When the Sky Falls

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A wonderful story of hurt, kindness, and what it means to be human in an inhumane world.” - The Times of London, Children's Book of the Year I read this book very slowly to savour every chapter and emotional scene. It will most certainly be one of my favourite all time reads. This story was beautifully told with rich language that would be a great resource for Y5/6 writing. It would also make a fantastic class read where pupils can share the emotion and thrill of this story together.

By the time the ending inevitably imperils the zoo, I hadn't been given enough for the danger to the animals to resonate, or the threat they represent, the love Mrs. F has for it... Oh wow! When the Sky Falls is the most emotional and exciting middle grade book that I have read this year! Take a moment to look at the front cover more closely. A fabulous illustration that gives you a peek at what lies inside that cover When the Sky Falls took into a part of WW2 that I haven't previously read about. We have read stories about life on the home front but this is a new angle looking at the struggles of a city zoo. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. Joseph has other battles with school, in particular bullying and his serious troubles with reading. Like so many children of his generation, his dyslexia is not recognised or understood.As Joseph settles into his new temporary home he realises that he is not alone, he also comes to share a bond with Adonis but as the bombs rain down on the city, both he and Mrs F know that if Adonis escapes his cage then they must do the unthinkable, a task neither of them wants. Most children during the war were evacuated from cities, to safer places in the countryside. Joseph was not one of these children. He was 'evacuated' from his home in a place (which I think remains nameless) to a city (that as far as I know also remains nameless). Joseph is rude, abnoxious, and downright selfish. And he doesn't exactly get on with his host Mrs Farrelly. And when he's put to work on what remains of her zoo, it seems that even Adonis, the resident ape, takes a dislike to him. Soon, though, they seem to form a kind of friendship. But when the bombs start to fall, he has to make a choice - let the ape free or shoot him on the spot? And this decision may well cost him his life. A scrumptious plot that was fabulously delivered. Brilliantly written and fast-paced, this is a superb book. Suitable for upper key stage two and key stage three. The end note shares the true story that inspired the book, which would make for a great classroom study or project. Highly recommended.

I can absolutely see why the author felt so inspired by that image of a person in a zoo in the blitz, their duty to keep their gun trained on the most dangerous of the animals in case bombing allows the animal's escape. That image remains richly evocative in this book. But I don't think Earle quite nailed the elements to make this the most powerful exploration of that image it could be. When the Sky Falls is currently shortlisted for the To Carnegie Medal 2022 and, my oh my, I hope it wins. This book has everything that makes a children's book so deliciously enjoyable. That was part of a wider issue with the elements introduced as playing on Joseph's psyche never really cohering into a narrative. The dyslexia was underserved alongside the threads of Joseph's father, mother, and grandma. We didn't need resolution and catharsis on these threads but we did need a little development in each case if they were going to become a story rather than inert.A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. Against the tide of devastation walked a boy: tutting and huffing at the tears and carrying-on. He looked just like any of the other evacuees in the station: regulation case, tag and gas mask box. But instead of being shoehorned onto a train, he was marching away from one, having just arrived.' This is our first introduction to Joseph, a 12 year old boy from Yorkshire, who is fizzing with rage. Angry at everything, with everything; determined to go it alone, convinced he's been rejected by everyone, adamant he'll not suffer the pain of abandonment again. Angry. He's met by Mrs F. She keeps her pain in a tin and wears her kindness and loyalty under a coat of brusque efficiency and focused determination. She speaks plainly and appreciates the same in return. Her days, and now Joseph's, are consumed by the upkeep and maintenance of her family's zoo ...of which precious little remains. And then there's Syd. Syd is about Joseph's age and works at the zoo after school. She talks about her pain, the grief becoming almost bearable if she can talk about it and working at the zoo keeps her busy and takes her mind off it. The pain of loss, it shrouds them all: Joseph, Mrs F, Syd and Adonis. Mrs F is also the keeper of the local zoo, which has been in her family for years. There she attends daily to care for the animals that are left behind, including Adonis the Gorilla who is as moody as Joseph is.

The author of the Anastasia books as well as more serious fiction ( Rabble Starkey, 1987) offers her first historical fiction—a story about the escape of the Jews from Denmark in 1943.This masterful study in loss and redemption is a book strongly influenced by "Kes" and "The Machine Gunners" (I love the little knowing nod to the latter), but the style is all Earle's own, and it ends up sitting proudly by those two fore-runners, as an equal. It will make you weep more than once, and you're going to be biting your nails as it draws towards the climax, but ultimately it's a work that will make your heart sing. I really liked this book because of the characters and how they changed over time. Joseph, a young dyslexic with anger issues, overcomes his difficulties with sharing emotions and letting people in whilst Mrs F opens up about her family. First sentence: The platform was a battlefield: seventy yards of carnage transplated straight from the coasts of northern France. Smoke billowed; people clung to each other. An emotional story about young Joseph, a child with dyslexia growing up whilst the war is raging who travels to London to stay with gruff and mysterious Mrs F. This story was beautifully written and There were many things I loved about it. Behind every anger hides deep-seated sadness and that's a big life lesson that Joseph needs to learn.