Year Two and Year Three- The Conquerors by David McKee

'Marching on' from the previous review, "The Conquerors" is a serious look at the notion of state versus the individual in a child-friendly format. In David McKee's book, a very traditional looking marching army are repeatedly ordered to attack neighbouring territories. After many victories, the army is dispatched to the last unclaimed country. The soldiers find no army waiting for them, and the citizens welcome the soldiers into their midst, offering lodgings, food, and friendship. This acceptance of the foreign culture (much is made of the invaded country having 'different food') annoys the General, who replaces the resident army with a new battalion. The new soldiers again become involved with the local culture, and the General is left with no choice but to miserably return home, having failed to win a famous battle, or conquer the country in style. Elements of life in the invaded country filter back to the land of the army, and McKee keeps the story relevant and open by noting the adoption of the food, clothes, games, and songs as "The spoils of war." As an adult reading this book, much thought and consideration is developed by the simple story. Reflections on the wars, both past and ongoing, that the UK has been involved in are succinctly evaluated in the text. Issues of race and religion are pulled into a simple statement- that we affect each other, and any one culture is dependent on the influence of the cultures surrounding it; McKee makes powerful points in this book- both for children and adult readers alike.


The illustrations in this book are fairly simple; line drawings with pencil colouring that borders on the minimal, except for the bright red tunics and bold blue trousers and hats of the army. Interestingly, closer inspection of the illustrations shows that the pencil colouring often goes 'over the lines'- both an indication of the lack of absolute precision in the plans of the General and a mimicing of children's drawings, perhaps! The text is kept fairly simple, with three or four lines on most pages or double spreads, but a high level of word knowledge is probably needed- words such as General, soldier, paraded, and uniforms will possibly be unrecognised by many children.

This is a fantastic book which works on many levels. The story is enjoyable, and the moral will be lost on few children, providing fantastic opportunities for discussion which can include all ability ranges. From talking about enjoying the story to truly reflecting on the nature of human endeavour, The Conquerors is a powerful book that will enhance any classroom and be appreciated by all who read it.

As ever, click on the pictures to see the pages close-up.

Classroom Books and Year Two readers- Is It Because? by Tony Ross

A great rhyming book today: "Is It Because?" by Tony Ross. Rhyming books are one of those things you either love or hate. Personally, I prefer this type of silly fun rhyming book to most children's poetry, as children always react well to silly rhymes, and perhaps less so to reflective poetic texts. Having said that, the book does pose the question: "Is it because he wees in his bed?", so if you think this sort of book is simply encouraging children to be juvenile, perhaps it's not the book for you. If you like the sound of it, then read on!

Many rhyming books follow little or no storyline. "Is It Because?" seems to follow this tradition, except a final reveal in the text shows that there has been a continuous storyline throughout the rhymes that is only made clear at the end. Ross' rhymes are fun and energetic. He asks the reader: "Is it because of the size of his head?" (below, left), accompanied by an illustration of the main character musing about a boy with an vastly exaggerated head. The giggles resulting from the comical illustrations then explode as the following page uses the previously mentioned line: "Is it because he wees in his bed?" (below, right) along with a fantastically funny illustration of a boy literally afloat in bed, surrounded by a river of "wee". As previously indicated, it's a silly book that will promote much laughter- a strong positive in most classrooms and homes.



The book progresses with equally funny rhyming couplets, all accompanied with ludicrous illustrations that are often literal translations of the text- when the boy asks if it is because he's as thick as a log, then Ross follows up with a picture of a boy with a tree for a head. Good, humorous stuff that most children (and many adults) will laugh out loud at.

Tony Ross is arguably an illustrator first, and a writer second- he lectures in Art in Manchester. His books can be used in art lessons to great effect. He states: "Line is the most important element in my work – the line is the basis of the whole thing." [link]. His illustrations in this work are indicative of this stylistic approach; it really is something for children to think about. By creating strong outlines in his illustrations, Ross provides a different look at line that teachers can adapt for the classroom. Creating strongly defined images seems to be a speciality of Ross, and examining his use of line with a view to mimicking his distinctive style is a different approach to the normal activities used for line under the National Curriculum- 'take a line for a walk', anyone?

Whilst researching Tony Ross online I found a fantastic quote taken from this interview [link]:

"Children need a bit of support because they live in a really weird world. Roald Dahl said they were 'Dwarves in the land of giants …' where everybody’s bigger and everybody tells them what to do, what to eat, and what to wear. They are a pretty oppressed group."

Quite an amusing way of putting it- as equally amusing as this great book.

Classroom Books and Year Three readers- Ouch! by Ragnhild Scamell and Michael Terry

"The Story of the Little Mole Who Knew It Was None of His Business" by Werner Holzworth has inspired many books. "Ouch!"seems to be amongst these titles. Telling an enjoyable story of a hedgehog preparing for hibernation, this book is well-written and easy for young children to follow. Having prepared her winter nest, the hedgehog manages to get an apple stuck on her spines. Seeking the help of a squirrel, a pig, a frog, and a goat, the hedgehog progresses through the story. Michael Terry's illustrations of the anthropomorphic animals lend a real humanity to them; as an adult reader, you can see the potential for an animation series in this book. The story gives an adult reader many opportunities to read in fun voices, meaning that it is a particularly good book for a teacher to read to their class, or a parent to their child.


Ragnhild Scamell showcases a keen turn of phrasing in this book. The epilogue (below) is enveloping and uses language to soothe the child reader/listener. "Hedgehog squeezed into her little nest. It fitted her perfectly. And it was the best nest ever." Read in a quiet voice, this text provides a clever coda to the exciting progression of the story, easing the listener into the resolution, and providing a peaceful conclusion. The picture bares little comparison to a real hedgehog nest- which are usually located under hedgerows, piles of logs, etc, but fits the text well; the idea of 'squeezing' into a 'little nest' is psychologically emotive, and the illustration depicts the scene that most children would picture. A pause for reflection is definitely needed after reading this to your class- or a peaceful passing into sleep if you are reading this to your child. A wonderful book that is superbly paced and supremely enjoyable.

Recommended to Year Three readers as the text is lengthy and fairly complex; also recommended to read to children of all ages.

CLASSROOM EXTRA: Want to see a real hedgehog nest? CLICK HERE for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society page on hedgehog homes.

Reception and Year One readers- Ghost by Luk Depondt and Guido Van Genechten

There's nothing as good as a spooky book for encouraging young readers to delve into reading. Something about ghostly going-ons is naturally exciting for Primary aged children, and this wonderful book provides a fun reading experience.

"Ghost" is beautifully illustrated. The giant pages are full of large, simple cartoons which are amusing and clearly defined. There are so many styles and methods of illustrating picture books, and the paintings used here work well, and will provoke the interest of young readers.

The story is fairly simple- the young ghost tells the reader that 'if he were a ghost he'd...' which provides a good template for creative writing. Each ghostly activity is accompanied by a wonderful painted illustration which helps the reader to form an image of the sentence. This means that the book is very useful in helping children to develop their decoding skills; for instance, "I'd go "Boo" at the kids in the park" is illustrated thus:


With the ghost (and his bat) swooping in from the corner of the page, and the children running off the bottom and far right of the page, the meaning is clear. A less certain reader will be able to understand the meaning of the words from the image, and perhaps even raise a question as to why there is one boy not running away; so, the simple logic to this enjoyable book helps to build reading skills.

This big, colourful, enjoyable book could easily become a firm favourite of any young reader. It's a fine book to read with Reception and Year One classes, as the large pages and pictures mean it's easy to share with a class. Parents may also like this book too, as it's easy and fun to read with a child, and a good pick for a Halloween present.

Above: aaw, cute ghosts!

FREE RESOURCE: Guido Van Genechten has a website with a page of free colouring sheets to download (pdfs), all similar to the style he uses here- CLICK HERE

Year Two readers- Pigs Might Fly by Jonathan Emmett and Steve Cox

It's a fairly common idea for some writers- take a public domain story that is well known and update it in a comical way. "Pigs Might Fly" takes the story of the three little pigs and sets it... in an aviation competition. The front cover proudly proclaims that the book won a Red House Children's Book Award in 2006, an excellent organisation that will happily let schools and libraries borrow the current top 50 books for free (LINK to borrow the books).

The first impressions of the book come from the pupils in a Year Three class I recently worked with. The cover elicited responses of "Ooh, it looks exciting", "I think that will be a good book", and "There's a plane, he's coming to get them!" and a completely positive response from the pupils.

"Pigs Might Fly" is not a pointless reimaging of a traditional tale. Emmett and Cox simply take a well-known story and use laddish humour in an attempt to create a story that will appeal to boys. Indeed, Jonathan Emmett has talked of his desire to create stories for boys that connect to their interest in machines and vehicles, which is certainly a logical pursuit for a modern writer.

The illustrations are superb; bright and clear full colour pages are complimented by text that surrounds the main pictures in a variety of exciting fonts. Emmett's concept of the pigs making their planes from straw, wood, and metal (as the story states, "Whoever heard of an aeroplane made out of bricks?") is clever, and well realised in the illustrations. As for the story, well, you already know what happens in the end, but a Year 3 pupil I read this book with surmised, "Its like another different story anyway. And better."

Whilst "Pigs Might Fly" isn't the most memorable book, it is highly enjoyable and an interesting diversion that may- as Emmet hopes- enthuse some reticent readers. In using a familiar story as the basis for this book, many children will already have some knowledge of the text. The central refrain may have changed to "Let me win, little pig, let me win" but the familiarity maintained will ensure that young readers will have a helping hand in reading the book. For this reason, the book can be recommended to Year 2 readers, who may need some help with the few unfamiliar words in the book such as furious and barrel as well as the names of the pigs. Teachers of Year 3 pupils may want to use this story as the inspiration for writing modern updates of traditional tales- which is often an effective activity when initiated with roleplay.

Welcome to Readup v.2

Hello and welcome. This blog is an extension of www.readup.co.uk, and an attempt to rejuvenate the database format of the old website. Let's start at the beginning....

My name is Mark and I am a qualified Primary School teacher with a background in library work. I started to review children's books a couple of years ago in order to build a database that I could offer to parents looking to find good quality reading books for their children. Learning to read is such an important event in a child's life, and with modern distractions (games consoles, television, the internet) it is becoming harder to encourage children to read. "Why would I want to read a book?" is a cry often heard in schools- a tragic complaint for those of us who enjoy reading ourselves.

The truth is that books are seen by many children as being 'old-fashioned entertainment', and I can relate to this. The interaction and level of intensity offered by my PS3 is truly amazing, literally placing me as a F1 driver or a Ninja in feudal Japan. So perhaps books are simply outmoded? Well, yes, but books still do have something to offer- there are many amazing children's books available that offer a different form of entertainment to the technology that has developed so much in the last twenty years.

The intention of www.readup.co.uk (version 1) was to provide a database of books that I thought children would enjoy reading. If we can help to connect children with books they truly enjoy, then perhaps they will see reading as a useful and fun activity. Kids can love books. In practice, I have had classes squealing with delight when reading such comedy classics as "The Gaskitts" by Alan Ahlberg; quietly suspenseful as we ponder the mysteries in "The Adventures of the Black Hand Gang" by H.J.Press; and in solemn reflection as I whisper the "Night Time Tale" by Ruth Brown. Hopefully this blog will continue the work of www.readup.co.uk (version 1) and help many more parents and teachers to find wonderful books that will encourage reading.

Above: a scan of www.readup.co.uk (version 1)