Letters from the Lighthouse: ‘THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION’ Guardian: 1

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Along with her younger brother, Cliff, Olive is evacuated to the Devonshire town of Budmouth Point with no answer as to what happened to her older sister. This book breaks away from the usual hero’s journey; I would usually expect to see the main characters go through a great deal of change, whilst the supplementary characters remain largely static. The characters and their rapport are genuine and gently handled, painted with a full sense of each of every person so that the reader really knows who they are. The book has sold over 130,000 copies worldwide and has been translated into multiple languages including French, German, Spanish and Italian.

This asymmetric character structure gives the story room to delve into the deep-rooted prejudices often faced by refugees, as seen through the eyes of open-minded children. The story might tread similar territory to other books set around this time, but I feel it’s important to continue to teach youngsters about this bleak period. These paint a grim picture of the war, but remain suitable for younger children and should not cause any problems for your class.I thought the book showed the history of the war very well but I think it is more suitable for older children because as we know the war was a difficult time and a lot of people died. While in Devon, Olive begins to unravel the mystery and finds out that her sister is more connected to Devon than she realized.

If your middle grade kids (ages 8-12) haven't discovered Emma Carroll yet, then they're missing out.

After months of air raid bombings in London, Olive and Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast for their safety. Writing: English year 6: Pupils should be taught to describe settings, characters and atmosphere, integrating dialogue to convey character and advance the action. I get impatient waiting for my daughter to finish the books so I can read them, and she gets impatient waiting for me to finish so she can talk about them.

By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. For this guided reading task you will need to read chapter 16 – Hitler Will Send No Warning from Letters from the Lighthouse with your Year 5 / Year 6 class.

In the year before the start of World War Two, 10,000 children fled Hitler’s Germany to the safety of the UK. It's clear however, that some of the residents in the village have some deep secrets which, if revealed to the authorities could turn nasty for them all. By shining a spotlight on supplementary characters’ preconceptions and showing their progression towards change and acceptance, my class were able to connect with the injustices faced by refugees, both in the past and the present, on a far deeper level. The thing that touched me most within this wonderful novel was the opportunity to hear the stories behind all those effected by war along with the refugees and the impact they had on the locals.