Deze Britse auteur wordt geprezen om haar inzichtelijke verkenning van de menselijke natuur en de complexiteit van het leven. Haar werken duiken in thema's als opgroeien, veerkracht en het vinden van je plek in de wereld. Met een kenmerkende stijl die emotionele diepgang combineert met levendige proza, vangt ze de essentie van kinderervaringen en hun impact op karaktervorming. Lezers worden vaak geraakt door haar vermogen om zowel de kwetsbaarheid als de kracht van de menselijke geest weer te geven.
Willie Beech is evacuated to the countryside as the Second World War breaks out. A sad, deprived child, he slowly begins to flourish under the care of old Tom Oakley. But then his mother summons him back to war-torn London... Will he ever see Mister Tom again? One of the best stories about wartime ever written.
Henry misses his father who died a war hero. One day Mrs Beaumont lends Henry a camera for his school project. Henry is disgusted that he's been put in a group with Jeffries, the son of a man who went AWOL, and Pip, who was born illegitimate; but he's about to learn that tolerance and friendship are more important than social stigmas.
The war is over but Elsie is still fighting her own battles. She's bullied because she's the only scholarship pupil at the grammar school, and she has an awkward relationship with her father as he struggles to assume a normal life after fighting in the war. But when she begins working at the local theatre, Elsie discovers she can escape.
As an evacuee, Ralph received a good education, but after the war Ralph's working-class father resents his education and his ambition to be an actor, and is furious when Ralph is sacked from the paper mill. The story traces Ralph's struggle to reconcile the disparate strands of his life.
Super sporty tale with a strong message of self-belief and a lovely inter- generational friendship at its heart, from the award-winning author of Goodnight Mister Tom. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 7+