Pupils from St Augustine's Primary School with copies of their free book
Children heading off to high school for the first time this September in Manchester are being invited to meet the author of a special book aimed at helping them through what can, for some, feel like a daunting move from primary to secondary school.
The book, 'Quiet Storm' by Manchester children's author Kimberly Whittam and published by Usborne, has been playing a key part over the summer in helping youngsters across the city who are about to move up to high school.
Set in Manchester, the book tells the story of Storm who has never liked to stand out from the crowd, but ever since she started Year 7, her life has been full of people telling her she needs to speak up, make friends and be more like her popular big brother. It was written by the author based in part on her own experiences as a quiet, sometimes shy child.
A copy of the book was given to all Year 6 pupils in Manchester at the end of the summer term in July just before they left their primary schools for good, in a bid to bridge the gap between primary and secondary school and to help quell any nerves they might have about moving to 'big school'.
The big book give-away saw 8,000 copies of the book given to pupils as part of the city's annual 'Transition Read' project.
With the new school term now only weeks away, youngsters who are about to make the move to high school are being given the chance to join author Kimberly as she talks about her book and about settling in at high school.
Having already been out to primary schools to talk to pupils during the final few weeks of the summer term back in July, Kimberly is also doing a mini tour of some of the city's libraries over the next fortnight where she will hold special sessions aimed at children about to make the move into Year 7.
With a day job working in a local school in Manchester, Kimberly is acutely aware of the difficulties some pupils have when they move to high school. She said: "I wrote Quiet Storm for children who struggle with shyness; children who don't speak up, no matter how much they want to. It's also a celebration of the chaotic yet joyous tribulations that occur every day in classrooms across the country."
Now in its fifth year, the Transition Read project was devised in 2020 by Read Manchester - a partnership between the city council and the National Literacy Trust - as a response to the Covid lockdowns, which meant pupils in their last year of primary school weren't able to take part in any of the usual transition activities that take place each year to help prepare them for high school.
Pupils are gifted a copy of the same book as they leave their primary school and are tasked with reading it over the summer holidays ahead of starting at high school where during their first few weeks, they will take part in lessons and activities themed around the book.
The hugely successful scheme has seen more than 40,000 free books given out to Year 6 pupils over the last five years, with the books used for the project usually chosen by librarians or teachers.
This year however for the first time, the decision on which book should be used for the project was handed over to school pupils themselves. A group of Reading Ambassadors from Chorlton High School were charged with the task of reading a selection of books that had been shortlisted as possible titles for the transition read.
The Reading Ambassadors were asked to consider each title against various criteria including whether there were any interesting themes that could generate discussion or debate, the characters and how believable they were, if it would be good for readers of all levels, and how well each book explored change or managing emotions connected to change.
After reading all the books on the shortlist and discussing them with each other 'Quiet Storm' was the hands-down winner, and the young judges were agreed this should be the book all their peers were given a copy of.
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People, said: "Leaving primary school and moving up to high school is a big deal for all children, no matter how confident they usually are, and we want to do everything we can to help with this. The transition read project is such a simple idea and yet we've seen over the last few years since it started that having this shared experience with other children when they start at high school really can make a difference."
Details of the Quiet Storm library sessions with author Kimberly Whittam are as follows:
Mon 12 August - Manchester Central Library, 2 - 3 pm
Tue 13 August - Z-Arts Hulme, 1 - 2 pm
Fri 16 August - Didsbury Library, 2 - 3 pm
Mon 19 August - Longsight Library, 2:30 - 3:30 pm
No need to book a place, just turn up.