Samone Amba

The After School Care Club Book 1

Lysh (She/Her)

Thank you to Affirm Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Target Audience: Middle Grade 
Genre: Contemporary
Published: 27 July 2021

This is an adorable story about Sunday Moon, a year 6 student at Pelican Rise Primary in South-East Australia. After hearing about the devastating impact of the recent bushfires on the local flora and fauna, Sunday and her friends put together a project to help save the joeys.

Characters
I adored the diversity of this cast. So many kids will see themselves represented positively in this book and that makes me one happy teacher. 

The banter and shenanigans of the characters were humourous and I loved how driven the children were to make a difference to the world around them. Plus the adults in their lives empowered them to do this! 

Overall, the kids acted like kids and the adults acted like adults. You would be surprised at how uncommon this is in books. I appreciated this.

Plot
It was so refreshing to read a middle grade contemporary novel, set in a primary school, that didn't revolve around friendship issues. This positive plot is much needed for children right now.

The main plot was enjoyable, but there was also enough interest gained by the side plots that they kept things moving. 

Since the main storyline is centred around a year 6 project, the book really gears itself towards this year level and thus it could be challenging for younger students to connect to the story. However, it could also encourage year 5 students to consider their leadership potential for the following year and what they'd like to achieve in their final 12 months of primary school. 

Trigger/Content Warnings:
-Death of an animal 
-HP reference (MC owns two funko pops for characters from this franchise, referenced twice)

Audience response
Thinking about the children I've taught over the years, I can see this being a great novel for some quieter students in year 5 and 6. Sometimes it did read a little young, so I can see this being perfect for those who are not as strong in reading, but still need to engage with appropriate content for their age. It is by no means a swash-buckling adventure, but it is a quaint and sweet story that brings up lots of discussion topics important for this age group. 

Teaching Content
Personal and Social Capability Y5/6
- Reflect on how personal strengths have assisted in achieving success at home, at school or in the community (VCPSCSE026)
- Describe what it means to be confident, adaptable and persistent and why these attributes are important in dealing with new or challenging situations (VCPSCSE027)
- Explore and discuss behaviours that demonstrate sensitivity to individual, social and cultural differences (VCPSCSO029)
-Define and recognise examples of stereotypes, discrimination and prejudice and discuss how they impact on the individual (VCPSCSO030)
-Describe the characteristics of respectful relationships and suggest ways that respectful relationships can be achieved (VCPSCSO031)
- Identify the characteristics of an effective team and develop descriptions for particular roles including leadership, and describe both their own and their team’s performance when undertaking various roles (VCPSCSO032)

Geography Y5/6
- Impacts of bushfires or floods on environments and communities, and how people can respond (VCGGK095)
- Influence of people, including the influence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, on the environmental characteristics of Australian places (VCGGK094)
- Factors that influence people’s awareness and opinion of places (VCGGK097)

English Y5
- Identify aspects of literary texts that convey details or information about particular social, cultural and historical contexts (VCELT313)
- Understand, interpret and experiment with sound devices and imagery, including simile, metaphor and personification, in narratives, shape poetry, songs, anthems and odes (VCELT316)

English Y6
- Identify and explain how analytical images like figures, tables, diagrams, maps and graphs contribute to our understanding of verbal information in factual and persuasive texts (VCELA340)
- Analyse strategies authors use to influence readers (VCELY345)

About the Author
-Pronouns: She/Her
- Spent years working as an editor in children's publishing
- Currently studying to be a primary school teacher (welcome to the teacher club!)

The After School Care Club Book 1

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