Midwinter Burning

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Alfie and Bell’s relationship is one of the most poignant in the book. From Bell, he learns how to milk a cow, and he is given more freedom than he has ever experienced before. Lastly, I just want to mention this abso-freaking-lutely perfect cover! Even if I haven’t read the book I would still buy it just for this cover! Just… wow🥺

Tanya weaves a fascinating tale of two worlds and how they interact, how friendship can overcome adversity, and how even the littlest of us can succeed. Tanya Landman is the author of some utterly compelling and engrossing stories and Midwinter Burning is no exception. The story weaves between the outbreak of World War II and ancient times, mingling the lives of two 'lonely little lads', whose friendship brings courage and comfort. As an adult, it is hard to read the cold indifference of Alfie's mother to her 'little accident' and this stands in stark contrast to the warmth and affection he receives at Coombe Farm as he becomes 'my birdie' to Auntie Bell, praised and encouraged as he helps out, flourishing under the positive attention.Alfie Wright is a young boy in Britain in 1939. He is, unlike many children, pleased to be evacuated as the reader gets a sense that he has a negative relationship with his mother. He is evacuated to a remote farm with the immensely kind and understanding ‘Auntie Bell’ and her husband, Ted. Evacuated away from London and his indifferent mother, Alfie Wright thrives in his new life with 'Auntie' Bell and her son, Ted, at Coombe Farm in Devon. A sensitive, different boy, he is no longer 'Alfie Wrong', but is cared for, managing to make friends with Smidge, a mysterious lad Alfie meets when exploring his new surroundings. However, as war is declared, talk in the village turns to the need for the village tradition of the Midwinter Burning at the ancient clifftop stones to continue to prevent the Darkness from returning. Eyes once again turn to Alfie, the outsider, and then Smidge goes missing. Can Alfie find the truth behind village legend and help his new friend before it is too late? The negative legacy of the First World War is also skilfully brought into the story as a veteran of that conflict, Mr Moore, was damaged both physically and mentally by his experiences. Cruelly treated and shunned by both adults and children living near Alfie in London, Mr Moore is a living reminder of a time most want to forget. Alfie alone treats him with kindness and as he sits with him, the reader can see that Alfie is sensitive to the 'indistinct, insubstantial shadows' Mr Moore talks to, paving the way for his later experiences with Smidge. A historical time-slip adventure for middle grade readers, from the Carnegie Medal-winning author of Apache and Buffalo Soldier. Coffee house Caffè Nero has announced the 16-strong shortlist for the inaugural Nero Book Awards, recognising the outstanding books of the past 12...

I loved Tanya’s previous books, especially Horse Boy, so was really pleased to get a chance to read her new one.

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Thank you, Tanya. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and know the children will love this unique historical, adventure story. I can't wait to read the next story by Tanya Landman! minds and hearts and souls, uniting people when they found a victim. Someone different. Someone who didn't quite fit in. Someone to blame when things went wrong.’ Born and brought up in Kent, Tanya had no intention of becoming a writer until the idea for Waking Merlin popped into her head. "It came from nowhere. It was completely out of the blue." I loved how Alfie and Snidge learned about each others worlds, and how they could inhabit each others worlds was so well done, especially toward the end of the story which is so exciting and tense. Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...Carnegie Medal winning Tanya Landman is the author of more than thirty books for children and young adults. In Midwinter Burning we start off in prehistory and the scene is set for a midwinter offering, this sets up the rest of the book, especially the idea of outsiders. His group is evacuated to a village where the stones from the first scene are and here Alfie starts to find what he could feel is a home with Auntie Bell and the animals of the farm he is staying at.

We then go to London on the eve of the Second World War and Operation Pied Piper, a voluntary evacuation of children three days before the declaration of war with Germany. Here we meet Alfie, another outsider with a life of rejection and bullying behind him. Author Anna Kemp introduces The Hollow Hills, the sequel to her dark magical tale, Into Goblyn Wood. Tanya now lives and works in Bideford and the nearby coastline was the inspiration for her Flotsam & Jetsam series. Honestly, I think the amount of heavy topics this book covers, e.g. grief, bullying, realities of war and loss, the sacrifice of life, psychological abuse, being unwanted by a parent, it all makes this book pretty dark for a young reader. At the same time, the author of ‘Midwinter burning’ manages to deliver all these lessons in a way that doesn’t feel too overwhelming and I believe it’s perfectly suitable for a bit older kids. However, I also think the the writing style and all the previously mentioned stuff may not be as accessible for the youngest readers and may stop them from fully enjoying this book.

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He even eventually makes a friend called Snidge, but his friend is a mystery with a different language and different clothing, Alfie doesn’t want to mention him to others just in case the paranoia of an upcoming war affects this friendship. Alfie realized that this was it. The Darkness wasn't coming. It was here. It wasn't a force that came from outside. It came from within. Hate that poisoned I would recommend this book for children aged 9+ (Year 5 and 6). I can see how this book would fit perfectly into the curriculum in many ways. Firstly, as a whole class guided reading text as the pacey story with short chapters would work well. I would also use this text as a model text for writing units on historical settings, mystery and adventure story writing and obviously as part of a World War Two unit. Dapo Adeola, Tracy Darnton, Joseph Coelho and Chitra Soundar are among the 19 authors and illustrators longlisted for the Inclusive Books for Child...