful story about not quite fitting in anywhere and needing to become OK with yourself. Wonderful how this idea so clearly demonstrates such an important message for everybody. The illustrations are mainly grey wash with a little hint of colour and are very appealing. It's such a sweet little book you must get a copy!

There's not really a lot more to add to Patrick Ness's review on the back of Frances Hardinge's novel 'A skinful of shadows'....'EVERYONE SHOULD READ FRANCES HARDINGE. EVERYONE. RIGHT NOW'
Yes everyone should, probably from about 11+ as there are some situations Makepeace, at the centre of the story, finds herself in that are a little bit scary for maybe younger readers. It's a real page turner, a fairy story set in the time of the Civil War but not a fairy story in disney style in any way. The writing is evocative, you're right there with all the sights, smells and tension and it's a great piece of the history of the time too. I had to pace myself lest I finished it too quickly....yes you should read it 'RIGHT NOW'.

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