Read Around the Curriculum | Pembroke School Library

Reading Around the Curriculum

Searching Heritage, the Library catalogue, for a particular topic, will produce a list including fiction, poetry etc on that topic - a great way for pupils to find something good to read on a theme and for staff to broaden pupils' reading experiences and add a different dimension to lessons.

Some ways in which staff might use these suggestions:

read a juicy extract to begin the topic and provoke interest!
'wave and rave' one or two of the books to your pupils, urging them to the Library to borrow a copy for themselves!
include a suitable extract as part of the activities in a lesson
borrow one yourself, read it and then tell the pupils about it
never underestimate the power of leaving a copy lying around on your desk!

Here are just a selection, adapted originally from an initial list provided by Alec Williams, covering a wide variety of agegroups and abilities: (before recommending, check with the Library about suitability)

ART:

BALLIETT, Blue. Chasing Vermeer (compelling 'whodunnit' mystery revolving around the theft of a Vermeer painting)
BALLIETT, Blue. The Wright Three (second in this art mystery series, this time dealing with a coded message left by Frank Lloyd Wright)
BALLIETT, Blue. The Calder Game (third in this series features the work of Alexander Calder)
BOYCE, Frank Cottrell. Framed (art treasures from National Gallery stored in Welsh slate mine village)
BROWNE, Anthony. The Shape Game (drawing/imagination; fun to play!)
BROWNE, Anthony. Willy's Pictures (famous artworks given Anthony Browne treatment)
CHAMBERS, Aidan. Postcards from No-Man's Land (on his journey of self-discovery, Jacob finds echoes of himself in Rembrandt painting)
CHEVALIER, Tracy. Girl with a Pearl Earring (servant girl sits for Vermeer)
HEARN, Julie. Ivy (sits for pre-Raphaelite painter)
REES, Celia. The Wish House (creepy, unsettling read about arty bohemian family and their dark secrets)

CITIZENSHIP/PSE:

ASQUITH, Ros. I Was a Teenage Worrier (teenage concerns)
BELL, Julia. Massive (food obsession, diet, weight)
BERTAGNA, Julie. The Opposite of Chocolate (teenage pregnancy)
BLACKER, Terence. The Angel Factory (paradise syndrome)
BLACKMAN, Malorie. Noughts and Crosses/Knife Edge/Checkmate/Double Cross (racism)
BOWLER, Tim. River Boy (death)
BRESLIN, Theresa. Divided City (football, prejudice, sectarianism)
BURGESS, Melvin. Billy Elliott (peer pressure, stereotyping)
BURGESS, Melvin. Junk (drugs - heroin)
CHOLDENKO, Gennifer. Al Capone Does My Shirts (autism)
DOHERTY, Berlie. Dear Nobody (pregnancy)
DOWNHAM, Jenny. Before I Die (teenager with months to live)
GIBBONS, Alan. Caught in the Crossfire (racism)
GIBBONS, Alan. The Dark Beneath (asylum seekers)
GIBBONS, Alan. The Edge (domestic violence)
HATHORN, Libby. Way Home (homelessness)
HORNBY, Nick. Slam (pregnancy)
KENNEN, Ally. Berserk (teenage boy writing to murderer on Death Row)
LA FLEUR, Suzanne. Love, Aubrey. (young girl coming to terms with father and sister's death in accident; moving novel yet Aubrey's courage makes it also an uplifting read)
LAIRD, Elizabeth. The Garbage King (homelessness in Ethiopia)
LAIRD, Elizabeth. A Little Piece of Ground (Palestinian conflict)
LEVENKRON, Steven. Best Little Girl in the World (anorexia)
LOTT, Tim. Fearless (dystopia)
NICHOLLS, Sally. Ways to Live Forever (12 year-old boy dying of leukaemia)
PETERS, Andrew Fusek & PETERS, Polly. Poems with Attitude (teenage themes and issues)
PETERS, Andrew Fusek & PETERS, Polly. 'Plays with Attitude' series (teenage themes and issues)
ROSEN, Michael. Michael Rosen's Sad Book (death of his son)
RUSHTON, Rosie. Last Seen Wearing Trainers (running away from home)
SATRAPI, Marjane. Persepolis (autobiographical graphic novel set in Iran during Islamic Revolution)
SWINDELLS, Robert. Ruby Tanya (racism)
TAN, Shaun. The Arrival (beautiful wordless picturebook about immigration)
TAN, Shaun. The Red Tree (thought-provoking and beautifully illustrated picturebook about depression)
TRUEMAN, Terry. Stuck in Neutral (cerebral palsy)
VALENZUELA, Ali. Weighing It Up (author's own account of her experience of anorexia)
WESTERFELD, Scott. Uglies, Pretties, Specials, Extras (series which makes reader think about pursuit of beauty and fame)
WILSON, Jacqueline. The Suitcase Kid (about life of young person shunted between parents)
ZEVIN, Gabrielle. Elsewhere (moving, yet at times funny, uplifting story about life after death, where the ageing process runs backwards)

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY:

BRADBURY, Jason. Dot.Robot (high-tech action where computer gaming, mathematical and engineering skills are given the spotlight)
COLFER, Eoin. Artemis Fowl (high-tech gadgets and action aplenty!)
CORMIER, Robert. The Chocolate War (gangs, chocolate sold in school)
DAHL, Roald. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
DAHL, Roald. Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes
HERGE. Red Rackham's Treasure (The Adventures of Tintin)
HUGHES, Ted. The Iron Man (classic story in which metal-munching Iron Man wreaks havoc)
HUNTER, Norman. The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branstawm (funny stories of madcap inventions)
OPPEL, Kenneth. Airborn (airships in alternative Victorian era)
PULLMAN, Philip. Clockwork (chilling Grimm-style fairytale)
REEVE, Philip. Mortal Engines (first in brilliant inventive series)
SELZNICK, Brian. The Invention of Hugo Cabaret (automata)
SHEARER, Alex. Bootleg (Imagine a future where chocolate is banned - or at least officially...)
SHEARER, Alex. Tins (If you like urban myths, you'll love this gross black comedy)
SMITH, Alexander Gordon & WEBB, Jamie. The Inventors (inventions)
WORMS, Penny. Curse of the Were-Rabbit Novelization (inventions)

GEOGRAPHY:

ASHLEY, Bernard. Little Soldier (Africa)
BERTAGNA, Julie. Exodus / Zenith (an imagined future where Britain is drowning as global warming reaches epic proportions)
CROSS, Gillian. Calling a Dead Man (Russia)
ELLIS, Deborah. The Breadwinner / Parvana's Journey / Mud City (Afghanistan under the Taliban)
ELLIS, Deborah. Prison Runner (Bolivia and the drugs trade)
FUNKE, Cornelia. The Thief Lord (Italy)
GARDNER, Sally. The Red Necklace (French Revolution)
GLASS, Linzi. Ruby Red (time of Apartheid)
HEARN, Lian. Across the Nightingale Floor (Feudal Japan)
HOEG, Peter. Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow (murder mystery set in Copenhagen)
HOSSEINI, Khaled. The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns (Afghanistan)
IBBOTSON, Eva. Journey to the River Sea (Amazon, Brazil)
JENKINS, Martin. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver
LAIRD, Elizabeth. The Garbage King (Ethiopia)
MANKELL, Henning / THOMPSON, Laurie (transl). Bridge to the Stars (Sweden)
MORPURGO, Michael. The Wreck of the Zanzibar (Isles of Scilly)
NAIDOO, Beverley. The Other Side of Truth (South Africa)
SEDGWICK, Marcus. Floodland (future vision of Britain flooded and underwater)

HISTORY:

Pre-history:

REEVE, Philip. Here Lies Arthur (retelling of Arthurian legend)

Classical:

GERAS, Adele. Troy
LAWRENCE, Caroline. The Thieves of Ostia (first in the 'Roman Mysteries' series)

Middle Ages:

BRESLIN, Theresa. The Medici Seal (Italy at the time of the Renaissance)

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, Kevin. The Seeing Stone/At the Crossing Places/King of the Middle March (Arthur series)

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, Kevin. Gatty's Tale (set at the time of the Crusades)

LAIRD, Elizabeth. Crusade

ROSE, Malcolm. Kiss of Death (Black Death)

Tudors:

BENNETT, Veronica. Shakespeare's Apprentice

17th Century:

GARDNER, Sally. I, Coriander (Civil War London)
HOOPER, Mary. Petals in the Ashes (Great Fire of London)
HOOPER, Mary. At the Sign of the Sugared Plum (Great Plague)
REES, Celia. Witch Child (young girl accused of witchcraft)

18th Century:

GARDNER, Sally. The Red Necklace (French Revolution)
GAVIN, Jamila. Coram Boy
HEARN, Julie. Follow Me Down (freak shows - Bartholomew Fair in London)

19th Century:

BURNETT, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden [also available - abridged version 'Fast Track Classics']
DICKENS, Charles. A Christmas Carol [also available - abridged version 'Fast Track Classics']
LAIRD, Elizabeth. Secrets of the Fearless (Napoleonic Wars)
MORGAN, Nicola. Fleshmarket (Edinburgh at time of Burke and Hare)
RIORDAN, James. Rebel Cargo (slavery)
WILSON, Jacqueline. The Lottie Project (Victorian serving girl)

20th Century:

FINE, Anne. The Road of Bones (Russian totalitarian state)
HEARN, Julie. Hazel (Suffragettes)
LINGARD, Joan. Across the Barricades (Ireland - Protestant/Catholic troubles)
LINGARD, Joan. Tell the Moon to Come Out (Spanish Civil War)
SEDGWICK, Marcus. Blood Red, Snow White (Russian Revolution)

World War I:

BARKER, Pat. Regeneration
BRESLIN, Theresa. Remembrance
FAULKS, Sebastian. Birdsong
FOREMAN, Michael. War Game
MORPURGO, Michael. Private Peaceful
MORPURGO, Michael. War Horse
NIMMO,Jenny. The Rinaldi Ring
REMARQUE, Erich Maria. All Quiet on the Western Front
SEDGWICK, Marcus. The Foreshadowing

World War II:

BOYNE, John. The Boy in Striped Pyjamas (concentration camps) [DVD also available; Cert 12]
CHAMBERS, Aidan. Postcards from No-Man's Land
ELLIOTT, Laura M. Under a War-Torn Sky
FOREMAN, Michael. War Boy
GLEITZMAN, Morris. Once (Holocaust)
GLEITZMAN, Morris. Then (Holocaust)
HOLM, Ann. I Am David
KERR, Judith. When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
MAGORIAN, Michelle. Goodnight Mr Tom
McEWAN, Ian/INNOCENTI, Roberto. Rose Blanche (concentration camps)
MORPURGO, Michael. The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips (D-Day)
NEMIROVSKY, Irene. Suite Francaise
NEWBERY, Linda. Sisterland (Holocaust/Alzheimer's)
PEET, Mal. Tamar (Dutch Resistance)
PRATCHETT, Terry. Johnny and the Dead
RICHTER, Hans Peter. I Was There
SERRAILLIER, Ian. The Silver Sword
SPIEGELMAN, Art. Maus I / Maus II (sophisticated graphic novel about National Socialism & the Jews)
ZUSAK, Markus. The Book Thief

Exploration:

McCAUGHREAN, Geraldine. The White Darkness (Titus Oates / Antarctica)

ICT/MEDIA:

ANDERSON, M.T. Feed (future in which brains are wired directly into the Internet)
BLACKMAN, Malorie. Hacker
BRADBURY, Jason. Dot.Robot (high-tech action where computer gaming, mathematical and engineering skills are given the spotlight)
GIBBONS, Alan. The Shadow of the Minotaur (computer games and virtual reality)
PRATCHETT, Terry. Moving Pictures (Discworld series)

MATHS:

AGARD, John. Einstein, the Girl Who Hated Maths (poetry on maths theme)
BRADBURY, Jason. Dot.Robot (high-tech action where computer gaming, mathematical and engineering skills are given the spotlight)
FOSTER, John (ed). Word Whirls and other shape poems
HADDON, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
MILLS, Steve & KOLL, Hilary. Counting on Leroy
SCIESZKA, Jon & SMITH, Lane. Maths Curse (poetry)
POSKITT, Kjartan. Murderous Maths series - includes titles such as:

The Essential Arithmetricks
Numbers: The Key to the Universe
The Phantom X
Desperate Measures
The Mean and Vulgar Bits: Fractions and Averages
Do You Feel Lucky? The Secrets of Probability

MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES:

GOSCINNY, Rene & UDERZO, Albert. Asterix series
FILOPOVIC, Zlata. Zlata's Diary (girl growing up in Sarajevo)
FRANK, Anne. The Diary of Anne Frank
FUNKE, Cornelia. Inkheart ('Tintenherz' in original German)
GUENE, Faiza. Just Like Tomorrow (Parisian setting)

MUSIC:

BOWLER, Tim. Starseeker
CROSS, Gillian. Chartbreak
FUNKE, Cornelia. The Thief Lord
GAVIN, Jamila. Coram Boy
HORNBY,. Nick. High Fidelity
NICHOLSON, William. The Wind Singer (Wind on Fire trilogy)
RIORDAN, James. Sweet Clarinet (Second World War)

PE / SPORT:

AHLBERG, Allan. Friendly Matches (football poems)
ARKSEY, Neil. Playing on the Edge (future where world dominated by football)
BURGESS, Melvin. Billy Elliott
CHILDS, Rob. Soccer series
DHAMI, Narinder. Bend it Like Beckham (football)
FORDE, Catherine. Fat Boy Swim (swimming, obesity, bullying)
FOSTER, John. Football Fever (football poems)
FREEDMAN, Dan. The Kick-Off (and others in the Jamie Johnson series)
GIBBONS, Alan. Julie and Me...and Michael Owen Makes Three
GOWAR, Mick. Sir Gawain and the Rugby Sevens (bitesize read on rugby theme)
HARDCASTLE, Michael. Hit It... (Graffix)
HORNBY, Nick. Fever Pitch (football)
ORME, David. 'Ere We Go! (football poems)
PALMER, Tom. Foul Play/Dead Ball (detective series with football background)
PEET, Mal. Keeper (football, South America)
PEET, Mal. The Penalty (football, South America)
RAI, Bali. Soccer Squad series

RE:

ABDEL-FATTAH, Randa. Does My Head Look Big In This?
ABDEL-FATTAH, Randa. Ten Things I Hate About Me
ALBOM, Mitch. Five People You Meet in Heaven
ALMOND, David. Clay
ATWOOD, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale
BLACKMAN, Malorie. Noughts and Crosses
McCAUGHREAN, Geraldine. Not the End of the World (story of Noah after the Ark)
NEWBERY, Linda. The Shell House (faith)
PULLMAN, Philip. His Dark Materials trilogy
RAI, Bali. (Un)arranged Marriage
SWINDELLS, Robert. Abomination (religious cults and intolerance)
TAYLOR, G.P. Shadowmancer
ZEPHANIAH, Benjamin. Refugee Boy

SCIENCE:

AGARD, John. Hello H2O (poetry on science theme)

ALLAN, Nicholas. Where Willy Went (fun picturebook which will be a sure-fire hit!)

BARLOW, Steve and SKIDMORE, Steve. Vernon Bright and the Magnetic Banana (and others in the Vernon Bright series) (Science experiments with Vernon have a knack of getting out of hand! Fun reading guaranteed!) [now available to download as interactive e-books for i-Pod Touch and i-Phone]

BLACKMAN, Malorie. ANTIDOTE (ethics of animal testing)

BROOKS, Kevin. Being (medicine)

BROWN, Dan. Angels and Demons (conflict between religion and science)

COLE, Babette. Hair in Funny Places (funny picturebook)

CRICHTON, Michael. Jurassic Park (and others)

DAVIES, Nicola. Bat Loves the Night (information book which reads beautifully)

DAVIES, Nicola. Big Blue Whale (information book which reads beautifully)

DAVIES, Nicola. One Tiny Turtle (information book which reads beautifully)

HAWKING, Lucy & Stephen. George's Secret Key to the Universe (space & physics)

LEWIS, Anne. The Ship That Fell Like a Star

MORGAN, Nicola. Fleshmarket (history of medicine)

ORME, David. Boffin Boy series (comic strip style for 8-14 year olds with reading age of 6-8)

PATTERSON, James. Maximum Ride series (young people with extraordinary powers caused by genetic experimentation)

PFEFFER, Susan. Life as we knew it (asteroid's imminent collison with the moon causes irrevocable changes to life; life becomes a struggle for survival)

PFEFFER, Susan. The Dead and the Gone (story of survival and faith after global disaster strikes)

PULLMAN, Philip. Northern Lights (& The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass) (physics)

SHEARER, Alex. The Speed of the Dark

STEWART, Paul & RIDDELL, Chris. Stormchaser (second in fantasy adventure series involving questions of physics and environmental parallels)

ROSE, Malcolm. Final Lap / Blood Brother (& others in Luke Harding series) (forensic science)

ROSE, Malcolm. Scene of the Crime (murder mystery where the reader becomes the forensic investigator, solving the clues)

SCIESZKA, Jon & SMITH, Lane. Science Verse (poetry)

THOMPSON, Kate. The Alchemist's Apprentice (alchemy)

UPDALE, Eleanor. Montmorency series (scientific experiments)

WINTERSON, Jeanette. Tanglewreck (black holes, physics)

WELSH:

BOYCE, Frank Cottrell. Framed (art treasures from National Gallery stored in Welsh slate mine village)

COOPER, Susan. The Grey King (The Dark is Rising: 4)

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, Kevin. Arthur: The Seeing Stone / Arthur: At the Crossing Places / Arthur: King of the Middle March

CROSSLEY-HOLLAND, Kevin. Gatty's Tale

HARLEY, Rex. Now That I've Found You (set in Cardiff)

MAGORIAN, Michelle. Goodnight Mr Tom

REES, Celia. The Wish House

TUCKER, Mike. The Nightmare of Black Island (Doctor Who: 10)

There is a collection of Welsh folktales and myths and legends too - the Mabinogion, Arthurian legends and Beddgelert, for example.