The Secret Sunshine Project by Benjamin Dean - blog tour

The Secret Sunshine Project by Benjamin Dean

Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow, Benjamin Dean's wonderful debut from 2021, is one of the most uplifting books I've read in recent years, and so I jumped at the chance to take part in the blog tour for his follow-up, The Secret Sunshine Project.

At its heart, The Secret Sunshine Project is a story about love in all its many forms. Bea and her older sister, Riley, move to a small country village, St Regent's Vale, to live with their grandmother following the death of their father. They each attempt to deal with their grief in different ways. Although Bea makes new friends, Riley increasingly shuts herself away from the world. She's missing her girlfriend and the freedom that life in a big city can bring, and is also heartbroken that she won't be able to attend London Pride. To support her sister, Bea and her friends decide to create their own Pride festival in St Regent's Vale. However, the self-appointed (but wildly unpopular) leader of the village, Rita Ruckus, has other ideas.

The story unfolds beautifully and builds towards a joyful conclusion. Benjamin Dean creates characters with real depth, all of whom have their own flaws and insecurities, and, as in real life, they rely on each other for support and strength in times of need. Throughout the book, an important message about having the courage to accept and love people for who they really are is regularly reinforced. Benjamin has very quickly become a writer whose work needs to have a home on the bookshelves in every primary classroom and I'm looking forward to seeing where he heads next with his writing. I honestly can't recommend The Secret Sunshine Project highly enough. It's available to buy now in all good independent children's bookshops. Look here to find where your local ones are.

Below, Benjamin has recommended some of his favourite books which have LGBTQ+ representation.

Benjamin Dean’s Recommendations for Books with LGBTQ+ Representation

As someone who knew they were gay from a pretty young age, I often felt lonely or othered simply because I couldn’t find myself anywhere else. Certainly not in my favourite books. Thankfully, LGBTQ+ representation is getting better and better as time goes on and it’s helping to show children a wealth of diversity within the pages of fantastic stories, opening the door for empathy, kindness and compassion. From mermaids and firefoxes to new worlds that can found inside a suitcase, here are some of my favourite stories that include LGBTQ+ representation.

Picture Books:

Nen and the Lonely Fisherman by Ian Eagleton & James Mayhew

The Pirate Mums by Jodie Lancet-Grant

Middle Grade:

The Accidental Diary of B.U.G. series by Jen Carney

The Last Firefox by Lee Newbery

The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series by L.D. Lapinski

Proud of Me by Sarah Hagger-Holt

Me, My Dad and the End of the Rainbow by, uh, me

The World Book by Joe Fullman and Rose Blake - blog tour

A couple of months ago, I was delighted to receive a copy of The World Book by Joe Fullman (author) and Rose Blake (illustrator). It's exactly the kind of book I would have loved reading as a child, being full of fascinating facts and trivia about the 199 countries of the world. For example, did you know that Uzkebistan is double-landlocked? That means it's two countries away from the nearest coast. There's only one other double-landlocked country in the world, which is revealed at the bottom of the page (clue: it's in Europe).

Since taking The World Book into my classroom, it's barely been on the shelves during reading time and is a very popular choice with children who want to share a non-fiction text with one of their friends. It's a book that can be read from cover to cover, but it works equally as well when finding out about one specific country or continent or as a book to dip into and enjoy for a few minutes. As part of the book's blog tour, Rose Blake has written about five objects which inspire her as an illustrator.

Five objects which inspire me by Rose Blake
Speedo costume - I swim every day, and I couldn’t really go without this! The pool is a place where I can stretch my body and empty my mind, and sometimes if I’m lucky, ideas for drawings jump in.

Do!! You!!! Radio - The best morning soundtrack.

Persimmons - I like looking at them and eating them, and I hide them in my drawings too. Lots of my books have hidden persimmons in them…like a Where’s Wally? but for shiny orange fruit.

A book by Helen Garner - I’m very inspired by the way she looks at things. Light, love and friendship and the small things that make life interesting.

My Techo diary - So I know what to do with my day. I use it to write down interesting quotes and thoughts as well as my schedule. It opens flat on the table and is very satisfying to write in.

Thank you so much, Rose, I'll certainly give Do!! You!!! radio a listen. Please do follow the rest of the blog tour this week and make sure you track down a copy of The World Book. Thank you to Welbeck Publishing for inviting me to take part.

(The only other double-landlocked country in the world in Liechtenstein.)

The False Rose by Jakob Wegelius (translated by Peter Graves)

The Stone Roses released their debut album in 1989. When it first came out, I rushed to my local branch of Andy's Records to purchase a copy on cassette and, for at least three weeks, simply refused to play side two. In my opinion, there was absolutely no way that it could as mind-blowingly good as side one. It just couldn't. When I eventually did get round to listening to it, I very quickly realised that side two was equally as good, perhaps even better.

I should really have learned my lesson after that but, earlier this year, I made a very similar mistake. The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius is undoubtedly one of my top five children's books of the past few years and, a couple of months ago, I was fortunate enough to be send an advance copy of its sequel, The False Rose. It waited patiently on my pile of unread books for weeks as I was genuinely concerned that it wouldn't be a worthy follow-up. However, again, I couldn't have been more wrong. It's another absolute masterpiece.

The story itself is complex and spans many different times and locations. Without going into detail, it stars Sally Jones, a seafaring gorilla, who travels to Glasgow in order to learn more about a mysterious necklace which has recently been discovered on her boat. In a similar fashion to The Murderer's Ape, the plot unravels at a perfect pace, with increasingly dastardly characters and villainous schemes introduced regularly throughout its pages.

Sally Jones

However, as with the first book, the real triumph is the characters and the relationships which exist between them. The cast is large but each character is so richly drawn and wonderfully constructed that there's absolutely no chance of the reader becoming confused. Subtle shifts in the dynamics between them are beautifully written, with real significance given to the different motivations of the villains. Sally's steadfast and unwavering loyalty to the Henry Koskela, Signor Fidardo and Ana Molina, the other returning characters from the first book, again shines through, as does her compassion towards Bernie, a hired thug with increasing reservations about the situation that he's found himself embroiled in. I can think of very few books where the characters feel as alive as this and I'm confident that you'll end up caring deeply about what happens to them all.

Although Jakob Wegelius is the genius behind The False Rose, being both author and illustrator, a special mention must go to Peter Graves, who's done an incredible job translating the book from its original Swedish.

The False Rose is truly special. Read it soon, read The Murderer's Ape too if you haven't already, and fall in love with the characters who inhabit the unique world of Sally Jones.

A huge thank you to Pushkin Press for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

Violet's Tempest by Ian Eagleton and Clara Anganuzzi

Violet's Tempest is a beautiful picturebook collaboration between author Ian Eagleton and illustrator Clara Anganuzzi. It tells the story of Violet, a girl who needs to overcome her shyness and regain her confidence at school, and how the unconditional love and support of her family help her to do this.

Ian is rapidly developing into one of the most exciting children's authors around, subtly weaving important issues into his storylines, and Clara is clearly a talent to watch closely over the next few years. They've both been kind enough to share their favourite illustrations from the book, which is available now from independent children's bookshops. Thank you so much Ian and Clara for inviting me to be part of your blog tour, and I wish you every success with Violet's Tempest.

Clara Anganuzzi

My favourite spread in the book is the one where Nan and Violet are on the chair together with all their homey knick-knacks surrounding them. It reminds me of the comfort of family and home. I feel like it has a warm feeling to it and it really shows the support Nan gives to Violet, not only in that moment but throughout their time together (through the photos in the background and little trinkets).

Ian Eagleton

My favourite illustration is the final double page spread. Nan and Violet are holding hands and so are Uncle Sebastian and Uncle Tony. Violet’s Tempest was actually the first picture book I wrote, so having two men holding hands at the end of the story was a very important and emotional moment for me. Clara has filled the page with such warmth and magic. I also love that Violet is now leading her family home, she’s finally gained some confidence and is skipping ahead. I am very grateful to Holly Tonks and Alice Curry for their input in helping these final moments come to life and for their support when I said I’d like Uncle Tony and Uncle Sebastian to be holding hands. It feels like a magical end to the story, full of hope and happiness. 

Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City - Rob Biddulph

Rob Biddulph has illustrated some of my favourite books of the past few years, as well designing the front covers for several more. With the release of Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City, an energetic, original and highly-imaginative adventure, he's also now written one of my favourite books of the past few years.

Peanut Jones is finding it hard to adapt to all the changes that have taken place in her life. Her dad's gone missing, with no obvious clues as to his whereabouts, and she's struggling to fit in at her new school. Things take a turn for the bizarre when she finds an art pencil with mysterious powers. Suddenly, she discovers that whatever she draws on paper immediately becomes real and Peanut, along with Little Bit, her five-year-old genius of a sister, and Rockwell, her school Study Buddy (but most definitely not her friend!) gets transported to the magical world of Chroma. Also known as The City of Colour and Creativity, Chroma is made up of several different districts which include Warholia, Cubeside, Vincent Fields and Modernia. Although trying to avoid capture by the mysterious Mr White and returning home safely are Peanut's main priorities, finally finding out what actually happened to her missing father is also becoming an increasingly real possibility.

There's just so much that I love about this book. The illustrations, as you'd expect from Rob, are absolutely fantastic and the limited colour pallette, which is basically black, white and orange, works beautifully. However, my favourite thing of all is the wonderful collection of characters who appear throughout the story. Readers will be able to empathise with the central trio of Peanut, Little Bit and Rockwell, but the cameos from joyful creations such as Jonathan Higginbottom, the talking alligator with ambitions to become a nursery nurse, and Table Guy, the superhero with total command over items of furniture and who finishes every sentence with an exclamation mark, are absolutely hilarious. At almost 400 pages, it's certainly a hefty book but with short chapters and so much wonderful artwork, it's one that readers will absolutely fly through. Although the story is complete in itself, it's also sets everything up beautifully for the second part of the trilogy which is due sometime next year. I personally can't wait. 

Not only is Rob a wonderful illustrator and author, and the World Record holder for organising the biggest ever live draw-along, he's also an extremely considerate person who was kind enough to record short personal videos for each stop on the blog tour for his book. Thank you Rob, and thank you Macmillan Children's Books for inviting me to take part.

How To Be Brave - Daisy May Johnson

Pushkin Children's Books are one of the most original children’s publishers around and have released some stunningly good reads over the past few years. When I was invited to take part in the blog tour for How To Be Brave by Daisy May Johnson, I jumped at the opportunity.

Much of the story takes place in a boarding school, The School of the Good Sisters, which is run by a group of nuns with a very novel approach to teaching the curriculum. The opening few chapters explore the relationship between Elizabeth North, an orphan, and her childhood nemesis, Magda DeWitt. Without revealing too much of the plot, many of their problems are caused by the rescue of a small brown Amazonian duck.

The book then jumps forward a couple of decades, to a time when Elizabeth is single-handedly raising her young daughter, Calla. They live in considerable financial hardship, with Calla continually attempting to ground her mother, by now a world-renowned duck expert, in reality. When Elizabeth has a chance to travel to South America for a unique work opportunity, Calla is forced to attend The School of the Good Sisters. Changes in leadership at the school have turned it into a very different place, although Calla survives the hostile environment by forming close friendships with her two roommates, Edie and Hanna. After a few weeks, Calla loses contact with her mother and learns that she is missing somewhere in the Amazon. She then has to team up with her two best friends to try and work out exactly what is going on.

There is so much to love about this book. It's fun and energetic, being a wonderfully quirky updating of a traditional boarding school story, and it has a rich collection of characters. A personal favourite of mine is Gareth, a security guard who has an obsession with trying to improve the quality of his vol-au-vents. There are references to contemporary children’s literature (Robin Stevens and Eva Ibbotson both get a mention) which help give the book a modern feel. A chapter with strong similarities to the famous scene from the film Spartacus is genuinely funny, as well as delivering an important message about the importance of loyalty. The book is absolutely crammed full with amusing footnotes, which really help the reader develop a sense of empathy with the story's narrator.

Calla, Edie and Hanna

How To Be Brave touches on several important themes, including loneliness, friendship and poverty. The most powerful message for me is the way Calla learns that her mother, despite loving her daughter dearly, is not infallible, and often struggles to cope with the challenges of day-to-day life. It’s a universal message that we all ultimately learn, but it’s done with subtlety and with love.

I can see it being very popular with fans of the Murder Most Unladylike and Scarlet and Ivy series, and would be a perfect addition to a Year 5/6 class bookshelf. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Daisy May Johnson.

How To Be Brave was released on the 1st July and is available now from all good independent bookshops. Huge thanks to Pushkin for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

Dear Year Six

Dear Year Six,

I can’t believe that your time in Deer Class is coming to an end. It's a shame that our reading journey was interrupted several times by various lockdowns but at least we've been fortunate enough to get through some incredible books together over the past couple of years.

We started this year with The Super Miraculous Journey Of Freddie Yates (it seemed like the perfect book to welcome you back with after being absent for several months). Halloween was definitely the ideal time to read Ghost Stadium, especially on that day when there was a big thunderstorm. We then moved on to High-Rise Mystery (followed, virtually the next day, by Mic Drop…I didn’t really get much choice there). After Christmas, you all listened at home to The Beast and the Bethany (oh, some good news, a second one is coming soon) and then, after having to give up on it last year when the first lockdown happened, I finally got to read you The Light Jar. It was worth the wait, it really was. I was so pleased that you hadn’t heard The Outlaw Varjak Paw before as it meant I got to share it with you. I know Omar’s voice changed virtually every time he spoke, which several of you certainly enjoyed pointing out, but, in my defence, there's a pretty big cast of characters to keep track of. Add in all the picturebooks and poems we've enjoyed together, the non-fiction books and magazines we've explored and the graphic novels you've devoured, and I think we've had a pretty amazing year.

Sadly, we never got to enjoy The Shark Caller, Boy in the Tower or The Haunting of Aveline Jones, and I’m just as disappointed about that as you. Seek them out when you get to Year Seven, they’re all absolutely outstanding. When I bump into you in Tesco after-school (I'll be topping up on Kit Kats salad), I’m going to ask you whether you’ve read them so make sure you do. You know I’m not joking! We didn’t get to read all we wanted to, we never could, and that’s fine.

I want to say that it’s been an absolute privilege to be part of your reading journey over the past two years and I’ve loved watching you become such passionate, adventurous and open-minded readers. How do I know that you are? Well…

Because you looked forward to story time every day as much as I did. Because you wanted to talk about books with me and each other whenever there was a spare moment. Because when I brought in a bookshelf from home, you were full of great ideas about how we could use it. Because you’ve all read books by a such a wide range of authors. Because when I asked for volunteers to judge the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize for science books, you all jumped in. Because you tuned in to story time when you were stuck at home. Because you took control of our Pupil Recommendations Shelf and ran it far better than I could. Because when there was a new book in class that everyone wanted to read, you introduced borrowing systems that actually worked. Because you constantly reminded me whenever I forgot about Poem of the Day. Because the first fifteen minutes of every Monday morning was spent telling me all about what you’d read at the weekend. Because most of you loitered around the desk whenever a brown parcel arrived, in case it was books (it was always books). Because so many of you signed up for the Summer Reading Challenge. Because you were desperate to squeeze in about four more novels during the final three weeks of term (we had a good go!). Because you understood that reading isn’t just books. Because…oh, there are so many more reasons.

I’ve spent the last few minutes thinking about each of you and I’m pretty sure I can break it down even further.

Marcus, you’re a reader because of the way that you talked with so much enthusiasm about the Planet Omar books to literally anyone who walked into the classroom. You started a trend for reading them, not just in our class but across the whole school.

Leila, you’re a reader because when it was your turn to do the Recommendations Shelf, your choices were incredible…fiction, non-fiction, graphic novels, picturebooks, poetry, you included it all.

Reuben, you’re a reader because the questions you asked Sharna Jackson about High-Rise Mystery were so perceptive. You were also the driving force behind getting me to read Mic Drop immediately afterwards.

Isla, you’re a reader because you took your role judging the science books very seriously. You read all of them, you spoke about all of them, you did an amazing job.

Zak, you’re a reader because every class needs a graphic novels expert. Thank you for being ours this year! How you knew exactly what everyone else was reading and what page they were on remains a mystery to me.

Josh, you’re a reader because you were so desperate to share the book you were reading about Ernest Shackleton with me (thank you, I loved it). The fact that you enjoy non-fiction and are prepared to show your passion for it is wonderful. I’ll never forget when you did a spontaneous talk to the class about animals being kept in captivity because a book you were reading had affected you so much.

Kaiesha, you’re a reader because you always, always wanted to read the class book again by yourself as soon as we’d finished it. I loved seeing how carefully you listened whenever we read together! You usually managed to get the biggest cushion too.

Luca, you’re a reader because after listening to Kwame Alexander talk about his books, you went and read every single one. You’re right, they are fantastic. Keep your eyes open for his next one.

Casey, you’re a reader because you invariably seemed to know who had the missing Mr Wolf’s Class and Cirque du Freak books. Thank you for keeping my books bill down!

Sophie, you’re a reader because almost every time I looked at you, you were engrossed in something by Jo Cotterill. I liked your plan of moving off-camera during assembly time (but keep it quiet).

Archie, you’re a reader because you always had something constructive to say when a child came in from another class asking to borrow a book. Year Four have a lot of respect for you and your book knowledge.

Scarlet, you’re a reader because almost every conversation we had was about books and reading. And occasionally about your favourite ice-creams.

Henry, you’re a reader because everyone in the class (including me) respected your recommendations. I don’t know how you have the time to fit in all the books you do. You read incredibly widely and you can talk about the work of so many authors.

Joseph, you’re a reader because you finally discovered that reading is for you. Seeing your confidence and enthusiasm grow over the year made me so happy. Keep going!

Alesha, you’re a reader because you seemed to know exactly where to find every Poem of the Day that we’d shared together. You kept it going and would always step in when needed.

TJ, you’re a reader because you knew more about manga than anyone else. To be honest, I only ever really understand half of what you were telling me but I loved the passion you had when you were explaining all the storylines.

I could go on Deer Class, I really could, but I'm confident that I've made my point. It’s been a joy and a privilege to work with you all this year but the summer holidays are looming and we’ve all got reading to be catching up with. There are currently 17 books on my pile at home! Please make the most of your time at secondary school. Find the library, tell the librarian about the books you love, catch up with all the books that we never got around to reading, read old books and new books, read funny books, sad books, scary books, emotional books and everything in between.

We’ve talked about why reading matters so many times over the past couple of years. You all understand why it's so important, so please share your passion with the world. I know you will.

Mr Biddle