Owen and the Soldier by Lisa Thompson

As with her first novels – The Light Jar and The Goldfish Boy – Lisa Thompson places her characters in the real world to face real problems. This talent makes her books engaging and easy to relate to.

Owen and the Solider is a story about humans and how an absence of certain people in our lives makes a huge difference.  Owen is a young boy whose dad isn’t around and his mum isn’t coping.  To escape Owen visits the park and sits with the crumbling statue of a WWI soldier who becomes his sounding board.

What Lisa Thompson always does so well is throw ordinary challenges at characters that are made harder due to how their home life is.  Owen is no different as his new, trendy  teacher wants him to write and read a poem at a library opening.  To many this may seem simple, but to Owen sharing his voice and his worries when he feels he ultimately won’t be listened to has a lasting impact.  Twists and turns keeps a reader gripped while revealing more about Owen.

Now for the teacher bit.  I have to admit having never heard of the publisher Barrington Stoke and how they approach their towards providing all readers with books that are ideal for children who struggle to read yet yearn to be a reader. Selecting authors that fill the bookbags of peers and to have them create shorter, more readable texts that would aid SEND and reluctant readers makes them a must-know publisher. As for using the text to explore the wider curriculum, every town has a statue to remember our fallen soldiers (above is the amazing ‘Tommy’ in Seaham) so it places art and history at the centre of the story.

For more from this publisher – https://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/