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Blue Sky Freedom by Gaby Halberstam This turned out to be a book which made the current controversy about age guidance on children’s books seem very relevant. It’s an excellent book and one that we enjoyed very much but we weren’t sure it should be marketed for 8-12 year olds. With it’s fresh, pale blue cover it certainly looked like a book for that age group but there were a couple of graphic scenes of violence which were very distressing. Obviously, as the book is set in the South Africa of the 1970s, a discerning parent would be aware that it could contain disturbing material – and it does! – but a child picking it up of his or her own accord wouldn’t. Quite apart from the graphic violence, the story is deeply sad at times and could be very upsetting to an eight or nine year old. It was quite upsetting enough for me! We discussed the age guidance issue and wondered whether a symbol could be used. We agreed that age guidance could be off-putting – who wants to read a book that tells you it is for 6-8 year olds, for example, if you are ten? We also thought, however, that the certification of films is a broadly similar scheme and wondered whether something like that would be more appropriate than stating the age range. Setting aside that controversy, the book scored 9/10 or 10/10 all round. As Georgina said, ‘It’s an important book’. Apartheid in South Africa may be a thing of the past but for those who were born after it ended, this book gives an insight into how it was, in a very readable and gripping story. The characterisation is excellent and evokes strong emotions, both positive and negative, and so we care a great deal about what happens. There is no saccharine happy ending – but we are left with hope so we finish inspired, if horrifed. We’d all highly recommend this book to anyone who is ten or over. We’re now breaking until Tues Sept 16th, so we have two books to read, one for slightly older readers ‘Ways to Live Forever’ by Sally Nicholls and another for our younger members ‘Born to Run’ by Michael Morpurgo. (The latter, we think, used to be called ‘Best Mate’ so if you have that, we think it’s the same book.) New members are always welcome – so long as they’ve read one or both of the books! Meg To tempt you to join us, we have started writing a story. I ran and ran. Large puddles soaked my trousers inside and out. Overgrown trees poked at me with their bony fingers, beckoning me into the gloom. I tripped and fell but I got up again. Nothing was going to stop me now. Blood was running down my leg. I must have hurt myself when I fell. Images were still flashing in my mind. Two red eyes in the darkness. Something grabbed me and pulled me behind a tree. I scoured the darkness of the hollow, searching for even the slightest glimpse of my rescuer. Sure enough, there he was, etched in the gloom. I could sense that he was smiling, even though I couldn’t see – a teasing smile that I couldn’t quite place my finger on, however hard I tried. What was he thinking? It was almost as if he was laughing at me. ‘Who - ?’ I started but he silenced me before I could even say that. I could still hear the bird crashing through the trees outside. We discussed the who, where and why of this story so we know it is about Kolette who is a 13 year old girl who is wearing jeans and a tracksuit top. It's taking place in England in a forest near a village. As yet, we don't know why she's running. Do come along and help us create the story which we will continue to publish here.