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Sita Brahmachari won the Waterstones Children's Book Prize with her debut Artichoke Hearts and is one of the most interesting and important voices in children's books today. Her latest novel, Tender Earth was awarded an honour by the International Board of Books for Young People. She was the 2015 Booktrust's Writer in Residence and is the current Writer in Residence at Islington Centre for Refugees and Migrants. Sita is also an Amnesty International ambassador. She lives in London with her family.
Photo credit Martin Levenson
Hurricane Chronos has devasted the world and now Freedom Fields is the organisation in charge of feeding people – by running farms where children are working as pollinators – as long as you ‘opt in’. Children graduate from basic school to then be separated from everything they know, to go to one of the Freedom Farms – but at least Shifa and brother Themba are together. This striking fiction looks at family, at the will to survive and how people adapt and fight back against cruel, dictatorships. The story is totally engrossing, dealing as it does with so many contemporary themes in a compelling storyline. Re-wilding is a theme running throughout the book – a strong message for all. The power of love and family keep everyone on track – and they need it as they deal with such devastating cruelty but also finding help and love in unexpected places. This book is an amazing adventure story blended with powerful personal voices – a tour de force by Sita Bramacharia.
Longlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | Everything is new to Isla and her parents when they make a new start on the Orkney islands. The grief of the death of her brother follows Isla, but the coming together of her own story with Celtic tales helps to create a new beginning. This is a compassionate book much enhanced by sensitive illustration. Deceptively simple-seeming, it has something to say at many levels.
February 2018 Book of the Month | The story of a young man and the special relationship he forms with the lollipop man who once saved his life, Zebra Crossing Soul Song is an original and touching coming of age story, full of insight and set to a playlist of songs that will have all readers swaying in time to its music. Lenny is eighteen and resitting his psychology A level; revising episodic memory sets him thinking about his friend Otis, and how their conversations over the years at Otis’s zebra crossing have left ideas and music imprinted on his mind, more indelibly even than those black and white marks on the road. It’s a relationship strong enough to endure through the different pressures on both of them. Scattered with song lyrics, and seeded with truths, this memorable and absorbing story moved me to tears. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 13+
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 | This book has a dyslexia-friendly layout, typeface and paperstock so that even more readers can enjoy it. It has been edited to a reading age of 8. It features a removable ‘super-readable’ sticker. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+
A Julia Eccleshare Pick of the Month June 2017 A sharply observed and warm-hearted story about change and transition in adolescence, Tender Earth also carries a powerful message to all young readers about tolerance, integration and the need to stand up for what you believe in. Moving to secondary school coincides with big changes at home and Leila finds herself struggling with all the differences she now faces. Her best friend is striking out on her own; her new friend has secrets which Leila doesn’t know how to unlock. When Leila discovers her grandmother’s ‘Protest Book’, a listing of all the protests she attended, Leila decides it is time for her to get her own voice heard. Leila’s coming of age experiences intelligently reflect today’s society while her gradual realisation of her own opportunities will inspire others. ~ Julia Eccleshare Julia Eccleshare's Picks of the Month for June 2017 Aubrey and the Terrible Ladybirds by Horatio Clare Adventures of John Blake, The: Mystery of the Ghost Ship by Philip Pullman Axel Scheffler's Flip Flap Ocean by Axel Scheffler Maisy Goes to the Bookshop by Lucy Cousins Tender Earth by Sita Brahmachari Old Hat by Emily Gravett The Cow Who Fell to Earth by Nadia Shireen
Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2011 | A welter of emotions engulf Mira in this touching pre-teen story about secrets and how to keep them and share them. Strongly set in a busy family, Mira’s life is full of the ups and downs of family, friends and school; most particularly there is sadness in knowing that her beloved grandmother is dying and happiness as her interest in a mysterious boy in her class blossoms. Mira tells her story with appealing directness.
This is a novel that really pulls at the heart strings and is beautifully told. It is the second breathtaking novel from the winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. For Mira on her first visit to India to stay with her aunt and cousin she experiences first love in a familiar and yet unfamiliar country but she also discovers something about her family that could have consequences to all around her as well as those back at home in England.
Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8 Sita Brahmachari writes about family lives and family relationships with real sensitivity and insight. Hudson, the teen narrator of her new novel, is well aware of his own tendency to misunderstand or misread what others are saying, so the moment when he and his dad suddenly connect with one another is particularly powerful. That it takes place in a car wash only makes it more convincing. Hudson’s dad explains how much he loved going through the car wash with his own father as a child, and how the cloud of soapy bubbles felt like a kind of heaven. Though there’s lots going on in Hudson’s life, and indeed head, his story is, as publisher Barrington Stoke says, super readable, with design and writing as clear as can be. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 12+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Books of the Year 2014 - October 2014 Book of the Month Award-winning Sita Brahmachari has a great gift of understanding for the confusions and loneliness of adoloescents and their need to be gently nurtured and cherished. Three young people are trying to find a way of making sense of their confusing and chaotic lives. Aisha struggles when her beloved foster mother suggests that she might meet a family who could adopt her; Zak longs for the time before his parents’ divorce; Iona yearns for a life that is better than living on the streets. When their lives become intertwined by chance in an ancient woodland they are all strengthened by each other and by the strange magic of the place. Endorsed by Amnesty International.
Interest Age Teen Reading Age 8+ A warm and funny novel that girls in particular who lack confidence will resonate with. Abi is not looking forward to her work experience week at a care home, particularly when she's just had braces put on her teeth and feels even more self-conscious than usual. But as the week goes on Abi finds friends in the residents and before long she is helping them grow old disgracefully and to her surprise giving herself some confidence too. Sita is the bestselling author of the award winning novel, Artichoke Hearts. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 12+
This is a novel that really pulls at the heart strings and is beautifully told. It is the second breathtaking novel from the winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. For Mira on her first visit to India to stay with her aunt and cousin she experiences first love in a familiar and yet unfamiliar country but she also discovers something about her family that could have consequences to all around her as well as those back at home in England.
Selected by a distinguished independent panel of experts including our editorial expert, Julia Eccleshare, for Diverse Voices - 50 of the best Children's Books celebrating cultural diversity in the UK. Winner of the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2011. A welter of emotions engulf Mira in this touching pre-teen story about secrets and how to keep them and share them. Strongly set in a busy family, Mira’s life is full of the ups and downs of family, friends and school; most particularly there is sadness in knowing that her beloved grandmother is dying and happiness as her interest in a mysterious boy in her class blossoms. Mira tells her story with appealing directness. ~ Julia Eccleshare
