Our new Book of the Month is Rain before Rainbows by Smriti Halls. 

This is a tale about a girl and her companion fox who travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow. A book with immense hope at its heart, this is a positive message for anyone who's ever gone through a tough time.

The theme of this book ties in really well to this half-term's core value of resilience. 

January/February 2024

Our new Book of the Month is The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.

The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse is a graphic novel that tells the story of a boy who discovers three new animal friends as he journeys through the countryside on a spring day. Accompanied by exquisite artwork, the novel explores some of the important stuff of life: self-acceptance, courage, friendship, love and kindness. 

This wonderful tale lends itself perfectly to this first half-term's core value of kindness.  

Our new book of the Month is Ada Twist, Scientist. 

Ada Marie is a curious child. Saying nothing until the age of three, she suddenly starts asking her parents, 'Why?' 'What?' 'How?' and 'When?' at every available opportunity.

As Ada grows up, her curiosity wreaks havoc at school, but she has all the traits of a great scientist. One day, there is a terrible stink, and Ada must form and test a hypothesis about what might be causing it - which leads to a stint in the Thinking Chair…

We have chosen this book because it is a celebration of a girl who has endless potential and buckets full of talent. This half term, our core value is 'We are Talented' through which we are delving into children's obvious and more-hidden talents.  

Our new Book of the Month is the heart-stopping adventure Two Sisters: A Story of Freedom. Based on real historical events, Kereen Getten takes readers on a journey of sisterhood, struggle and survival from Jamaica to Britain.

When Ruth and Anna are shipped off to Master John’s home in London for their safety, it isn’t the haven they imagined. Their differences force them apart – Anna is allowed to stay upstairs while Ruth is banished to the servants’ quarters and forced to work. Will Anna find the courage to stand up for Ruth before it’s too late?

We have chosen this book because it is perfect for teaching children about inclusivity and diversity; a great way to promote this half-term's core value: We are accepting of diversity. 

To kick-start 2023, we have chosen 'Genius! The Most Astonishing Inventions of All Time', written by Deborah Kespert, as our new Book of the Month. In assemblies this half term, children will be learning about how inventors changed the world through their perseverance and creativity. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are resilient', we have chosen a book to inspire the children, and harness their creativity and resilience as they begin their own Design and Technology projects in school. 

January/February 2023

Our new book of the month for Autumn 2 is 'Splash' written by Charli Howard. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are safe', we have chosen a story which deals with the theme of bullying. 

November/December 2022

Our new book of the month for Autumn 1 is 'The Butterfly Lion' written by Michael Morpurgo. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are kind', we have chosen a story about friendship, compassion and the importance of kindness. 

September/October 2022

Our new book of the month for Summer 2 is 'Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths' written by Maisie Chan. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are talented', we have chosen a book which highlights how different everybody's talents are; some people are not what they seem! 

June/July 2022

Our new book of the month for Summer 1 is 'Respect: The Walter Tull Story' written by Michaela Morgan. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are respectful', we have chosen a book which encapsulates the struggles some people face to gain respect in a world which is not always fair. We think this is such an important message for our children to learn. 

For more great recommendations for books themed around respect and black history, click on the following link: 

Black Lives & Black History Children's Books | BooksForTopics

April/May 2022

Our new book of the month for Spring 2 is 'Wonder' written by R.J. Palacio. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can enjoy the book with your child. As our core value this half term is, 'We are accepting of diversity', we thought the book would really help our children to understand what it means to be accepting of others, particularly those who are different to us. 

For more great recommendations for books themed around diversity, click on the link below...

Booklists: Diverse and Inclusive Books for Primary Schools (booksfortopics.com) 

Our new book of the month for Spring 1 is 'Flying Fergus: The Best Birthday Bike' written by Sir Chris Hoy. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. You might decide to buy the book for home so that you can follow Fergus on his journey to making the Racing Team. As our core value this half term is, 'We are resilient', we thought the book was ideal! 

For more great recommendations for books themed around overcoming challenges, click on the link below...

Books about Children Overcoming Challenges | Best Children's Books | Booksfortopics 

Our new book of the month for Autumn 2 is 'Hope Jones Saves the World' by Josh Lacey. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. Keeping our world safe links directly to our core value for this half term, 'We are SAFE'. 

Our new book of the month for Autumn 1 is 'The Boy at the Back of the Class' by Onjali Q Rauf. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book. Reflecting on this half term's core value of 'We are KIND', the children will identify with the characters' actions and how kindness plays such a big role in the story. 

At Flushdyke, we are passionate about books and reading! Our book of the month is 'The Night Bus Hero' by Onjali Q Rauf. In assemblies this half term, the children will be listening to parts of the story and discussing the characters, plot, language and key messages to take away from the book.