As the story develops, the stakes grow ever higher for Sally and Tommy and this will keep readers gripped as Cuckoo Summer moves towards its conclusion, when secrets are revealed and a way forward is found. When the children discover a German airman has landed in the nearby woods, Sally is determined to save the young soldier from the threatening clutches of Starcross and Tommy is roped in to help. The characters and setting stayed with me long after I'd finished reading the book and I know a lot of people are going to be talking about it. They hide him, from the Home Guard, the leader of whom is a man who fought in WW1, and has become bitter and twisted. Fortunately, she is neighbours with Tommy and his aunts, who keen an eye out for her as she and Tommy set out on a summer of adventure.

This results in a chain of events that expose the children to danger and uncover secrets about Sally’s past. Together the children seek to keep the airman’s whereabouts a secret, which sets off a chain of events that changes their lives.

Cuckoo Summer is one of those books that you know is going to find a natural place alongside books like Goodnight Mr Tom (Michelle Magorian) and The Valley Of Lost Secrets (Lesley Parr); there is so much to recommend about it. Rebecca is a committee member of the National Association of Advisers in English (NAAE) and a member of the Academic Advisory Board for Bookmark (volunteer reading charity).

I haven't charted out my visits for the summer term, but I'm sure there are several in the south) and thanks so much for being so fantastic! Your comment about teachers who love to “do voices” made me laugh, I have always loved to “do voices” but a north-east accent is one I’d struggle with! But there is plenty for teachers and adults to explore with readers, including underlying themes of prejudice and poverty. Part of Sally's appeal as a character is her dialogue - a young Liverpudlian, Tulloch captures her immense energy for life and fierce integrity through her dialogue, rich with her northern accent.Some are lucky, others, like Sally, less so; she ends up with farmer Scarcross, an ill-tempered, abusive carer.