Wink by Rob Harrell

Funny, emotional & real

Story

Ross becomes 'the cancer kid' and is forced to live out his brutal cancer treatment in front of his entire school. kids can be cruel and we see & feel it with ross. finding support in unexpected places, we see ross navigate his way through the unthinkable. Based on the real life experiences of the author, this book gives us an insight into a situation that is Thankfully unimaginable for most of us. Ross is supported on his journey by his family (made up of his dad and step-mum), a close friend at school and a radiotherapy technician who gives ross so much more than support in the treatment room and opens his eyes to a whole new world.

My thoughts

this book carefully explores the world of cancer and The reaction of some of the children in ross' school is hauntingly real. i did have a tear in my eye towards the end - but i won't give too much away. 

A truly great read.

Heads up

SOmething that is not obvious from the title or blurb is that Ross' mum died from breast cancer when he was younger. This is something to be aware of when recommending to children or sharing with a class/book club. 

other titles from the author

Life of Zarf trilogy & Monster on the hill

5 Stars

Children's Book Club for Adults

The Blog and Podcast

This blog will run alongside a podcast where I will discuss children's books. The aim of this blog is to give teachers and parents/carers a quick overview of some of the amazing children's books on offer today. Whether you are looking for books to add to your curriculum, a gift for an avid reader, a book to support children with a specific need or just something to read with your form/class, this blog/podcast will hopefully give you some ideas or at least point you in the direction of some good children's books.

The podcast episodes will be no longer than 15minutes as I appreciate that time is important to us all  

Teaching

I am currently a secondary English Teacher, however prior to this I taught in a primary school for 9 years. Whilst teaching in primary school, I took on the role of English Lead, which ignited my passion for reading. After some lockdown CPD, my eyes were truly opened to the power of books and reading and from this I redesigned the reading curriculum for the schools within our trust. Like I mentioned earlier, I now teach English in a secondary school and help to run a KS3 Book Club one lunch time a fortnight where we choose a book and read it over the fortnight then discuss a book together. 

Me

I haven’t always enjoyed reading and I can’t remember enjoying or reading anything during my teenage years. This changed when I read ‘A Monster Calls’ by Patrick Ness. 

I have two children (3 and 1) who absolutely love 'reading' - we have books everywhere in the house and have shared books with them both since they were very young. My partner and I see daily the benefits of reading (both teachers) and were keen to ensure that our children grew up surrounded by books. I’m hoping that my knowledge of children’s books can keep them interested for many, many years to come. And if I can help anyone else along the way then that’s an added bonus!