David Almond’s latest is a delightful foray into the charms, quirks and passions of Mina’s mind. As Marcus Sedgewick remarks in the Guardian – not much happens, but it is all captivating. There are beautifully sweet moments like Mina and an old neighbour shouting at the soil, to bring Persephone, and spring to the surface. Almond has always conjured moments like these but he has added some William Nicholson-like criticism of the education system. Mina’s home schooling (currently an issue in Waterloo Road too) is central to the book, and her effective exclusion from the system occurs on the day the education system reaches its nadir, SATs exams in Year 6. But Mina is not only critical, she offers solutions. Her lesson ideas are scrapbooked throughout under the title – extraordinary activity. The best is the result of her only caring educational experience at a PRU. She writes a story by leaving the page blank. It prompts extensive class discussion and invention. Indeed the book would work as an exemplar for much of the current English Programme of Study. All the techniques, styles and purposes are on view. Just as he argued in ‘the Savage’, Almond shows how the markers of high level reading, writing and speaking and listening required by the National Curriculum are possible in Year 6 and 7, if only parents, teachers, neighbours, even taxi drivers listen and encourage kids’ expression and adventure.
My Name is Mina…
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