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Rooftoppers: 10th Anniversary Edition

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The plot follows the two as they flee the authorities to France to search for Sophie's lost mother. Sophie discovers a secret world on the roofs of Paris where dirty, poor, clever "rooftopper" children run free from the watchful eyes on the streets. numerous descriptions of the Paris skyline from the rooftops, yet not a single mention of Tour Eiffel and Sacre Coeur, the two landmarks that are visible from any high point in the city.

Mostly, though, it made me think of A Little Princess, with a very different sense of social justice: no romanticizing of the diamond mines into something out of The Arabian Nights; no meek and grateful poor children, and no patient suffering. Sophie is a wonderful character, the rooftoppers she meets are heartbreaking and yet so strong, and I fell head over heels with Charles. It's whimsical and funny, too, which I don't think of A Little Princess as being, and yet ... that rooftop feast, for hungry Matteo (and Sophie, though hers was a voluntary hunger!), had the same emotional payoff as the one from the earlier book. The story ends abruptly with Sophie finding her mother, there was no mention of what would happen to Charles or the rooftoppers now. Miss Eliot reflects this Victorian attitude. She disapproves of Sophie's appearance and behaviour and says she would "be embarrassed to be seen with her". Sad, child, but not stupid. It is difficult to believe extraordinary things. It’s a talent you have, Sophie. Don’t lose it."It is difficult to believe extraordinary things when you're an adult. But children can, which is why Katherine Rundell's wonderfully fanciful book won both the Waterstone and Blue Peter prizes for children's literature when it came out in 2014. By the same token, it is difficult for an adult to review; we can celebrate the times we share a childlike delight, certainly, but how can we be sure that when it gets a little repetitious to us, it is not in fact drawing the child reader even deeper into its spell? I would rate Rooftoppers 9/10, and would definitely re-read it again and again. I would recommend it to anyone aged 8 and up, though it would easily be understood and enjoyed by all ages.Mother: Great story with spoonfuls of creamy dream-like prose. Loved most young Sophie and her adventures with the rag-tag friends who dwell on rooftops and trees, especially Matteo and the almost more-than-friendship introduced by Rundell...reminiscent of Secret Garden with maybe a dash of Heathcliff in hardscrabble Matteo, the lone wolf kid all haunted, passionate, and grim. (Jump, Sophie, jump. You might die, but maybe you won't. And here, here are my scars from the knife and no, I don't talk about it, like ever, but it messed me up. And yes, give me your ankles to hold and I'll dangle you over the edges of reason and rooftops.)

I think the language and the style of the book perfectly complimented Sophie’s rather strange upbringing and the fantastic and slightly naïve way she interprets what’s happening around her. She was a gorgeous narrator and definitely one of my favourite middle grade heroines. Fearless, inquisitive and completely adorable; she truly was brilliant. I think it takes a certain kind of writer who can make the ordinary seem extraordinary with a few sentences and capture your imagination and encourage you, if only for a little while, to see the world in a slightly different way than you’d normally do. And Ms Rundell’s definitely that kind of writer. At this point the story and the characters became too farfetched. For some reason the story endlessly refers to spitting, so many times it became ridiculous, for all sorts of reasons, on yourself and friends, the story was also constantly referring other bodily fluids, snot, blood, I think this was in attempt to make it a gritty read but it felt forced and needless. As with the other book I have read by this author, peeing and going to the toilet was constantly mentioned, I have no idea why, it's quite a natural thing to do but added nothing to the storyline. I feel it would take quite a bit to make me want to scramble around on Parisian rooftops. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of heights in any way, and the views… well, they’d be pretty incredible, wouldn’t they?Hopeful, inspiring and thrilling in equal measure, this is a classic adventure story about pursuing your dreams and never ignoring a possible. sophie is our young heroine, charles the man who took her in as a baby when she was found in the water after the capsizing of a boat, and miss eliot the social worker who disapproves of the whole situation. here: People will easily fall in love with Charles. He is not a conventional parent and the child services certainly don't value his habit of letting a little girl wear trousers (god forbid!). He is quirky, weird and more concerned with raising a happy child, than one who fits into society's expectations. Also this: just a wonderful, magical, extraordinary book. the kind of classic-feeling book you can put in the hands of a little girl and feel confident that with it, she will grow into a wonderful, magical, extraordinary creature herself. it might work on boys, too, who knows? but right now i am speaking to the fathers i know with young daughters who are looking for that book that will leave an impression on them in a literary role-model kind of way: a strong and smart and brave little girl raised by an eccentric man who may not have taught her much about how to be conventional, but who has shared a love of language and adventure, and has raised her to be fierce and loyal and courageous and independent.

Another of Rundell’s amazing novels is The Good Thieves. To support the learning of this story, we have created a booklet of The Good Thieves Teacher Notes. These include a range of engaging activities to develop children’s descriptive and creative writing skills. It's ideal to use with your KS2 class! Five Fun Facts about Katherine Rundell: I thought this was a very original story and it was quite fast paced. I very much enjoyed it and the dialogue, particularly when Charles was speaking, was very entertaining. I became completely lost in the story and the descriptions of Paris at night made me really want to go and explore Paris by moonlight. It wasn’t compulsory to send girls to primary school until 1883, so many girls weren’t taught to read and write beyond what they needed to know at home. Sophie looked down at herself. She fingered the material. It felt quite normal to her; still a little stiff from the shop, but otherwise fine. "How can you tell it's not a girl's shirt?" she asked.So yeah, OK, I actually did have a lot to say about this book. But I really, really loved it and I really hope other people join Sophie for her adventure because it’s truly magical. I absolutely can’t wait to see where else Ms Rundell’s stories takes me. There are some odd parts where Sophie lies about where she is going at night to her guardian and he tells her some confusing stuff about it being okay to lie. It seemed odd and unnecessary that her caring guardian would let (I am guessing Sophie is an 8 or 9 yr old) out in the capital at night, all night. Miss Eliot also disliked Charles's hands, which were inky, and his hat, which was coming adrift round the brim. She disapproved of Sophie's clothes. And the setting? Let’s just say I want to go to Paris again…. now please. I adore Paris and it will always have a special place in my heart so it was so refreshing to read a story set there that wasn’t immediately bogged down by all the clichés that seem to latch themselves onto it. It was lovely to read about the city from a different perspective… one slightly higher than the others, shall we say?

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