I'm quite confident that, if I start this blog with "remember the scythe?", most people reading it are going to immediately know where I'm pointing you to! That's right: Poldark. Now, I know that the series with Aidan Turner and his famous scythe was actually a remake of an earlier programme, but let's just focus on this more recent iteration of Winston Graham's novels about the eponymous Cornish hero. One of the things which is so wonderful about Poldark as a series - not only onscreen but even more so in the novels - is that it covers such a vast period of time. Because of the time in which it is set, there are huge local and global changes taking place around the characters and, when you have been invested in them for so long, you can really experience the upheaval alongside them. This is something I attempted with (what I hope) was a reasonable degree of success in my Early Story of the Rite trilogy. If it ever actually appears on bookshelves, it won...
Excerpt: I play outside and breathe sweet air. There are flowers and animals around me everywhere. Just like the wiggly worm, the curious cat, and the giant trees, My life has a special purpose; I am on a unique journey. This is what it means to be me. Review: "What It Means to Be Me" is a book with a great message - helping children to make sense of what makes them special and unique, but also what they have in common with others. As a teacher, it made me think of the requirement in the Curriculum for Excellence for pupils to: "I recognise that we have similarities and differences but are all unique." This book totally has that outcome covered! The book starts with a very lengthy opening, which I did feel may have been more audience-appropriate if it had been split over a few pages. The rest of the book carries on at a really good pace, mixing short snippets of advice and guidance with dazzling and/or dreamy illustrations. The book is written in a gentle rhyme, b...