Phiipp Winterberg & Nadja Wichmann - Am I small? Je suis petite, moi?

Am I small? Je suis petite, moi? This is a charming book for introducing early stage French. The illustrations are bright and otherworldly, and employ some nice mixed media at points.

I like that the book is in dual language as not only does it make it less threatening to new language learners, but it lends itself well to paired work where one child could read the French, the other the English, then switch over.

The book introduces set phrases which can be easily absorbed into students' vocabulary whilst simultaneously expanding their knowledge of vocabulary relating to size.

I would recommend this book for independent reading for new language learners, but it could be presented to the class first to model pronunciation.

Silverfin - Charlie Higson and Kev Walker

Silverfin is part of the Young Bond series, charting the escapades of Bond before he realised his true path. The format (being a graphic novel) works extremely well with the story, as the more filmic elements can be easily portrayed and it lends itself to some of the more gruesome elements in the tale. It also helps mirror the films in that the dialogue typically isn't the central focus, giving way to effects and setting which works equally well in this medium.

While these are it's merits, I found some of it a little laboured; too much exposition on the Eton setting and relationships, when more punch could have been put into the plot development later on. It was definitely seeming like a slow burner with the main events playing out very fast in comparison.

It would be suitable for KS2 pupils, and could be a good route in for those that are more reluctant readers given that it is not so text-rich. It could also be used to explore different mediums and their merits, inviting comparison between stories or even film.