Should we help refugees?

Defenders: Pitch Invasion

Author: Tom Palmer @tompalmerauthor

Illustrator: David Shephard @DoodlingDave

Published by: @BarringtonStoke

Published on: November 2017

First line: Seth’s phone buzzed as he was walking out of Maths.

Price: £6.99

ISBN: 978 1 78112 731 5

Genre: Contemporary historical fiction

Age: 9+

What’s it all about?

Seth’s mum is ill with cancer and he is trying his best to care for her himself as his dad is dead. They are waiting for test results to see if Seth’s mum is clear of the cancer after receiving treatment. To take their mind off the wait, they decide to take a short holiday to Cornwall where Seth’s mum has really good childhood memories of holidays taken there. Whilst on holiday Seth sees some people from the Iron Age and he has to work out how to connect these people to the hill fort in the town and two refugee boys from Syria who now live there. Unfortunately, he is overcome with fear as he sees five disgusting, rotting heads on the gate of the hill fort. Can he solve the problem so that himself and the brothers can get back to their first love…playing football?

Why should I read it? This is one of those wonderfully rare books that combines a good story, short chapters and an interesting subject matter – football and history! Great for children struggling to get into books and for those that love history. Even if you are not a fan of football, it doesn’t actually appear that much – a couple of times really, at the end with the celebration and one training session. It also plays a great PSHE role with discussions around illness, death, carers and refugees. A brilliant read, and there is a whole series of them, hopefully more in the long run!