Salford Children’s Book Award 2023
A fundamental aim of the English Department is to foster a life-long love of literature. Since March, Year 7 students at Bridgewater have been busily reading the six novels from the shortlisted authors for the Salford Children’s Book Award in their reading lessons in English, as well as in their own time.
The Book Award, designed to encourage young people to read for pleasure, culminated on the 28th June with the Award Ceremony, held at the New Adelphi Building at the University of Salford. The event offered our Year 7s the unique opportunity to ask the authors questions, gaining a fantastic insight into the creative process of being an author and hopefully inspiring their own literary ambitions.
A group of students from each of the attending schools were invited to give a speech on one of the shortlisted novels. Ruby and Lauren chose to deliver their speech on the novel ‘Storm Horse’, by Jane Elson, which was then followed by a lively presentation from the author who went into further fascinating detail about her motivation and inspiration for writing the novel.
All our students enjoyed the thrill of the winner – Michael Mann’s ‘Ghostcloud’ – being revealed to the audience, followed by a book signing with the authors.
A review of ‘Storm Horse‘
Daniel Margate has two big problems. He hates reading. And he’s rubbish at running.
So when Daniel discovers that he is going to have to do not just one, but two, of his worst nightmares – reading and running – in a school competition, life couldn’t get much worse. That is, until he finds out that these events are going to be filmed on live television as part of the ‘Big Read Off’ competition.
When letters and numbers move, life is difficult – even getting the right bus and getting to school on time can be a challenge. This is what life is like for Daniel. Daniel has dyslexia and is in the ‘Silver’ reading group, which everyone knows is the ‘worst’ group in the school. When the Silver group is selected to take part in the competition, it feels as if everything is stacked against him. But what seems like the worst thing imaginable for Daniel, in fact turns out to be the beginning of him overcoming his fears.
Daniel has only ever read one book – his great-great-grandfather’s scrapbook, which Daniel views as his ‘most-sacred treasure’. The scrapbook is filled with letters his great-great-grandfather wrote to the famous horse Seabiscuit, who was deemed too small to be a racehorse but proved to the world that they were wrong. It is this story that gives Daniel hope that anything is possible.
One night, when reading the scrapbook, Daniel starts to hear a strange stamping and snorting and something almost magical happens. The following is an excerpt from the novel:
‘A lightning flash lights up the window and there looking right at me, peeping through the forelock, is an eye and a flaring nostril. Scrambling down the straw bales, I run towards the door. Is it what I think it is? I dash to grab the door handle. The wind blows it open in my hand, knocking me backwards.
Another flash of lightning and under the dark sky and thunder clouds, galloping away, I make out the most beautiful white horse just before it disappears through the apple trees and vanishes on the wasteland.
“My Storm Horse”, I whisper.
What is a storm horse doing near the Beckenham Estate?
Throughout the novel, Daniel forms a relationship with his storm horse, who he calls ‘Jammie Dodger’. It is through reading his scrapbook to Jammie Dodger, who doesn’t mind when he stumbles over his words, that Daniel begins to gain confidence. Inspired by his new friend, Daniel sets up the Secret Horse Society. When the Silver reading group, renamed as The Biscuits, read the letters in the scrapbook to Jammie D, their confidence in reading grows too. As well as this, Daniel begins his next plan: to ride Jammie Dodger in the race.
The story grips the reader with questions as it builds to its climax. Will Daniel and his friends manage to keep Jammie Dodger a secret? How will they fare in the ‘Big Read Off’ competition against the best readers in the school? And will Daniel really be able to ride Jammie in the race?
‘Storm Horse’, by Jane Elson, is a story which celebrates neurodivergent characters. It traces the growing friendship between The Biscuits and showcases their resilience, courage and hope in overcoming their difficulties. The novel teaches us that being neurodiverse doesn’t have to be a barrier, but should be cherished as a gift. The story also teaches us about the special relationships between animals and human beings, and that animals can be teachers, friends and inspirations to us all.
