Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Britain by Graham Jones and Neil Parkinson
| Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Britain by Graham Jones and Neil Parkinson | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A finely-balanced story about the Battle of Britain which teaches but doesn't preach or glorify. Kids will love it. Highly recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 40 | Date: November 2013 |
| Publisher: GroBags Books | |
| ISBN: 978-0992636500 | |
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Toby lives in an unremarkable village and goes to an unremarkable school - just like millions of other boys - but he has a secret. We're told it's humongous and I think that's right. You see, Toby has (wait for it...) two brother, a Mum and a Dad, a Nanma, two dogs, three fish and two rabbits as well as...
... a time machine that looks just like a sports car.
Take your time having a good look at this car, because it's special. Study the dashboard and get a feel for how it works, take note of the personalised number plate and spot the Leap Year tyres (let me leave that one with you to think about).
Now how cool is that? There's even a double-page spread later in the book with all the specifications for the car - perfect for the budding inventor.
Toby's brothers (one large, one small) know the secret of the car, but no one else does and today they've got an adventure planned: they're going to visit the Battle of Britain. Take another good look at the car now that it's ready for flight - and then it's in the air (as all young brothers do, Toby's little brother wants to know if we're there yet) and it's not long before we're on the edge of the White Cliffs of Dover. In moments the trio (well, actually there are four of them as one of the rabbits came too) are under attack from a Stuka bomber.
Introducing the topic of war to children is always difficult. You don't want to glorify war, but nor do you want to underestimate the sacrifices which were made by people who lived through the war years. You don't want to demonise the people we fought - they're our allies now - but children must learn about our history if we're to stop it being repeated. Graham Jones does a superb job. We see an attack, then Toby alerts Bomber Command and we see the planes take off from Biggin Hill and get involved in a dog fight. The peril of the situation is obvious but there's nothing too graphic that's going to keep kids awake at night. You might think it's a little simplistic but at the back of the book there's a double-page spread of facts about the Battle of Britain, which can be introduced when a child is ready for more information.
The story is superb - as are Neil Parkinson's illustrations, and it's largely because of them that this book is going to be one which is read over and over again. There's something new to be seen even after several readings - I've just spotted the mouse peeping out through a hole in the skirting board and I've read the book five or six times. There's plenty for children to engage with, but adults aren't going to find sharing this book with a child any problem either as there's plenty to interest even someone who only narrowly missed being there at the time and grew up on the stories. It's superb stuff: educational without appearing to be so and interesting.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
Children of about six to nine will also appreciate Billy the Kid by Michael Morpurgo. everyone should read Refuge by Anne Booth and Sam Usher.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Britain by Graham Jones and Neil Parkinson at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Time Travelling Toby and the Battle of Britain by Graham Jones and Neil Parkinson at Amazon.com.
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