One of the most fantastic perks of being a primary school teacher is the amount of great literature you are exposed to; from picture books and graphic novels to chapter books and augmented reality non-fiction texts, any primary school worth its salt has a broad range of high quality texts.

This year, we redeveloped our curriculum. Some texts are very well know. Some are not. This space reviews a selection of texts.

My Name is Not Refugee

By Kate Milner

A picture book aimed at “small children”, My Name is Not Refugee could quite easily be used with children of any age as an introductory text to the topic of refugees.

The thought given to the sequence of the story allows you to empathise with the character – a small boy – and his journey from one country to another. The simple layout and minimal text prevents over-complication of what can be a difficult topic to comprehend.

The illustrations that accompany each section of text are beautifully designed; the support the text and provide a visual reference for what is being discussed. With older children, the images could form the basis of a quality inference lesson and a great deal of discussion and debate could be had around every one.

A further nice touch is that each section has a reflective question back on the reader, making the reader think how they would feel or react in the given situation; again, a great discussion starter.

The overall simplicity of this text is what makes it work so well. The images support the themes and the questions force a reflection back onto us as readers. A great book for any age.

Stars out of 5: