Pandora: The instant no.1 Sunday Times bestseller

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I loved the fact that I couldn’t decide whether or not there was a touch of magical realism to this book. Much like The Essex Serpent, it straddles that divide in such a way that you’re never entirely certain. Though, in this case, I’m leaning strongly in the direction of there being just a touch of the supernatural housed within the story. Especially when it comes to the pithos itself. It’s beautiful and somehow disturbing in its perfection, magnetic and repellant. I loved the undercurrent of similarities between Dora and her Grecian namesake. And the identity hinted at for one particular side character near the end of novel was a very fun touch. Meanwhile, Edward Lawrence is a bookbinder with a passion for material culture, determined to overcome his less than privileged upbringing to gain acceptance into the prestigious Society for Antiquaries. In a coffee house one afternoon, he is approached by a mysterious old man who directs him to Blake's Emporium to speak to Dora, explaining that she might be able to help him in his endeavours. The table below displays each book band level and their equivalent reading age. Most children will work through the levels during the year, so for example, in most schools, a reception child, working at expected levels would end the year on yellow. As far as the ending goes, that was rather less polished. Some things happen fairly randomly and others were not clearly explained, giving a minor impression that the author was making some of it up as she went along. There were some good twists and revelations along the way, but one or two others did not feel quite right in the context of the story. I also love books with a central female character who doesn’t bow down to men & stays focused on bettering herself against the odds, especially in a time when women were expected to do as they were told! Again, Pandora lives up to my expectations in this regard. I was hugely invested in Dora’s story & was intrigued to discover the truth behind her uncle’s underhand dealings.

This was pretty intriguing for me and nicely finished up the threads of the storyline till the end. I am recommending it. All books are matched perfectly to the Little Wandle progression and support all the Letters and Sounds phases. The book bands philosophy has not changed and at its heart is the opportunity it gives schools to use a mix of reading scheme and ‘real’ books from a range of publishers whilst maintaining a consistent and appropriate challenge for pupils. Using banded 'real' books, children are able to choose books freely from within a structured range of books making reading more independent and enjoyable. Based in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, we work hard to support our staff and provide a great service to teachers and children alike. Our mission is to enable teachers to easily select high-quality books for classrooms, home-school reading and school libraries. Even though I went into this novel hopeful, I have to confess that I didn’t have very high expectations. I have a serious weakness for anything inspired by Greek mythology, but I also can’t seem to help but judge said inspired stories a bit harshly, as well. And I’m just starting to get into historical fiction, which has always been a very hit-or-miss genre for me. But Pandora was recommended for fans of The Essex Serpent, which made me even more hopeful. My expectations were not only met, but exceeded. I can’t definitely see why it was compared to Sarah Perry’s work, and I can’t wait to get a physical copy to shelf next to The Essex Serpent. While not quite as philosophically profound, Pandora definitely scratched the same itch.What she was not expecting was the number of revelations and questions that the pithos and its discovery brings up.

The author does well to capture the villainy of some of the characters too: I definitely saw one of the characters as a Vernon Dursley type from HP and it was so easy to despise him! I received an audio copy of this novel from the publisher, Harper Audio, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Pandora” is a historical fiction gem, the debut novel by author Susan Stokes-Chapman. Set in London in 1799, Chapman’s novel manages to merge Greek mythology and Georgian England in a creative and realistic way. The story is told from three POV’s; Dora, Edward (a historian with a passion for antiquities and Dora’s love interest) and Hezekiah himself. I loved how Chapman brought all three characters alternatively into the limelight, as it served to deepen the plot and character development. Our team has many years of experience levelling ‘real’ books — when we talk about ‘real’ books, we mean books that have not been developed specifically for a reading scheme and have been written for the pure enjoyment of reading. Reading scheme books are written to exacting levels but the value of ascribing book bands to books written freely by exciting authors to absorb and captivate readers has been appreciated by our schools for 15 years.Dora is a character made more interesting by her family history, but is likeable and over the course of the book develops a strong level of independence. That, and the growing success of her jewellery designs, make you really start to root for her as she emerges from her uncle's oppression. The fact she has a pet magpie also adds that little bit of quirkiness.

That is just one example of how the writing is simply outstanding. The author's prose is a delight to behold, as sentences are weaved together with such beautiful refinement and lyricism, including lots of similes and personification. It is this more than anything that makes you want to keep reading, and for a debut author that is seriously impressive. We read all our books, have a strong understanding of how children develop as readers and have an unparalleled knowledge of children’s publishing to draw upon to meet their needs. For all our levelling we are constantly reading, comparing and contrasting our 'real' books with scheme books and with each other to ensure that they represent a true progression in reading and in our range. It is a team effort and we regularly discuss which features we feel push a book up or down a band, perhaps the vocabulary is representative of Dark Blue but the narrative complex enough to make a book really only accessible to the most confident readers in Year 5 reading at Dark Red. We take into account many factors depending upon the text; perhaps the reader would be required to have unexpected knowledge or insight to fully access the language or the narrative; and themes, like time travel, or devices, like parallel narratives, can render a book inaccessible to all but the most fluent reader; perhaps the text level is just right but the story unlikely to engage readers reading at this level. With each book we are asking would a child reading at that level be able to access this text and what would their challenges be, the answers to these questions are unique to each book. Choosing Book Bands for confident and gifted readers All of it is written in the third person, focusing on the three separate perspectives of Dora, Edward, and Hezekiah. This worked well and brought a good degree of contrast, with the tone of Hezekiah's chapters noticeably darker than the others and providing more of an insight into his motives. Also, the storylines of Dora and Edward compliment each other nicely as they are both enduring difficult lives until they meet.Dora's deepest desire is to make a living as a jewelry designer. Reading about her designs was fascinating. London, 1799. Dora Blake has aspirations far out reaching what society deems fit for a lady such as herself; jewellery that befits those of high society and elegance that will be talked about by everyone and Dora wants nothing more than to be an artist to make this happen but sadly she must be under the constant scrutiny of her uncle who has taken ownership of her parents’ once famed shop of the rarest antiques. This book feels like a mix of historical fiction and Greek mythology and the realities of London life during the Georgian era. Fast forward and books bands these days are the most common system used by schools and by educational publishers of reading books, thus giving teachers a means of assessing children’s progress in reading in the absence of National Curriculum levels since 2014. As a result of the move away from NC levels, the book bands originally outlined by the UK Reading Recovery National Network and its authors for KS1 only, have extended to meet demands by a great many schools for further levels including up to the end of KS2. Thus providing an opportunity for assessment and progression right through the primary years.

The historical time period and the Georgian London setting are reflected really well by the atmosphere that prevails throughout and the meticulous attention to detail. The attention given to the study of antiquities and the descriptions of things such as Dora's jewellery, the objects at Blake's Emporium, and Lady Latimer's soiree, all help to give the story even more depth. I loved this book, historical fiction woven with mystery and Greek mythology? What's not to love?! Dora was a gorgeous character, with heart and a passion for her art and jewellery, but who was living with her awful uncle after the death of her parents. And Edward, lovely Edward. A man who wanted recognition for his work on antiques, but was struggling to get it. Hezekiah comes across as brutish for the most part and is generally a very unpleasant person, but he is also quite scheming and becomes more dangerous as the story goes on. His maid Lottie is a similarly unlikable character to begin with, but she is given an excellent arc and is more or less fully redeemed by the end. Ho particolarmente apprezzato le atmosfere della storia, i personaggi e tutti i riferimenti al mito di Pandora. The author’s writing gives a sense of a lurking, oppressive dangerous presence felt…no spoilers from me.But when they discover the secrets about the case, Dora’s entire life turns upside down. Anything she knows about her life, her past, her family is questionable! It seems like some things should be buried forever! This is a story set in Georgian era London, where the discovery of a mysterious ancient Greek Vase sets in motion conspiracies and revelations. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist and an orphan, she live together with her uncle and they run an antiquities shop. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigues by her uncle suspicious behavior and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antuarian scholar to find out the story about this mysterious vase I obviously especially LOVED all of the Greek myth and Greek history references throughout this book. This book satisfied my un-dying love for them. Many school suppliers, including Pandora Books, are offering banded ‘real’ books to widen children’s reading experiences and to promote reading enjoyment. The levelling is done in a ‘best fit’ way, meeting the criteria as much as ‘real’ books can, allowing for the non-contrived way they are written. Why Use Book Bands?