This post ties in nicely with Learning Success that I blogged about yesterday. If you haven’t read it yet, do check it out later. There is also a Learning Success giveaway, value £230.
I have received a free copy of the childrens’ book Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club by Jane Evans for son2 to review. Penguins are one of his three favourite creatures, so he was delighted to see some on the front cover.
Here is the book blurb.
Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club written and illustrated by Scottish duo Jane Evans and Ruth Mutch follows the adventures of lively young characters who display dyspraxia, dyslexia and autism including Vera McLuckie —who hates school. Mainly because she struggles with stuff the other kids find easy. Oh, and because she keeps getting into trouble for doing what she is really good at…daydreaming.
I like Ricky, Henry, Helen and mini 15 penguins 🐧
I also like Shakespeare the dog 🐶🐕🐩 Woof Woof.
The two sentences above are what son2 has written for his review. He doesn’t share much with us about the storyline, so let me elaborate. This story is about a primary school girl Vera McLuckie who has a penguin adventure with her two best friends Harry and Max. Although not explicitly mentioned in the book, all three have learning difficulties. Vera has Dyspraxia, Harry is Dyslexic and Max has Asperger’s and we see how they often get picked on by Bethany, the coolest, cleverest child in the school. In the adventure, the children see a fantastic swimming display by the penguins, but hear how sad they are to be teased by the other birds, for not being able to fly. This gives Vera a light-bulb moment regarding their own talents. But is the adventure, real or a daydream and how will Vera succeed in putting her story-telling talent into words?
At the back of the book, there is a mission to find 15 tiny penguins hidden in Ruth Mutch’s lovely illustrations and follow the instructions to unlock the code word. With some help, son2 had great fun doing this challenge, although it certainly took some time, as the penguins are very well hidden.
And son2 has drawn a cute picture of the three penguins.
Vera McLuckie and the Daydream Club is published by Your Stories Matter and is available on Amazon, currently priced at £6.99 in paperback. Targetted at children age 7-9, this a lovely story in its own right, that a lot of children may identify with. But it is also a learning resource that can assist teachers or parents in positive discussion with younger children, what it is like to have a learning difficulty. This should help to raise awareness and improve understanding of neurodiversity.
About Your Stories Matter: Based in Kendal, Cumbria Paul Johnson is the founder of Your Stories Matter and the parent publishing company Explainer HQ —which provides creative video, audio, animation and print to the business and education sector. All Your Stories Matters titles are published in paperback and are available to order from online retailers including amazon.co.uk.
For more information please visit: https://www.yourstoriesmatter.org and follow on Twitter @ysm_books
And some of the illustrations are available to download as colouring sheets here.
I’m participating in the blog tour. Do take time to browse round some of the other posts.
Your Stories Matter Blog Tour
14th May
15th May
16th May
17th May
18th May
19th May
20th May
21st May
22nd May
23rd May
25th May
28th May
29th May
30th May
31st May
And you may see a guest post by author Jane Evans, sharing her thoughts on being a little bit naughty on my blog here.
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Disclosure. This post is a review of a book I was sent for free. All opinions are my own.
Yet another blogging mummy!!! 
Looks like a book my grand daughter would enjoy. Love the penguins.
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very cute penguins
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This sounds fantastic and it’s great for children with learning difficulties to read about characters who are in the same situation as them. I’ll definitely have a browse of the other posts, it sounds like this book could help so many children 🙂
#ReadWithMe
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yes there are 3 other titles by different authors which I haven’t read as part of this book tour
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Oh I love his drawing, the front cover has me thinking comedy! Thanks for sharing with #readwithme
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no not comedy, but yes the penguins do look rather comical
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