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Tom Palmer credits articles about football with getting him into reading as a child. He travels all over the UK for events, performing his immensely popular rugby and football reading games to hundreds of children every week. He is the current Writer-in-Residence for the RAF Museums. Tom is also working with the National Literacy Trust on a very high profile football and reading project during the Euro 2016 football tournament.
Tom Palmer’s riveting After the War was sparked by the true story of Jewish Polish, Czech and German children who were sent to safety in the Lake District after surviving the horrors of Nazism. Addressing big questions - how does hope, humanity and friendship survive unimaginable horrors? How do we begin again? – in a highly-readable style (as is typical of Palmer and publisher Barrington Stoke), this is a thought-provoking, edifying read. Trevor Avery of the Lake District Holocaust Project sets the context in the book’s foreword: “A group of young people arrived in the Lake District in the summer of 1945 and stayed for a few months, the last of them leaving in early 1946. Although they only spent a short time in the area, it was a profoundly important experience for them, and they made a big impression on those who met them at the time.” A sense of this being a “profoundly important experience” is clear from the outset, as revealed when young Yossi first glimpses England, his imagined paradise: “This was the place where they had been told they would be safe. A place where there would be no German soldiers and no concentration camps.” But despite the peace, despite “the lush green hills under a bright blue sky” and the “huge clusters of trees, swallows flitting above them”, Yossi feels unsettled. The brick buildings remind him of concentration camps, and he’s haunted by terrible memories, disturbed by nightmares, and longs for news from his family - will his father ever be found and come for him? Details of everyday life are strikingly evoked, and springboard deeper insights into the children’s experiences – a bike ride reminds Yossi of when he had to surrender his bike to the Nazis, immediately after he and his dad witnessed a horrific attack. An opportunity to attend a Rosh Hashanah celebration triggers his recollection of the terrifying time the SS destroyed his synagogue. A storm over Lake Windermere reminds him of bomb explosions. This device works perfectly, and Yossi’s enduring trauma is palpable. Then, at his lowest, a memory of his father’s words pulls him from the depths of despair: “if we let ourselves go, the Germans will think that they were right: that we are not human.” An exceptional telling of exceptional true events.
Winner of the Books for Confident Readers and the overall Winner of the Children's Book Award 2020 | Though the title refers directly to D-Day, and much of the action takes place on or near the D-Day beaches, Tom Palmer skilfully and thoughtfully enables readers to consider war in general, what it means to those involved – soldier and civilian – and even why it still goes on. Jack is excited about his school trip to the D-Day landing beaches. His father is a reservist and the two spend happy hours together re-enacting the Allies’ landing on Jack’s PlayStation. But a number of things come together to change Jack’s view of war, and his trip to France becomes a very different experience to the one he is anticipating at the book’s opening. Palmer introduces some complex ideas and emotions while ensuring that the book is accessible to all readers (in Barrington Stoke’s Conkers series it is written with reluctant and dyslexic readers in mind). His characters are always convincing and Jack’s reactions to the things he learns entirely credible. Compelling, thought-provoking, this is a very fine short novel.
Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Awards 2020 | Shortlisted for the Children's Book Awards 2019, Books for Older Readers Category | Interest Age 8-10 Reading Age 8 | World War One remains a subject of fascination for readers of all ages, but Tom Palmer finds an original way in to the topic in this poignant new story. Lily is a keen fell runner, though she’s fed up of coming in as runner up in races. A visit to her grandparents reveals a surprise: her great-grandfather ran on the fells too. His experiences are recounted vividly in his diary, both his runs in his beloved Cumbria and his experiences as a soldier, recruited to run between positions on the front line, carrying crucial information to the allies. Their shared experiences form a powerful connection, and help Lily to understand herself better, and also to help her grandma when she needs it most. Today and yesterday are seamlessly woven together in a story that will move readers in lots of different ways.
Tom Palmer’s Defenders series cleverly mixes ghost stories and football and uses past events to throw light on our world. Seth’s mum is waiting to hear if she’s clear of the cancer she’s been treated for and the two are having a weekend in Cornwall to escape the pressure. It’s a peaceful place but with his ghost sight Seth is aware of a violent incident that took place there thousands of years ago and which still resonates. That was born out of suspicion and mistrust of new arrivals, and when he meets two young Syrian refugees now living in the town, Seth realises what needs to change. The story will grip young readers from start to finish, and make them think about their own place in the world. In Barrington Stoke style, it’s accessible to all readers.
Seth isn’t like other boys: he can see ghosts. In the second of this new series he is in London staying with his friend Nadiya and her family while his mother undergoes treatment for cancer. Exploring near the hospital, Seth and Nadiya run into a huge crowd of angry ghosts, the spirits of slaves forced by the Romans to build an amphitheatre. As the children work out what’s stirred the ghosts up, disturbing similarities between past and present come to the fore. It’s a typically exciting and involving story from Tom Palmer and, in publisher Barrington Stoke’s Conkers series, is accessible to all readers, no matter their fluency.
Seth’s not like other boys, he can see people from the past wherever he goes. The installation of new floodlights at his football team Halifax Town’s ground seems to reanimate a violent episode from local history, something that threatens everyone. When his mum talks to Seth about his father, who could also see ghosts, Seth finds the courage to do what has to be done. It’s a thrilling story, one that shows how the past still informs everything we do, as well as demonstrating that there’s a superhero in each of us. Number three in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone and, in Barrington Stoke style, has been written so that all readers can enjoy it.
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Tom Palmer combines football with a dramatic story of the Second World War, plus a touch of the supernatural, to catch readers’ attention in this stirring short novel. Greg is at football camp but finding it hard to apply himself, in fact he wants to quit. Set to find out more about the old airfield near the camp as homework, he’s suddenly finds himself transported back in time and at the controls of a Spitfire. Shot down, he’s imprisoned in a POW camp and there discovers the grit and determination necessary to help himself and another prisoner escape. Back in the present at last, the effects of what he’s learned remain and he finds the focus to succeed. A rousing story that describes the heroism demonstrated by so many in the last war to inspire young readers. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of super-readable short fiction by some of the very best children’s authors and illustrators in the UK. Each title has a host of unique accessibility features to offer cracking reads to more children including reluctant and struggling readers and those with dyslexia or visual stress. Here at Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting the best of their new and backlist titles to recommend to you. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2014 - Interest Age 10+ Reading Age 8 Football never dies – even during the darkest days of the First World War. Tom Palmer tells the true story of the Footballers’ Battalion. Accused of cowardice because they are out playing football instead of fighting, Jack and his friends sign up to fight – and to play football. They have been promised the excitement of a Cup but the boys have to survive all the horror of the fighting too. Best-selling Tom Palmer’s young heroes show their courage in the midst of the conflict. This book is also available to read via the Barrington Stoke 'Tints' App. Find out more here. There is also a great website to support this title full of background information and a Teachers’ Area with invaluable discussion guides, play scripts and Q&As.
Interest Age 10+ Reading Age 8 Football never dies – even during the darkest days of the First World War. Tom Palmer tells the true story of the Footballers’ Battalion. Accused of cowardice because they are out playing football instead of fighting, Jack and his friends sign up to fight – and to play football. They have been promised the excitement of a Cup but the boys have to survive all the horror of the fighting too. Best-selling Tom Palmer’s young heroes show their courage in the midst of the conflict. ~ Julia Eccleshare This book is also available to read via the Barrington Stoke 'Tints' App. Find out more here. There is also a great website to support this title full of background information and a Teachers’ Area with invaluable discussion guides, play scripts and Q&As. Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Super Readable Books of the Year 2016 | April 2016 Book of the Month | Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ | Tom Palmer’s new story starts on a football pitch and then, via a clever bit of ghost story, gives readers the experience of the skill and bravery required to pilot a Sopwith Camel. Young Jatinder is at a football camp located next to an old airfield used by pilots in World War One. He’s given a book about the fighter pilot Hardit Singh Malik and that night finds himself back in time flying on a reconnaissance mission over Germany. He’s shot down and taken prisoner, then faced with the opportunity to do something very courageous, but very dangerous. Based on the true stories of three airmen - Indian, American and German – this gives readers a sense of what bravery really entails, and puts the spotlight on the extraordinary Malik, the first ever Sikh pilot to fly a plane of war. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8 Tom Palmer really gets the drama of sport and competition and no-one writes about it better. The Borderlands team have reached the finals of the World Schools Rugby Trophy and are in New Zealand ready to play the final games but the squad are distracted: for some their RAF fathers are just returning home after fighting, while captain Jesse is behaving badly again. Owen knows just how to motivate the team though and indeed when Jesse walks out, it’s Owen who takes over. There’s a terrific climax to the series and Palmer shows just what winning is all about. Owen is inspired by reading Calon, the story of Welsh rugby and Dead Locked is just the sort of book to enthrall non-readers too. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range. Stop press... Tom will be appearing at the Cheltenham Festival on Saturday 10th October. Click here to find out more. Further information from the Cheltenham Festival.
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Good rugby stories for young readers are thin on the ground, but Tom Palmer’s Rugby Academy books are real winners! In this second book in the series, Rory and the other members of the Borderlands team are in France to play in the European Championship Tournament. Tensions are running high though and not just on the playing field: many of the boys have dads in the RAF and they are alarmed as reports come in of skirmishes in the air, while central character Rory finds it difficult to get on with team captain, Jesse. The fourteen short chapters have all the impact of a Brian O’Driscoll attack, and it’s a great story, whether you are a rugby fan or not. ~ Andrea Reece Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers of 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
Interest Age 8-12 Reading Age 8+ Tom Palmer is brilliant at capturing the passion of sport and the drama it creates. Woody is an outstanding young footballer so when his dad, a pilot who is often away on active service, sends him off to a new school where rugby is worshipped, he is sure he is going to hate it. But things turn out very different! Far from hating it, Woody’s natural sporting talent soon leads him to enjoy the new sport – and to shine at it! How Woody adapts to the new game and the new sport is deftly interwoven with a sensitive portrait of the special pressures felt by the children of those in the armed services making it a book of depth as well as excitement. Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers aged 8+ Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category.Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
One of our Dyslexia Friendly Books of the Year 2014 - Interest Age 10+ Reading Age 8 Football never dies – even during the darkest days of the First World War. Tom Palmer tells the true story of the Footballers’ Battalion. Accused of cowardice because they are out playing football instead of fighting, Jack and his friends sign up to fight – and to play football. They have been promised the excitement of a Cup but the boys have to survive all the horror of the fighting too. Best-selling Tom Palmer’s young heroes show their courage in the midst of the conflict. This book is also available to read via the Barrington Stoke 'Tints' App. Find out more here. There is also a great website to support this title full of background information and a Teachers’ Area with invaluable discussion guides, play scripts and Q&As.
Interest Age 10+ Reading Age 8 Football never dies – even during the darkest days of the First World War. Tom Palmer tells the true story of the Footballers’ Battalion. Accused of cowardice because they are out playing football instead of fighting, Jack and his friends sign up to fight – and to play football. They have been promised the excitement of a Cup but the boys have to survive all the horror of the fighting too. Best-selling Tom Palmer’s young heroes show their courage in the midst of the conflict. ~ Julia Eccleshare This book is also available to read via the Barrington Stoke 'Tints' App. Find out more here. There is also a great website to support this title full of background information and a Teachers’ Area with invaluable discussion guides, play scripts and Q&As. Barrington Stoke is the foremost publisher of dyslexia friendly books and those for reluctant readers. Here on Lovereading4kids we are constantly selecting new titles and refreshing our special dyslexia friendly category. Click here to view our current selection which is broken down by age range.
Interest Age 8-12 / Reading Age 8+. A great story with a football focus. When football is banned at Lily and Zack's school, they decide to keep playing - on their very own secret pitch! Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant and dyslexic readers of 8+
Interest Age Teen, Reading Age 8+ Camping in the abandoned football stadium sounds like a great outing to mark the beginning of the holiday. Lucas, Irfan and Jack are all prepared. Together, they scale the fence and set up camp on the now overgrown pitch. But something is haunting them. Could it be the ghost of the brilliant young footballer who died in mysterious circumstances? Soon the three boys are caught up in more than they had bargained for in an exciting and spooky adventure.
Interest Age 9+ Reading Age 8+. A passion for rugby and a dilemma about it too lies at the heart of this touching story of a boy with a big decision to make. Steven shares his passion for Rugby League with his father who cheers him on from the touch line at every match. Steven’s a good player and the scouts are watching him. But when his moves two hundred miles south to live with his mother and her new partner he has to play Rugby Union and he knows how much his father will hate it! How Steven reconciles his love of the game with the split in his life captures a dilemma sensitively. To view other titles we think are suitable for reluctant readers please click here. A Dyslexia Friendly title.
Full of drama, this is a fast moving crime thriller of football, corruption and clever detective work. Danny Harte is a passionate City FC football fan. He is also a very keen detective. With rumours flying around that City FC is up for sale, Danny sets about trying to find out what is going on. His sleuthing leads him to find Kofi, a young player from Ghana who has been duped by a crooked agent. Helped by a local journalist, Danny sets about setting things right but, in doing so, he finds himself in the greatest danger!
When the new head teacher bans football, the year 6 pupils find a secret place to play. But how can they keep it a secret and, if they can’t, how can they persuade the head to change his mind? A dramatic story with good twists and turns, especially the head’s reason for banning the game in the first place! This is just one of a number of Pocket Money Puffins. To view others click here. Click here to link back to a page featuring all of our World Cup selections.
Football mad boys and girls will devour this all-action adventure novel, virtually in a sitting. Hopefully, even the most reluctant reader, just like the author himself was at school, will devour it too. It’s part of Puffin’s ‘Football Detective’ series but each novel is a stand-alone title with each of them mixing the beautiful game with a crime that needs to be solved. Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Award for the 'book I couldn't put down'.
Multi-award-winning author Tom Palmer returns with a thrilling naval adventure inspired by the incredible history of the Second World War Arctic convoys. Winter 1942. Teenagers Francis, Joseph and Stephen are Royal Navy recruits on their first mission at sea during the Second World War. Their ship is part of an Arctic convoy sailing to Russia to deliver supplies to the Soviets. The convoys have to navigate treacherous waters, sailing through a narrow channel between the Arctic ice pack and German bases on the Norwegian coast. Faced with terrifying enemy attacks from both air and sea, as well as life-threatening cold, gales and pack ice, will all three boys make it home again?
The final pulse-pounding story in the second scintillating season of the smash-hit phenomenon reboot, and the first ever Roy of the Rovers title to be told from the perspective of a female footballer - Rocky Race, Roy's younger sister! A struggling student and brilliant footballer, Rocky Race is many things, but to most people she's just Roy Race's little sister. It's not much fun - especially as Melchester Rovers head to the League Cup Final. Rocky's sick of everyone knowing her through Roy, she's had enough of school, and she's even started having panic attacks. Now it's up to Rocky to find her own way - as a person and a player - and she's going to need all her grit and determination to do it...
Tom Palmer’s riveting After the War was sparked by the true story of Jewish Polish, Czech and German children who were sent to safety in the Lake District after surviving the horrors of Nazism. Addressing big questions - how does hope, humanity and friendship survive unimaginable horrors? How do we begin again? – in a highly-readable style (as is typical of Palmer and publisher Barrington Stoke), this is a thought-provoking, edifying read. Trevor Avery of the Lake District Holocaust Project sets the context in the book’s foreword: “A group of young people arrived in the Lake District in the summer of 1945 and stayed for a few months, the last of them leaving in early 1946. Although they only spent a short time in the area, it was a profoundly important experience for them, and they made a big impression on those who met them at the time.” A sense of this being a “profoundly important experience” is clear from the outset, as revealed when young Yossi first glimpses England, his imagined paradise: “This was the place where they had been told they would be safe. A place where there would be no German soldiers and no concentration camps.” But despite the peace, despite “the lush green hills under a bright blue sky” and the “huge clusters of trees, swallows flitting above them”, Yossi feels unsettled. The brick buildings remind him of concentration camps, and he’s haunted by terrible memories, disturbed by nightmares, and longs for news from his family - will his father ever be found and come for him? Details of everyday life are strikingly evoked, and springboard deeper insights into the children’s experiences – a bike ride reminds Yossi of when he had to surrender his bike to the Nazis, immediately after he and his dad witnessed a horrific attack. An opportunity to attend a Rosh Hashanah celebration triggers his recollection of the terrifying time the SS destroyed his synagogue. A storm over Lake Windermere reminds him of bomb explosions. This device works perfectly, and Yossi’s enduring trauma is palpable. Then, at his lowest, a memory of his father’s words pulls him from the depths of despair: “if we let ourselves go, the Germans will think that they were right: that we are not human.” An exceptional telling of exceptional true events.
It's the proudest moment of Jack's life - his debut as a professional footballer. Now he has a chance to achieve his dream of playing for his country. But it's 1914 and the world is at war. Talk of sportsmen's cowardice leads to the formation of a Footballers' Battalion and Jack has little choice but to join up. The promise of a Cup in Flanders offers a glimmer of hope, but Jack and his teammates will have to survive a waking nightmare if they are ever to play again. A stunning new edition of Tom Palmer's bestselling novel based on the true story of WWI war hero and footballing legend Jack Cock.
Roy Race watched Mel Park, the home ground of his beloved Melchester Rovers, burn to the ground. The club is in serious trouble off the pitch. But when it comes to football, somehow they're holding it together. It's nothing short of a miracle, given that Roy - the greatest Rovers player in a generation - was sold by cash-strapped Melchester, to their greatest rivals: Tynecaster. Roy needs to find a way back to Rovers, and fast - or there won't be a club left to return to...
This fourth volume of the smash-hit phenomenon reboot sees the start of an all-new second season! Roy Race is living the dream. After a whirlwind season that saw him become centre forward for his beloved Melchester Rovers and score a bagful of goals, helping them secure promotion into League One, he's now recognised as one of the best young footballers in the country. But something strange is afoot. As Rovers head off on a pre-season tour, Roy's treated differently, and kept apart from the team. What's going on, and why are Rovers bringing in new players? With his family life hitting a rough patch and everything in flux at Mel Park, it's time for Roy of the Rovers to fight for his team, his family - and his career in football...
Borderlands First XV have their sights set on becoming the best school rugby team in the world. But while the boys focus on their matches, many of their parents are serving overseas in the armed forces, and everyone is worried as conflict grows in the Central Asian Republic. New pupil Woody is a footballer by nature and must decide if he's prepared to give rugby his all. Rory feels like he's losing his focus, distracted by thoughts of his parents in danger. And Owen finds himself a t the centre when conflict breaks out within the team. With so many hurdles to face along the way, how far will they get in the rigorous schools' tournament?
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