When I was eleven I adored Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes and Pamela Brown’s The Swish of the Curtain, and was so fixated on Lorna Hill’s Sadler’s Wells ballet books – each of which I had read at least ten times – that eventually my mum decided enough was enough. She prised my tattered copy of Veronica at the Wells out of my hands and gave me a pile of new reading material, which included The Silver Sword, When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, and The Diary of Anne Frank. That was when I discovered that there was a new kind of book to love – stories that could open your eyes, change the way you saw the world, make you ask questions, expand your horizons, enrich your soul – switch on lightbulbs in your head! Welcome to Coronation Road – a kaleidoscope of clashing cultures and parallel lives. There’s Maggie and her politician mum in their big house. There’s Tokes and his mum in a tiny bedsit, running from trouble. And there’s the ruthless Starfish gang, breeding fear throughout the neighbourhood.

John Boyne is under fire for daring, as a white Irish gay man, to write a children’s book about a trans child. Catherine Bruton, the author of this novel about a Syrian refugee with a passion for ballet, clearly expects to get the same treatment and has felt compelled to write a defence of her actions at the end. I’m sorry I’m not a refugee, but this is important, kinda thing. Personally, I wouldn’t give the time of day to those who think you have to be Noddy to write a book about him... but there we are. Absolutely outstanding story! Made me tearful which rarely happens. Catherine Bruton creates a story of such sadness and pain whilst illuminating hope and joy. She delicately explores what it means to be a refugee and an asylum seeker, particularly amongst children and teenagers. Refugee is not a label for just one group of peoples’ story but for multiple. A children’s book that should be taught far and wide!I never knew about the term 'asylum seekers' let alone ever heard of it. But when Aya explained what it meant, it left me feeling so ignorant and wanting to know more about the people that had dealt through and is going through this everyday. I just assumed that everyone were refugees and I was wrong. It is heartbreaking that there are so many families out there who has no choice but to run away from everything just to live a peaceful life. There has to be a way to end their suffering and waking up everyday going through a war zone. How many people needs to suffer? How manh more children are they willing to risk it all? Its unfair and it needs to stop. Immediately. Manchester is so different from Syria. Hours spent trying to see their case worker, trying to navigate the immigration system. A ballet shoe reminds her of her dance school in Syria, of her friends and her beloved dance teacher –of the life she once knew before the war With beautiful, captivating writing, wonderfully authentic ballet detail, and an important message championing the rights of refugees, this is classic storytelling – filled with warmth, hope and humanity.

e.issuu.com/embed.html?d=repro_anothertwistinthetale_combined__1_&hideIssuuLogo=true&u=nosycrow Teaching Resources Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... My forthcoming Rom-Com ‘ Confessions of a Helicopter Mummy’ has been described as ‘The most sparkling romantic comedy of the year’ and ‘Bridget Jones meets the Bad Moms via ‘Sex in the City’ for the Tik Tok Generation!’A piece of rubble from her bombed out home in Aleppo reminds her of the war her family fled from, and of her friends who did not survive. Het boek 'De balletschoenen van Aya', dat zo simpel en toch zo krachtig is, geeft de vluchtelingenproblematiek voor jongeren een gezicht. Je voelt en leeft helemaal mee met de pas elfjarige Aya, die niets liever wil dan dansen om haar verleden een plek te geven. Je ziet de strijd die het haar kost, de moeilijkheden die ze heeft en hoopt dat ze mag blijven. Puur op basis van het verhaal alleen zou ik het boek bijna vijf sterren geven (vooral aangezien dit verhaal binnen komt), maar helaas kan ik dat nu niet. Sometimes I was jealous of the monster of Frankenstein. I grew up believing my father cared more for him than he did for me. And was I wrong?

But Anni is woefully unprepared for the virtual world of romance and trying to learn the protocols of social media might just be a Bitmoji too far… It was one of THE BEST BOOKS I've ever read! Although it was very dramatic. It was about an asylum seeker, 11 year old Aya. As Catherine Bruton, I write books for readers of all ages. My fiction for children and young adults has earned me national and international acclaim. I have also recently ventured into the world of grown up fiction, with my debut romantic comedy ‘Confessions of a Helicopter Mummy’. You can find out more about each of my books below: Children’s Fiction

Eleven-year-old Aya has arrived in Britain from Syria. She has left her homeland behind, lost her father and is holding the rest of the fragile family together, responsible beyond her years. When she glimpses the dancers in the community centre's ballet class, she longs to dance again - ballet was one of the things she left behind. Aya is eleven, Syrian, and seeking asylum in Britain. Her mum, her, and her baby brother, escaped from the war in Syria - but her father got separated from them on the way. Her whole family is suffering from the experience (and it's handled so delicately and sensitively and well by Bruton but fyi if you're working with children who may have undergone a similar experience), and her life is not easy. One day she comes across a ballet class, and it's there that everything starts to change... In No Ballet Shoes in Syria I tell the story of 11 year old Aya who has just arrived in Britain with her mum and baby brother, seeking asylum from war in Syria. When Aya stumbles across a local ballet class, the formidable dance teacher Miss Helena spots her exceptional talent and believes Aya has the potential to earn a prestigious ballet scholarship. But at the same time Aya and her family must fight to remain in the country, to make a home for themselves and to find Aya’s father – separated from the rest of the family during the perilous journey from Syria. Catherine Bruton empathetically tells the story of eleven-year-old Aya, who carries the trauma of having escaped the civil war in Aleppo with her mother and baby brother (having lost her father in the Mediterranean). The book cleverly and powerfully switches between the current story of Aya trying to audition for a prestigious ballet school, whilst her family appeals their rejected plea for asylum, and Aya’s memories of her home in Syria.

The book is ideal for readers who enjoy shedding a cathartic tear, but need an optimistic ending. Fans of Noel Streatfield will find much that is familiar and fun. This 1936 classic remains a touchstone for balletomane children. Orphans Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil are adopted by eccentric Great Uncle Matthew; when the money runs out, they take to the stage to pay the bills. I believe the book’s endurance is down to its depictions of adolescence as much as the dance detail. The characters are complicated, enviable, flawed. Pretty Pauline’s temper tantrum is one of the best meltdowns in any literature, and results in one of the most relatable comeuppances. The writing is suffused with a teenage sensuousness: costumier’s fabrics such as organza and taffeta seem to caress the reader’s skin as well as the characters’. Now it’s time to weave in object number two. Don’t forget to describe it – make it come alive for the reader. How does this object come into the tale? The role of object number two is to help introduce a complication to your story? An obstacle that might prevent your character from achieving what they want. Over to you ….Object number three might introduce a character who can help your hero/heroine achieve their aim – along with some tools that might enable them to overcome the obstacles they face.