June 2024 Welcome to our brand new half-termly reading newsletter! Each half term, we will recommend books from a range of genres and styles. We will also feature a student recommendation from each key stage so please email Mrs C-T or Mrs Bartlett to offer some reading suggestions. We look forward to hearing about your summer holiday books!
Recommended by Mrs Bartlett and PHS Year 7 and 8’s choice for GDST Book Award Safiyyah’s War Historical Adventure Family
Inspired by the true story of how the Grand Mosque of Paris saved the lives of hundreds of Jews during World War II, Hiba Noor Khan weaves a breathtaking tale of suspense, compassion, and courage, starring an extraordinary young heroine readers will never forget. Safiyyah loathes the brutal Nazi occupation of Paris, even though her Muslim identity keeps her safe—or, at least, safer than her Jewish neighbours. Violence lurks in the streets, her best friend has fled, and even her place of refuge—the library—has turned shadowy and confusing, as the invaders fear the power of books. Safiyyah longs to fight back and hates feeling powerless to help her Jewish friends. Worse yet, her father—who taught her to always do the right thing—is acting strangely and doing nothing to help them either. Or is he? Unravelling the mystery of her father’s odd behaviour draws Safiyyah deep in the heart of the perilous underground resistance to the Nazis, where her bravery is put to the ultimate test…
The Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing Shortlist 2024