Teach Primary Issue 18.6

What makes you want to pick up a book and read it? There could be any number of factors – an intriguing title, a familiar author, an eye- catching illustration. But one way to make sure that children turn away from the shelves is if they are confronted with rows and rows of faces that look nothing like them. Children can be taught to read. However, it is the love of reading that really matters when it comes to driving progress and realising potential. Therefore, it’s essential that pupils are presented in their school libraries with a variety of books that reflects the diversity within their community. A significant proportion of the Collins Big Cat catalogue has been designed to highlight and celebrate the experiences of people from a range of ethnic backgrounds. In the wrong hands, this process could be fraught with pitfalls, no matter how good the intentions. However, Collins have taken great care to establish a community of excellent authors and illustrators and sensitively paired them to ensure authenticity. This particular selection of titles, penned by Nadine Cowan, concerns the adventures of Aniyah, EJ and Olivia, the Time-travelling Trio. Whenever they roll a double three or double six on their Ludi board game – an old, family heirloom – they are magicked away to a different period in history. While the basic device of having an object as a time-travelling portal might seem fairly familiar, I did like the diversity that was reflected in the choice of destinations and focal characters. Obviously, the national curriculum has tried over recent years and decades to make primary school history less ‘white’ and it was good to see this reflected in these adventures. For example, The Warrior Queen sees the trio travelling back to the Benin Empire in the early 16th century. No prizes for guessing where The Storm and the Samurai takes them. It was the choice of key characters that really grabbed my attention, though. From royal trumpeters to free divers, to heroes of the Windrush generation, these books are bursting with wonderous stories of genuine figures from history. Best of all, each tale is told in an inspiringly positive way with fascinating historical details whilst still making the narrative resonate with children today. There are handy teaching tips for helping children to get the most from the reading experience. For those of us whose historical knowledge is less than encyclopaedic, there is also a section at the back giving key facts about the people and places featured in each title. Most importantly, though, these are books to enjoy. The stories are appropriately pitched for the age group, charmingly told and nicely illustrated. They would be a very positive addition to any school collection. An inspiring collection of historical adventures with an emphasis on diversity AT A GLANCE ENGL I SH , H I STORY A range of engaging stories that reflects the diversity of our communities. Appealingly and sensitively written and illustrated. Covers a range of reading levels. Features a range of people, places and periods of historical interest. Includes useful teaching tips and historical information. From £7.00 | tinyurl.com/tp-CollinsTrio Enjoyable, well-pitched stories Historically informative Inclusive and representative Understatedly inspirational A positive addition to any school library …you want to foster a more inclusive love of reading by broadening the relatability of your school’s historical fiction collection. VERD I CT UPGRADE I F. . . REVIEWED BY: MIKE DAVIES The Time-travelling Trio 94 | www.teachwire.net RE V I EWS