These past two years have been like no other for our students - and us teachers too.
For a start, a vast amount of students received online-only teaching during the first lockdown, thus preventing them from experiencing - education factors aside - the usual rites of passage and fun events of the summer term. And then in 2021, for reasons such as finance, quarantine restrictions and worries over contracting Covid-19, many families had staycations over the summer holidays - if anything at all.
To add to all this, there has been Covid-fuelled anxiety and apprehension about returning to school at the beginning of two academic years now, and let’s not forget the partial school closure earlier this year. There is also uncertainty regarding what we will face with rising case rates of Covid in school-age children, super colds and flu, and a shortage of suitable supply teachers to cover for absent teachers - our students are likely to have a tumultuous term.
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What can we do to help alleviate some of these pressures? Immersing themselves in thrilling literary worlds is one way for our students to soothe their anxieties and temporarily escape the stressful situations that they have encountered since March 2020. But we need to choose our alternative realities with care.
While dystopian novels have been all the range in key stage 3 English for what seems like decades, students - and teachers too - need a break from the brutality of District 12 or the racial divides of Albion. Instead, we need to help them temporarily forget the realities of our world and stop worrying about any future apocalypses; and what better way to do this than by transporting their thoughts to unfamiliar and exciting lands?
So, be it an island in the South Pacific or 17th century Oxford in the English Civil War, let’s take them to unexplored times and places.
Adventure books for children over the age of 11
Here are a few ideas of “thrilling” novels to start with for Year 6 students upwards:
The Peculiars, Kieran Larwood
A gothic mystery set in the heart of dingy and dangerous Victorian London, this nail-biting yet funny adventure is about a group of crime-busting misfits imprisoned in the cruel sideshows common in Victorian society.
The Lie Tree, Frances Hardinge
Set on a fictional remote island towards the end of the Victorian era, when scientific discoveries were beginning to threaten religion’s dominance over Victorian society, this atmospheric novel tells the story of 14-year-old Faith Sunderly’s determination to uncover the truth behind her father’s sudden death - and to not be cowed by the constraints of the male-dominated scientific society.
A Skinful of Shadows, Frances Hardinge
Set during the English Civil War, this original tale of Makepeace, a 12-year-old girl who can see and absorb ghosts, surprisingly contains some realistically relatable and fallible characters. This narrative seamlessly interweaves this ghost story with the brutal and ruthless atmosphere of the battles between the Parliamentarians and the Roundheads.
The Wolf Wilder, Katherine Rundell
This enchanting novel of love - both animal and human - and sheer determination is a part-fairytale and part-historical narrative on the lead up to the Russian Revolution.
The London Eye Mystery, Siobhan Dowd
Full of twists and turns, this gripping and unputdownable mystery novel is about a boy called Ted with Asperger syndrome, whose cousin, Salim, appears to completely vanish from a capsule on the London Eye.
Lords and Ladies, Terry Pratchett
This hilarious fantasy novel from the Discworld series is a parody of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon
This murder mystery novel about a murdered dog is unique for the reason that it is completely narrated by a 15-year-old boy, Christopher Boone, who has extreme Asperger syndrome, and who, before the murder takes place, has never ventured beyond the end of the road on his own. Very funny in places as well, this novel is an original bildungsroman.
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
This children’s classic set on the Yorkshire moors tells the story of 10-year-old Mary, a neglected and unloved yet spoilt child, who finds a truly magical garden that ultimately offers her the chance to be reborn and rejuvenated.
The Coral Island, RM Ballantyne
A Victorian counterpoint to Lord of the Flies, this classic children’s novel is about three teenage boys who are the sole survivors of a shipwreck. They find themselves fighting for survival on a tropical island in the South Pacific.
Orangeboy, Patrice Lawrence
This grilling and gritty rollercoaster of a murder mystery novel is both intriguing and emotional. What’s more, it contains the most wonderfully relatable, funny and oddball characters. It’s really outstanding.
La Belle Sauvage, Philip Pullman
A prequel to His Dark Materials, this novel is about the stomach-churning adventures of six-month-old Lyra Belacqua and the two young guardians who are so desperately trying to get her to safety in an Oxford that has suffered floods of biblical proportions.
