SuitabookThe Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks
Emily Kenny
- Reading
- Read alongside the child if the opening’s sensory distress or the family depression feels close to home. Pause after major discoveries to separate what characters experience from how they respond to one another.
- Themes
- Belonging and difference: Alice and the other new pupils each have difficulties fitting into Pebblewood Boarding School. The story places different kinds of difficulty alongside one another, inviting attention to how pupils understand and support each other.
- Empathy and care: Alice’s friendships are challenged, while Tim is protective of his mother, who is described as having depression. These relationships can prompt discussion about care, responsibility and the ways people respond when someone close to them is struggling.
- Adventure and responsibility: After a seagull gives Alice a job, she undertakes a mission to discover who is stealing the animals. The fantasy investigation supplies forward momentum and may raise questions about acting on unusual information and taking responsibility.
- Worth knowing
- The opening includes a panic attack connected with gritty sand, slimy seaweed and sensory overload. The story also involves a parent’s depression and the mystery of animals being stolen.