Sir Thomas More by Hals Holbein (Accessed via Wikipedia ) During lockdown, we had Time. Remember that? I was in my probationary year of teaching: almost certainly among the most exhausting years for any profession. All my time had been taken up with school work, and I regularly stayed at school until after 6pm, having arrived there at eight in the morning. Now, children, this is not sustainable and, very soon, I decided I didn’t like working where I was. Then I realised that I didn’t like teaching at all. But, in fact, neither was particularly true: I just needed to be true to myself and to say no, which would give me the ability to manage my work/life balance in a more appropriate way. What does this have to do with historical fiction, I hear you say? Well, during March 2020, we went into lockdown and suddenly I went from working ten-hour-days to ten-hour-weeks. I met up with my class on Google Meet, I put work up for them on a meticulously designed Google Classroom, but I just h...
Today we're pleased to be hosting Madeline Pratchler and her book Jaxon and the Naughty Secret Monster , as part of her Goddess Fish book tour! Let's meet the book... Jaxon's enthusiasm for the simplest things bubbles out of him, and ideas continually pop out of his very large brain. His delight in helping plant the garden with his family creates a magical learning opportunity, and he's well on his way to being as smart as his dad. But sometimes his zest needs to be clamped down, and his blurting embarrasses others. When Dad shares a surprise for Mom, Jaxon discovers the secret monster: a naughty guy who lives inside him, waiting to blab as soon as his mouth opens. Jaxon swallows him down and tells him to be quiet inside his head, but will that monster listen? And what about the next time when Jaxon plots a prank on the ice cream man? And here's an excerpt to whet your appetite... Our family gathered at the garden’s edge the next morning. Bossy and Pepper eagerly ...