Suggested Reading List 2019-2020 - 'A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.' - Downe House School
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Suggested Reading List
2019-2020
‘A classic is a book that has never finished
saying what it has to say.’
– ITALO CALVINO, THE USES OF LITERATURE
Foreword Mrs Philippa Toogood, Director of the Murray Centre Reading is one of the greatest pleasures and privileges that we have. It challenges and comforts us; takes us to new places in our imagination and gives us the unique opportunity to glimpse the world in a different way. Reading is at the heart of our curriculum and our new library is at the heart of the Murray Centre. This reading list brings together a huge range of resources recommended by our academic departments. I hope very much that you will enjoy browsing through their suggestions and that they will inspire you to try something new or revisit something familiar. Mrs Jenny Hill, Learning Resources Manager The Summer break is an ideal time to pick up a book and immerse yourself in a different world that sparks your imagination. It is also a time when you have an opportunity to read more widely around the subjects that you study. We really hope you take up some of the suggestions in this reading list and enjoy expanding your mind! But don’t leave it there – make sure that you keep this to hand throughout the coming year and continue your reading adventure. We look forward to welcoming you into this wonderful new library. Remember that it is your library – a place to find resources that will help you with your academic work, but also where you can choose a book to read for pleasure from our wide selection of fiction titles. Whatever genre you enjoy - fantasy, detective, classic or even graphic novels – there is something for everyone. The library is open between 8am and 10pm every day during term time so make sure you come up and make use of this fabulous facility. You are always welcome!
Table of Contents
Lower School ......................................................................................................................................................................... 4
Fiction
Non-fiction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Recommendations from the Design Technology Department
Recommendations from the Drama Department
Recommendations from the Geography Department
Recommendations from the History Department
Recommendations from the Languages Department
Recommendations from the Learning Skills Department
Recommendations from the Maths Department
Recommended Listening from the Music Department
Recommendations from the PE Department
Recommendations from the Science Department
Upper School ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12
Fiction
Non-fiction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Recommendations from the Art Department
Recommendations from the Design Technology Department
Recommendations from the Drama Department
Recommendations from the Geography Department
Recommendations from the History Department
Recommendations from the Languages Department
Recommendations from the Learning Skills Department
Recommendations from the LEITH/Cookery Department
Recommendations from the Maths Department
Recommendations from the Music Department
Recommendations from the PE Department
Recommendations from the RS Department
Recommendations from the Science Department
Sixth Form.................................................................................................................................................................... 27
Fiction
Non-fiction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 30
Recommendations from the Art Department
Recommendations from the Art History Department
Recommendations from the Business Studies Department
Recommendations from the Design Technology Department
Recommendations from the Drama Department
1Recommendations from the Economics Department
Recommendations from the English Department
Information for students studying EPQ
Recommendations from the Geography Department
Recommendations from the History Department
Recommendations from the Maths Department
Recommendations from the Modern Languages Department
Recommendations from the Music Department
Recommendations from the Politics Department
Recommendations from the RS Department
Recommendations from the PE Department
Recommendations from the Science Department
2Lower School (2019/2020)
(*Titles highlighted in blue are more challenging reads)
Fiction
Richard Adams Watership Down - as Watership Down is not far from the School this book is a must for all
Downe House girls. It follows the heart-warming adventures of a group of rabbits searching
for a new home. Stunning and compulsive.
Louisa M Alcott Little Women - Christmas won’t be the same this year for Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, as their
father is away fighting the Civil war, and the family has fallen on hard times. But though
they may be poor, life for the four March sisters is rich with colour, as they play games, put
on wild theatricals, argue and get into all sorts of trouble. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Isabel Allende City of the Beast’ (rainforest) - first young adult novel by this Chilean-American writer.
Published in 2002, the story is set in the Amazon rainforest. (Rec. by the Geography Dept)
David Almond A Song for Ella Grey - a modern twist on an authentic Greek love story. (Recommended by
the Learning Skills Dept)
Julie Berry All The Truth That’s In Me – a mysterious American fiction with a powerful heroine and
religious overtones that will keep you reading. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
John Boyne The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - when his father gets a new job Bruno’s family move to the
middle of nowhere, the only people around are in a strange fenced-in area and wear striped
pyjamas. Bruno sets out to find out why.
Kimberly B. Bradley The War That Saved My Life - Ada is never allowed outside, the one time she went out her
mother beat her and screamed, “You’re a cripple, a monster with that ugly foot.” When her
brother is evacuated from London, Ada escapes and goes with him. A heart-warming and
thrilling tale of a girl’s desperate fight for a normal life.
Sita Brahmachari Artichoke Hearts, sequel Jasmine Skies, and Tender Earth - share Mira’s life as she
experiences grief then plunges into adventure as she visits her relatives in India and
uncovers a family secret. Laila adjusts to life as Mira leaves home and she starts secondary
school.
Catherine Bruton We Can Be Heroes (9/11) - my dad was killed in the 9/11 attacks. But the stuff in this book
isn’t about that. It’s about the summer my mum went away. The summer that me and Jed
and Priti tried to catch a suicide bomber and prevent an honour killing. There’s stuff about
how we built a tree house and joined the bomb squad; how I found my dad and Jed lost his;
and how we both lost our mums then found them again. (Rec. by the Geography Dept)
Sarah Carroll The Girl in Between - a girl hides in the mill where she and her mother are squatters. ‘I’m
invisible’, she says. Why must no one see her? Why does her mother fear the authorities
will take her away? Then the girl hears noises, who or what else is in the mill?
Cathryn Constable The Wolf Princess - a magical tale set in Russia in winter. What Sophie, an orphan, finds
when she goes on a school trip to Russia will change her life forever.
Gillian Cross After Tomorrow - a dystopic tale where survival is threatened and adventures await.
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Sarah Crossan Apple and Rain (2016 The Children’s Book Award winner) - Apple’s mother left eleven years
ago and her greatest wish is that she will come home. But, “Be careful what you wish for.”
A tale of love, family relationships and friendship.
Charles Dickens Great Expectations - the narrator, Pip recounts his life story from his childhood to how he
matures and becomes a young man.
Dombey & Son - Dombey is a powerful man whose neglect of his family triggers his
professional and personal downfall.
A Tale of Two Cities - Paris and London in the shadow of the French Revolution.
3Oliver Twist - a gripping portrayal of London’s dark criminal underbelly, following the story
of the orphan, Oliver Twist. (Classic Literature)
Berlie Doherty Treason - Will is a page to Prince Edward, son of King Henry VIII. As the King's favourite, Will
gains many enemies in Court. His enemies convince the King that his father has committed
treason. Will embarks on a great adventure to set his father free. (Rec. by the History Dept)
Roddy Doyle Greyhound of a Girl - a tender Irish tale with ghostly spirits. (Rec. by the LS Dept)
Daphne du Maurier Rebecca - this is a must if you are spending any time in Cornwall over the summer! (Classic
Literature)
Helen Dunmore The Ingo Chronicles - these books are loosely based on the Cornish myth of the mermaid of
Zennor. Five fantastic fantasy adventures - ideal holiday reading.
Maz Evans Who Let the Gods Out? - Elliot's mum is ill and his home is under threat, but a shooting star
crashes to earth and changes his life forever. The star is Virgo - a young goddess on a
mission. But the pair accidentally release a wicked death daemon. (Rec. by the Classics
Dept)
F Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby - follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on
prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. (Rec. by the Drama Dept).
Zana Fraillon The Bone Sparrow (2017 Amnesty cilip Carnegie Honour) - born in an Australian
Immigration Detention Centre, Subhi has never known freedom. His mother,a Rohingya,
fled Myanmar to save her family only to find more persecution. A heart-breaking tale of
survival, friendship and hope. Ideal reading for LIV geography.
Allen French The Red Keep - an adventure tale of knights and robbers in the French countryside, with
details on castle life, knighthood and chivalry.
Cordelia Funke Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath (trilogy) - excellent fantasy reading, with very appealing
characters.
Jostein Gaarder Through a Glass Darkly, The Christmas Mystery and Sophie’s World - three clever mixes of
fiction and philosophy.
Neil Gaiman The Graveyard Book - ghosts and adventures abound in this fantastical creation.
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Alan Garner The Weirdstone of Brisingamen and sequel, The Moon of Gomrath - these wonderful fantasy
adventure stories mix Arthurian Legend and local folklore to stunning effect.
The Owl Service - another all-time great - mystery and suspense aplenty, and an excellent
portrayal of family relationships over generations.
Stacy Gregg The Island of Lost Horses - a book which combines ponies with History – perfect!
(Recommended by the History Department).
John Grisham Theodore Boone, and the rest of this six book series - Theo Boone, thirteen, knows more
about the law than most adult lawyers. A brilliant series for children by the master thriller
writer.
Mark Haddon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - murder mystery novel like no other. The
detective, and narrator, is Chris Boone. (Recommended by the Drama Dept)
Frances Hardinge Cuckoo Song (2015 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - a fantasy suspense story set in the 1920’s.
Triss wakes after an accident sure something is terribly wrong. What she finds is terrifying
and she has seven days to sort things before it is too late.
Lucy and Stephen George and the Unbreakable Code - George and his best friend Annie haven't had any
Hawking space adventures for a while and they're missing the excitement. Seriously strange things
start happening. Banks are handing out free money; supermarkets can’t charge for their
produce so people are getting free food; and aircraft are refusing to fly. It looks like the
world's biggest and best computers have all been hacked. (Rec. by the Maths Dept)
4Frances Hodgson The Secret Garden - lonely orphan Mary discovers Misselthwaite Manor’s secrets and finds
Burnett a place to belong. Classic children’s literature.
and Holly Webb Return to the Secret Garden - in Holly Webb’s sequel, it is Emmie’s turn to discover the
secret garden and solve the mystery of who wrote the diary she finds.
Anthony Hope The Prisoner of Zenda - on the eve of the coronation of King Rudolf of Ruritania, his brother,
Prince Michael, has him drugged. Colonel Sapt and Fritz von Tarlenheim, attendants of the
King, persuade his distant cousin Rudolf Rassendyll, an English visitor, to impersonate the
King at the coronation. Classic romance from 1894. (Rec. by the RS Dept)
Ted Hughes The Iron Man - a modern fairy tale. A giant metal man of unknown origin arrives in England
and destroys all in his sight. After some time he becomes more a part of the community and
even fights to protect the human race. (Rec. by the Languages Dept)
Sun-mi Hwang The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly - South Korea’s ‘Charlotte’s Web’ about the fulfilment
of dreams and love, particularly the love a mother has for her child. (Rec. by the Learning
Skills Dept)
Eva Ibbotson Journey to the River Sea (Rainforest) - it is 1910 and Maia has been sent from England to
start a new life with distant relatives in Manaus, hundreds of miles up the Amazon. She is
accompanied by an eccentric and mysterious governess who has secret reasons of her own
for making the journey. Both soon discover an exotic world bursting with new experiences.
(Rec. by the Geography Dept)
Rudyard Kipling The Just So Stories - perfect for dipping in and out of over the summer. Follow this up with
The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories. (Classic Literature)
Elizabeth Laird The Garbage King (Ethiopia) - when Mamo's mother dies, he is abandoned in Addis Ababa.
Stolen by a child-trafficker and sold to a farmer. Escaping back to the city, he meets another,
very different runaway. Together they join a gang of homeless street boys who survive only
by mutual bonds of trust and total dependence on each other. (Rec. by the Geography Dept)
Crusade - this is a richly detailed historical adventure by the Carnegie shortlisted author
about two boys, two faiths and one unholy war. (Rec. by the History Department)
Caroline Lawrence Roman Mysteries Series - set in the ancient Roman Empire during the reign of the Emperor
Titus. They detail the adventures of four children who solve mysteries and have adventures
in Ostia, Rome, Greece, and beyond: Flavia, a Roman girl who lives in Ostia; Nubia, a slave
girl from Africa; Jonathan, a Jewish boy; and Lupus, a mute beggar boy. (Rec. by the Classics
Dept)
Madeleine L’Engle A Wrinkle in Time - categorized as ‘Science Fantasy’ by the author, this is a book you will
not want to put down. An exciting tale of space and time travel and a race to save first Meg’s
scientist father and then her brother who have become prisoners of the evil It. (Rec. by the
Maths Dept)
M.G.Leonard The Battle of the Beetles: Beetle Boy (Bk1), Beetle Queen (Bk2), Battle of the Beetles (Bk3),
Beetle Boy:The Collector’s Handbook - a trilogy about a brilliant boy, his loyal friends and
some amazingly intelligent beetles that brings together adventure, humour and real
science! (Rec. by the Biology Dept)
CS Lewis The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe - the first of the Narnia series. Four children travel to
the land beyond the wardrobe in another time and place. Many religious overtones,
including the power of sacrifice. (Recommended by the RS Department)
Gill Lewis Sky Hawk - with tragic elements and warm friendships celebrated, this makes a tempting
read. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Penelope Lively The Ghost of Thomas Kempe - a charming tale of a young boy and the ghost of a sorcerer
in Tudor England. (Rec by the History Dept)
G. McCaughrean Where the World Ends (2018 winner of Carnegie Medal) - based on a true story. In the
summer of 1724 a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stack to hunt
birds, but this year is different no one comes to take them home. Can Quill and his friends
survive? A tale of courage and friendship.
5Andri Snaer Magnason The Story of the Blue Planet - Brimir and Hulda are best friends who live on a small island
on a beautiful blue planet where there are only children and no adults. Their planet is wild
and at times dangerous, but everything is free, everyone is their friend, and each day is
more exciting than the last. Until Gleesome Goodday arrived (Rec by the Languages Dept)
Sandy Stark-McGinnis Extraordinary Birds - December is a troubled 11-year old who thinks she is a bird, but who
soon begins to question her past. This is a moving story about identity, belonging and our
universal need for love. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Adeline Yen Mah Chinese Cinderella (China) - an autobiography for children based on the bestselling Falling
Leaves. Jung-ling's family considers her bad luck because her mother died giving birth to
her. They discriminate against her and make her feel unwanted yet she yearns and
continuously strives for her parents' love.
Nancy Mitford Love in a Cold Climate - these wonderful stories of life at Alconleigh between the wars are
funny, touching and stand the test of time. (Classic Literature)
L M Montgomery Anne of Green Gables - Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert are expecting a young orphan boy to
help them with farm work at Green Gables. But when a skinny red–haired girl turns up
instead, they get more than they bargained for. (Recommended by the Art Dept)
Michael Morpurgo Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea - a story spanning generations and international boundaries
about overcoming hardship and fulfilling dreams. It tells the story of a young orphan boy
who was part of Britain’s Child Migrant Programme to Australia and his daughter who sails
solo from Australia to Britain.
War Horse - a stunning wartime classic. In the deadly chaos of the First World War, one
horse witnesses the reality of battle. (Rec by the Drama Dept)
R.J. Palacio Wonder (2013 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - Auggie, ten, born with a terrible facial abnormality,
is starting school for the first time. A story to make you think about society’s stress on looks
and how we react to people who look different, a moving story about acceptance, friendship
and courage.
Michelle Paver The Outsiders and the rest of The Gods and Warriors Series - adventure and mystery set in
Bronze Age Greece. Hylas and Pirra should be enemies but fight as one to defeat their foes
and fulfil a prophecy, If an outsider wields the blade, the House of Koronos burns.
Annabel Pitcher My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece (2012 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - Jamie’s family broke
up after his sister was killed in a terrorist attack; with his dad and sister he moves to start
a new life but dreams of his mum coming back.
Anne Plichota & The Hope and the rest of the Oksa Pollock series. A mix of magic, mystery, destiny and
Cendrine Wolf humour with a feisty heroine at the centre who has to save her home world.
Philip Pullman Northern Lights - the first book follows Lyra in her search for a missing friend, Roger. During
her quest to the bleak North, she encounters all sorts of magical creatures and overcomes
considerable difficulties.
Rick Riordan Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is on the most
dangerous quest of his life. He must journey across the United States to catch a thief who
has stolen the original weapon of mass destruction — Zeus’ master bolt.
Marcus Sedgwick Floodland - winner of the Branford Boase Award 2001, this is a powerful novel about
surviving in a sinking world. Imagine that a few years from now England is covered by water,
and Norwich is an island. (Rec. by the Geography Dept)
Russell Stannard The Time and Space of Uncle Albert - famous scientist Uncle Albert and his niece enter the
dangerous and unknown world of a thought bubble. Their mission: to unlock the deep
mysteries of Time and Space...Discover why you can't break the ultimate speed barrier, find
out how to become older than your mother, how to put on weight without getting fat, and
how to live forever without even knowing it.
6Black Holes and Uncle Albert - uncle Albert and his niece make more astonishing
discoveries: the exploding universe, wonky jelly space, black holes, shrinking tape
measures and how it is that we are made of stardust. (Rec. by the Maths Dept)
John Steinbeck The Red Pony and The Pearl - from one of America’s greatest novelists.
Rebecca Stevens Valentine Joe - a trip back in time to WW1 with sadness but you will be gripped from the
first page. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Robin Stevens Murder Most Unladylike - an insight into boarding school but not as you know it. Murder
and detectives are on the agenda. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Noel Streatfeild Ballet Shoes - a story of three children on the stage. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Kate Taylor Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen - the interwoven lives of three women span the
new world and the old – atmospheric and interesting.
Josephine Tey The Daughter of Time - classic novel about Richard III, the hunchback king, whose skeleton
was discovered in a council carpark, and who was buried in March 2015 in state in Leicester
Cathedral. This investigates his role in the death of his nephews, the princes in the Tower,
and his own death at the Battle of Bosworth. (Rec. by the History Dept)
Sandi Toksvig Hitler’s Canary - a story, told through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy, about the Danish people
and their part in saving the Jewish population of Denmark from the Nazi Occupiers.
(Recommended by the Languages Department)
Robert Westall The Kingdom by the Sea - when a bomb during an air raid destroys Harry's home and kills
his family, he knows that he is all alone in the world and has only himself to rely on. Anxious
that he will be sent to live with his fussy Cousin Elsie he goes on the run across the war-
battered land of North East England. (Rec. by the RS Dept)
Rebecca Westcott Dandelion Clocks - a bittersweet tale about bereavement and loss, with heart-warming and
funny moments throughout.
Scott Westerfield Uglies - a novel set in the future, where your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that
turns you from an ‘Ugly’ into a stunningly attractive ‘Pretty’. It is both funny and disturbing,
highlighting just how overrated beauty can be.
T H White The Sword in the Stone - an entertaining fantasy adventure set in medieval England
following the life of King Arthur. (Recommended by the History Dept)
Katherine Woodfine The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow - set in Edwardian times this delightful book contains
both mystery and adventure. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Non-Fiction
Recommendations from the Design Technology Department
Judith Carmel-Arthur Bauhaus
Charlotte & Peter Fiell Design of the 20th Century
Brigitte Fitoussi Memphis
Catharine McDermott The little book of Design Classics and 20th Century Design
Per Mollerup Collapsibles
Merrell The A-Z of Modern Design
Recommendations from the Drama Department
George Bernard Shaw Pygmalion - Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train bedraggled
Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party.
Denise Deegan Daisy Pulls it off - a comedy play by Denise Deegan. It is a parody of wholesome adventure
stories about life in a 1920s girls' English boarding school, such as those by Angela Brazil.
7Claire Dowie Adult Child/Dead Child - how do we cope without love? The need for love and care, and the
trauma that’s brought about by its absence is at the heart of Claire Dowie’s Adult
Child/Dead Child.
Carol Ann Duffy Collected Grimm Tales - this collection of fairy tales from the brothers Grimm have been
adapted and dramatized for the Young Vic Company.
Willy Russell Blood Brothers - Blood Brothers Musical is, at first, a heart-warming story of Mickey and
Edward, two brothers separated at birth, brought together again through friendship.
I Read the News Today - this telling play visits a local radio station when its late night
broadcast is interrupted by a gun toting escapee from police custody.
Sarah Tuft 101 Stories - captures the grief and resilience of New York City in the wake of September
11th through the words of those who experienced it directly.
Recommendations from the Geography Department
Bill Bryson Neither Here Nor There; Notes From a Small Island and African Diary - the author brings his
unique brand of humour to bear on Europe as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight
hold on his wallet, and journeys from Hammerfest, the northernmost town on the continent,
to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia.
Zlata Filipovic Zlata’s Diary (modern day conflicts) - Zlata was given a diary shortly before her tenth
birthday and began to write in it regularly. She was an ordinary, if unusually intelligent and
articulate little girl, and her preoccupations include whether or not to join the Madonna fan
club, her piano lessons, her friends and her new skis. But the distant murmur of war draws
closer to her Sarajevo home.
Recommendations from the History Department
E.H. Gombrich A Little History of the World - in forty concise chapters, Gombrich tells the story of man from
the stone age to the atomic bomb. In between emerges a colourful picture of wars and
conquests, grand works of art, and the spread and limitations of science.
Adam Hart-Davis What the Tudors and Stuarts did for us - a lively and well-written account of how the world
we live in was shaped in the Tudor period.
Recommendations from the Languages Department
Cauvin Monsieur Papa - a story that is at once funny and moving. 10 year old Laurent doesn’t want
to spend the holidays in Paris with his mum while his father goes on holiday to Bangkok
and sets about trying to get his own way.
Fabio Geda In the Sea there are Crocodiles - based on a true story, we read about young Enaiatollah's
remarkable five-year journey from Afghanistan to Italy where he finally managed to claim
political asylum.
René Goscinny Asterix The Gaul - in French of course!
& Albert Uderzo
St Exupéry Le Petit Prince - one of the most-translated books in the world and voted the best book of
the 20th century in France. A moving tale of loneliness, friendship, love and loss in the form
or a young prince fallen to Earth.
Sempé Le Petit Nicolas - a collection of short stories depicting an idealized version of childhood in
1950s France. Funny, charming and easy to read for beginners of French.
8Recommendations from the Learning Skills Department
Sinclair McKay Secret Service Brainteasers - the sequel to the Sunday Times Bestseller 'Bletchley Park
Brainteasers'. Whether you have linguistic flair, an instinct for technology, or good common
sense, pit your wits against some of the greatest minds of our time with ingenious
brainteasers, deadly countdowns and hidden codes.
Tim Peake The Astronaut Selection Test - have you got what it takes to be an astronaut? Including real
questions for the European Space Agency's selection test, this accessible fun filled
guide will challenge aspiring astronauts like never before.
Recommendations from the Maths Department
Alex Bellos Alex’s Adventures in Numberland - in search of weird and wonderful mathematical
phenomena, the author travels the globe and meets the world's fastest mental calculators
and a startlingly numerate chimpanzee in Japan.
A Gardiner Discovering Mathematics: The Art of Investigation - with puzzles involving coins, postage
stamps, and other commonplace items, this book challenges readers to account for
perplexing mathematical phenomena.
Boris A Kordernsky The Moscow Puzzles - possibly the most popular Russian puzzle book ever published.
Marvellously varied puzzles ranging from simple "catch" riddles to difficult problems.
Lavishly illustrated with clear diagrams and amusing sketches.
H.M. Enzensburger The Number Devil - twelve-year-old Robert hates his maths teacher. He sets his class boring
problems and won't let them use their calculators. Then in his dreams Robert meets the
Number Devil who brings the subject magically to life, illustrating with wit a world in which
numbers can amaze and fascinate.
Recommended Listening from the Music Department
Benjamin Britten Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (CD) - listen to this orchestral tour de force as a
reminder of all the instruments in the orchestra. A free App has also recently been released
by the Britten-Pears Foundation, to help you explore the work in more detail.
Anita Collins How playing an instrument benefits your brain (Ted Talk) - this short fun animated video
shows how you enter a full-brain workout when playing an instrument.
Howard Goodall Big Bangs: Five Musical Revolutions - composer and presenter Howard Goodall traces the
major developments in music history, including the invention of recorded sound. Enjoy this
resource either as a printed book or through the DVD episodes, which are available on the
DH media server.
Darren Henley Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Classical Music - discover all those things that
you have wanted to know about how Classical music works, but were too afraid to ask!
Caroline High For the Love of Classical Music: A Companion - this book will take you on a tour of landmark
pieces and performances, key artist and composers and give you surprising facts about the
world’s most beautiful music.
Victor Wooten Music as a language (Ted Talk) - this short video describes how music is a powerful
communication tool. It asks us to approach music the same way we learn verbal language
by embracing mistakes and playing as often as possible.
The Rough Guide to Samba (CD) - Explore the vibrant sounds of Brazilian Samba through this audio resource,
which is available on I-Tunes or Spotify
The Rough Guide to Reggae (CD) - Explore the vibrant sounds of Jamaican Reggae through this audio resource,
which is available on I-Tunes or Spotify
9Recommendations the PE Department
Rachel Ignotofsky Women in Sport: Fifty Fearless Athletes Who Played to Win
Matthew Syed You Are Awesome: Find Your Confidence and be Brilliant at Almost Anything
Recommendations from the Science Department
Biology Department
Sir David Adventures of a Young Naturalist: SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH’S ZOO QUEST
Attenborough EXPEDITIONS
Journeys to the Other Side of the World: Further Adventures of a Young Naturalist
Prof. Brian Cox Human Universe and Wonders of Life
Miriam Darlington Otter Country: In Search of the Wild Otter
DK Eyewitness Science Forensic Science
Rachel Ignotofsky Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World
Katharine Lowrie Running South America: With My Husband and Other Animals
Stephen Moss Wild Hares and Hummingbirds: The Natural History of an English Village
Stacey O’Brien Wesley: The Story of a Remarkable Owl
Alice Roberts The Complete Human Body
DK Evolution
Human Anatomy
Chemistry Department
Adrian Dingle The Periodic Table: Elements with style!
John Farndon The Great Scientists
Dan Green Chemistry: Getting a big reaction!
Sam Kean The Disappearing Spoon
Richard L Myers The 100 Most Important Chemical compounds
Oliver Sacks Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood
Robert Winston All About Chemistry (Big Questions)
Physics Department
Edwin Abbott Flatlands
Jess Brallier Who was Albert Einstein
Lewis Carroll Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Richard Dawkins The Magic of Reality
10Upper School (2019/2020)
(*These books are recommended for ages 14+)
Fiction
Douglas Adams The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy and series - Arthur Dent’s mad journey through the
Universe following the destruction of Earth to make way for an intergalactic highway.
Chimamanda Ngozi Americanah - fearless, gripping, spanning three continents and numerous lives, the
Adichie National Book Critics Circle Award-winning ‘Americanah’ is a richly told story of love and
expectation set in today’s globalized world.
Tariq Ali Shadows of the Pomegranate Tree - Tariq Ali captures the humanity and splendour of
Muslim Spain... an enthralling story, quizzical as well as honest, informative as well as
enjoyable (Rec. by the RS Dept)
Maria Angels The Auschwitz Violin - the unforgettable story of one man’s refusal to surrender his dignity.
Anglada (Rec.by the Music Dept)
Margaret Atwood Penelopiad - in Homer’s account in The Odyssey, Penelope—wife of Odysseus—is portrayed
as the quintessential faithful wife. Margaret Atwood give a splendid contemporary twist to
the ancient story. (Rec. by the Classics Dept)
Jane Austen Northanger Abbey - a lively parody of the Gothic novels popular during Jane Austen’s youth.
Follow the naïve heroine from a loving home, to the constraints of Bath society & gothic
Northanger Abbey. (Classic Literature)
Jo Baker Longbourn - ‘If Elizabeth Bennet had the washing of her own petticoats,’ Sarah thought,
‘she would be more careful not to tramp through muddy fields’. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Julie Berry All the Truth That’s In Me - a page-turning, American mystery with a powerful heroine, set in
a community with Puritan parallels. This links well with plays such as The Crucible.
Malorie Blackman Knife Edge, Checkmate and Double Cross - follow up, Noughts and Crosses, with the rest
of the series to discover the full impact of Stephy and Callum’s forbidden love.
R D Blackmore Lorna Doone - a powerful and moving love story that follows the life of the young farmer
John Ridd, as he grows to manhood determined to right the wrongs in his land and win the
heart and hand of the beautiful Lorna Doone. (Classic Literature)
Anne Bronte The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - this dark, powerful novel was written by the youngest and
perhaps lesser known of the Bronte sisters, Anne. It portrays the disintegration of the
marriage of Helen Huntingdon, the mysterious ‘tenant’ of the title, and her dissolute,
alcoholic husband. (Classic Literature)
Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre - Jane grows up in her heartless aunt’s home before being sent to Lockwood
school. She becomes a governess and falls in love with her employer Mr Rochester but he
has a terrible secret. (Classic Literature)
Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights - haunting, complex and tragic, this is the tale of Heathcliff and his all-
consuming love for Cathy. But mostly it is about the vengeance and the ruin Heathcliff visits
on two families when Cathy marries another. (Classic Literature)
Kevin Brooks The Bunker Diary (2014 Carnegie Medal Winner) - the harrowing but addictive tale of
teenager Linus who tries to do a good deed but is kidnapped and finds himself incarcerated
in an underground bunker, where there is six of everything. A hard hitting and emotional
read.
11Dan Brown The Da Vinci Code - Harvard professor Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone
call while on business in Paris: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been brutally murdered
inside the museum. Alongside the body, police have found a series of baffling codes.
Angels and Demons - the Vatican, Rome: the College of Cardinals assembles to elect a new
pope. Somewhere beneath them, an unstoppable bomb of terrifying power relentlessly
counts down to oblivion.
Agatha Christie Dumb Witness - April: when Emily falls down the stairs, her dog and his ball are blamed.
Emily, convinced someone is trying to kill her, writes to Poirot. June: Poirot receive the
delayed letter but it is too late.
The Man in the Brown Suit - Anne craves adventure. When a man is killed in front of her
and the police say it was an accident not murder she sets out to bring the killer to justice.
Paulo Coelho The Alchemist - the bestselling story about a boy’s mystical journey to understand the
nature of the Universe. Coelho has since written many more thought provoking shortish
stories, but The Alchemist is by far the best known. (Rec. by the RE Dept)
Sarah Crossan One (2016 Carnegie Medal Winner, 2016 The Bookseller’s YA Fiction Award, & 2016 Irish
Children’s Book of the Year Prize) - conjoined twins Grace and Tippi are joined below the
waist but are still individuals. Forced to go to school for the first time Grace wants more
from life whilst Tippi wants things to stay the same. Written in verse. Brilliant.
Charles Dickens Hard Times - shows the dangers of living life by utilitarian principles and paints a vivid
picture of the grinding relentlessness of industrial England. Set in the North rather than
London.
Nicholas Nickleby
The Old Curiosity Shop - the mesmerising tale of Little Nell, one of the most well-known
characters in English fiction. (Classic Literature)
Kathryn Evans More of me - Teva has a devastating secret, at home there are eleven younger Tevas. She
has a year to live then her body will split and the next Teva emerge and take her identity
whilst she will stay the same age and be hidden at home. But this time she intends to fight
for her life and a future. A story about identity.
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby - Nick Carraway tells of the glittering life in the houses on Long Island
Sound, of beautiful Daisy and her true love. Compare with the film. (Classic Literature)
Aubrey Flegg Wings over Delft, The Rainbow Bridge, and In the Claws of the Eagle - this trilogy is an
unforgettable mixture of love, art, music and history. In mid-17th century Holland, Louise
Eeden’s portrait is painted; seen during the French Revolution; then in 20th century Austria
where it falls into the hands of the Nazis.
Gayle Forman If I stay - a haunting novel about the power of love and loss - a story that won't quite let you
go.
Jostein Gaarder Through a Glass Darkly - a dying girl and her relationship with the angel who comes to look
after her.
Sophie’s World - the outstanding introductory text and popular classic to Philosophical ideas,
taught through mysterious letters written to a 14-year-old Norwegian school girl, Sophie
Amundsen. Albert Knox teaches the history of Western Philosophy and later both become
caught up in their own perplexing philosophical plot. (Rec. by the RE Dept)
Sally Gardner Maggot Moon (2013 Carnegie Medal, 2012 Costa Children’s) - Standish Treadwell, fifteen,
lives in a dystopian world where people live in assigned zones & are controlled via the police
& propaganda. When the rebels see a chance to publicly expose the regime Standish, who
is dyslexic, becomes an unlikely hero.
12Adele Geras Troy - ten years into the Trojan War, Xanthe and Marpessa are sisters living in Troy, which
is besieged by the Greeks. After Paris swept Helen away from her husband in Greece to his
home in Troy, Menelaus started a war to win her back. (Rec. by the Classics Department)
Linzi Glass Ruby Red (2007 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - set against the turbulence and danger of an
apartheid divided world. Brought up to stand against everything that divides the society in
which she lives, Ruby finds herself falling in love with someone with starkly opposing views.
John Green The Fault in Our Stars (2013 Berkshire Book Award Third Place) - Hazel has been diagnosed
with terminal cancer, but when gorgeous Augustus Waters appears at the Cancer Kid
Support Group, her life changes.
Looking for Alaska - another award-winning book, this is Green’s debut novel. Miles Halter
is tired of his dull life in Florida and persuades his parents to send him to boarding school.
There, he meets the clever, but wild Alaska Young and falls for her.
Mark Haddon The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Christopher Boone, 15 years old has
Asperger's syndrome. When he finds a neighbour's dog murdered, he begins a journey
which will turn his whole world upside down. A murder mystery like no other.
Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist - Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America but in
the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly
overturned, and his own identity is in seismic shift, unearthing allegiances more
fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love. (Rec. by the RE Dept)
Frances Hardinge The Lie Tree (2015 Costa Book of the Year, 2016 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - Faith, 14, is a
perfect Victorian young lady on the surface but in reality she is a rebel, she wants to be a
scientist. A dark modern Gothic mystery mixing the supernatural with natural science.
Cuckoo Song - an exciting tale of mystery and fantasy with subtle creepy undertones.
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Thomas Hardy Far From The Madding Crowd - the story of shepherd, Gabriel Oak and his love for the
elusive Bathsheba Everdene, whose wayward nature leads her to both tragedy and true
love, the most pastoral of Hardy’s Wessex novels.
Robert Harris Fatherland - what if Hitler had won the war? In a world where Nazi Germany won the Second
World War, a German policeman investigates a conspiracy involving the deaths of high-
ranking Nazis. (Recommended by the History Department)
Will Hill After the Fire (2018 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - inspired by the 1993 Waco siege in America
but not about Waco, Hill imagines what life would be like if you survived after the cult you
were a member of ended in disaster.
Takashi Hiraide The Guest Cat - a Japanese work which is thought-provoking and fascinating. (Rec. by the
Learning Skills Department)
Mary Hooper Fallen Grace - Victorian England is vividly brought alive via historical facts skilfully
interwoven with the story of destitute Grace and Lily; exposing the contrast between
conditions for the rich and for the poor.
Rachel Hore The Memory Garden - Lamorna Cove, a tiny bay in Cornwall, picturesque, unspoilt. A
hundred years ago it was the haunt of a colony of artists. Today, Mel hopes it is a place
where she can escape the pain of her mother’s death and a broken love affair, and gradually
put her life back together. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Khaled Hosseini A Thousand Splendid Suns - Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry
Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local
teenager, Laila. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against
starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways and
lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles. (Rec by the Geography Dept)
13And the Mountains Echoed - in this tale revolving around not just parents and children but
brothers and sisters, cousins and caretakers, Hosseini explores the many ways in which
families nurture, wound, betray, honour and sacrifice for one another; and how often we
are surprised by the actions of those closest to us. (Rec. by the RE Dept)
Sun-Mi Hwang The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly - breaks down the boundaries between the animal
and the human and takes us on the intensely personal journey of a lonely hen whose simple,
fierce desires guide her to surprising places. This entertaining and plaintive tale is South
Korea’s Charlotte’s Web for youth and adults alike.
Eva Ibbotson The Secret Countess - when Anna’s aristocratic family flee the Russian Revolution and
arrive penniless in England, she secretly becomes a servant.
Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon - Charlie Gordon, IQ 68, is a floor sweeper and the gentle butt of
everyone's jokes - until an experiment in the enhancement of human intelligence turns him
into a genius.
Nick Lake There Will be Lies (2016 Carnegie Shortlist) - a psychological thriller set in America. Shelby
is home schooled, her mother is over protective and they never go anywhere; but is this
because Shelby is deaf or is there another reason?
Tanya Landman Apache (2008 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - 14-year-old Siki tells of her fight for her land, her
tribe and for her life in a tale that vividly brings alive the ways of the Apache.
Buffalo Soldier (2015 Carnegie Medal Winner) - his heart-breaking story asks, ‘what does it
mean to be free?’ The American Civil War frees Charley and her fellow slaves, but left on
her own, Charley’s only way to survive is to disguise herself as a man and enrol in the army.
John Le Carre Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - the classic novel of Cold War espionage. (Recommended by the
History Department)
Harper Lee To Kill a Mockingbird - an all-time favourite and one to re-read; explores with humour the
irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South. (Classic Literature)
E Lockhart We Were Liars - a brilliant modern American reworking of classic tales containing both the
beautiful and the damned. (Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Jack London The Call of the Wild - an American saga about a sled dog. Worth a read. (Recommended by
the Learning Skills Department.)
Tim Lott Fearless - a chilling fable and thriller about a heroic girl prepared to risk everything in the
pursuit of justice for the inmates of the City Community Faith School. Little Fearless is a
heroine who is an inspiration to all who read about her. Haunting and powerful.
Maja Lunde The History of Bees - this dazzling and ambitious literary debut follows three generations of
beekeepers from the past, present, and future, weaving a spellbinding story of their
relationship to the bees – and to their children and one another – against the backdrop of
an urgent, global crisis. (Rec. by the Biology Dept)
Glenda Millard The Stars at Oktober Bend (2017 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - Alice, fifteen, faces a life of
discrimination. Attacked when she was twelve, her brain injury makes communication
difficult. Manny, the ex-boy soldier, is running from the horrors of his past. Can they find
happiness together and unravel what happened to Alice?
Michael Morpurgo Private Peaceful - a brutal and heart-breaking story of two brothers thrust into the misery of
the First World War. Amongst the mud and rats they are forced to grow up quickly and
discover courage.
War Horse - in the deadly chaos of the First World War, one horse witnesses the reality of
battle from both sides of the trenches. (Recommended by the History Department)
Jojo Moyes Me Before You - a compelling novel of life and death decisions and unlikely affections.
14Patrick Ness The Knife of Never Letting Go (2008 Booktrust Teenage Prize)
The Ask and the Answer (2010 Carnegie Medal Shortlist)
Monsters of Men (2011 Carnegie Medal Winner)
A Monster Calls - this thrilling award-winning trilogy is about loyalty, love, survival, power
and the devastating realities of war. Join Todd and Viola in their fight against evil in a world
where everyone lies and your thoughts can be heard by other people.
George Orwell 1984 - a challenging story of a nightmare world – but it will enable you to understand the
real significance of ‘Big Brother’. (Classic Literature)
Animal Farm - when the downtrodden animals of Manor Farm overthrow their master Mr
Jones and take over the farm themselves, they imagine it is the beginning of a life of
freedom and equality. But gradually a cunning, ruthless élite among them, masterminded
by the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, starts to take control. (Rec. by the History Dep)
Mal Peet Tamar (2006 Carnegie Medal Winner) - Tamar is three things: the river Tamar, the
codename of a Dutch Resistance agent in occupied Holland, a girl’s name. Fifteen-year- old
Tamar is left a mystery to solve when her grandfather dies.
Annabel Pitcher My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece - a painfully honest book that deals with grief but also
includes a slight injection of humour. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Department)
Philip Pullman Northern Lights Trilogy - a fantastic read. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Department)
The Book of Dust Vol I La Belle Sauvage - a prequel to the original, Lyra is a six-month-old
baby, placed in the care of some nuns. She has to be rescued from her enemies and from
a catastrophic flood by their resourceful odd-job boy, Malcolm. They are forced to make a
dangerous journey which will change Malcolm for ever.
Tracy Rees Amy Snow - abandoned as a baby, Amy is taken in at nearby Hatville Court. But the masters
and servants of the grand estate prove unwelcoming. Amy's only friend is the sparkling
young heiress Aurelia. When Aurelia tragically dies, she leaves Amy a bundle of letters with
a coded key. A treasure hunt that only Amy can follow. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Philip Reeve Railhead (2017 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) and Black Light Express - a thrilling mix of sci-fi,
adventure, conspiracy thriller, crime and romance set in an imagined universe where
intergalactic travel is by train. Join Zen Starling and his android girlfriend Nova as their
adventures take them through the universe and beyond.
Lucinda Riley The Midnight Rose - spanning four generations the Midnight Rose sweeps from the glittering
palaces of the great maharajas of India to the stately homes of England, following the
extraordinary life of a girl Anahita, from 1911 to the present day. (Rec. by the Art Dept)
Deborah Rodriguez The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul - after hard luck and heartbreak, Sunny finally finds a place
to call home—in the middle of an Afghanistan war zone. A stirring portrait of a faraway place
where, even in the fog of political and social conflict, friendship, passion, and hope still exist.
(Rec. by the RS Dept)
Meg Rosoff How I Live Now - a dystopic tale of war-torn love. (Recommended by the Learning Skills
Department)
Katherine Rundell Rooftoppers - a thrilling saga of 19th Century Paris where adventure abounds.
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Oliver Sachs The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat - an interesting read, about cases of people with
neurological disorders, that helps you understand how the brain works.
Marcus Sedgwick Midwinterblood - a supernatural saga of love set on a mysterious island with parallels to
the Norse myths and Puritan communities.
15Ruta Sepetys Between Shades of Gray (2012 Carnegie Medal shortlist) - historical, fictionalised biography.
In Stalin’s Baltic State purges, millions were deported to Siberia. This unforgettable tale of
the fate of Lina and her family takes you across Russia to Siberia and back.
Salt of the Sea (Winner 2017 Carnegie Medal) - Germany 1945: a group of friends flee from
the Russian army. Salvation is the Wilhelm Gustoff; but in the worst maritime tragedy in
history she is sunk with the loss of 9,000 lives. Will they survive? A mixture of truth and
fiction.
Mary Wollstonecraft Frankenstein - since being published in 1818, this book, with its story of a monstrous
Shelley creature, has scared and terrified generations of readers.
Dave Shelton Thirteen Chairs - a thrilling ghostly tale which will keep you deliciously terrified!
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Dodie Smith I Capture the Castle - a classic coming of age story told by a charismatic and witty narrator.
Jane Stubbs Thornfield Hall - this is the story that Jane Eyre never knew – a narrative played out on the
third floor and beneath stairs, as the servants kept their master’s secret safe and sound.
(Recommended by the Art Department)
William Sutcliffe The Wall (2014 Carnegie Medal Shortlist) - set in the Middle East, Joshua lives in a divided
city. When he leaves school, he will fight the enemies who live in the other half of the city.
But his beliefs change when he sees what is on the other side of the wall and incurs an
unpayable debt whilst making an unlikely friend.
The Gifted and Talented and Me - a brilliant laugh-out-loud story about fitting in, falling out
and staying true to yourself. Sam is a fabulous comic creation, as is his 'on a voyage of
discovery' mum. A really clever, funny read. (Rec. by the Learning Skills Dept)
Robin Talley Lies We Tell Ourselves - strong, hard-hitting and uncomfortable to read. 1959 in segregated
America, the first black students arrive to attend Jefferson High School, Virginia. This book
puts you in their shoes as they are met with a wall of racial hatred.
Mildred D. Taylor Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - feisty Cassie learns the shocking realities of racism and
discrimination as she grows up in Mississippi during The Great Depression. Powerful and
moving.
Josephine Tey Daughter of Time - an unravelling of the story of the Princes in the Tower.
Angie Thomas The Hate U Give (2018 Winner Amnesty cilip Carnegie Honour Award) - draws the reader
into Starr’s twin world of poor neighbourhood and exclusive posh school. In a world rife
with prejudice and racism, where does she fit in? When a law officer kills her unarmed
friend, she has hard choices to make. What Starr does next could get her killed.
Karen Thompson The Age of Miracles - Earth is gradually slowing to a halt. At first it is not noticeable,
Walker days just have a few extra minutes tacked onto them. Gradually the night and day become
longer and longer and temperatures swell during the long days. See this through the eyes
of Julia, a teenager going through adolescence. (Rec. by the Languages Dept)
J. R.R Tolkien The Lord of the Rings Trilogy - a political allegory, darker and more sophisticated than The
Hobbit
Ivan Turgenev Fathers and Sons - a literary masterpiece about the conflict between generations, and
perhaps one of the most compelling, extraordinary and famous heroes in literature, Bazarov,
the ‘nihilist’ or ‘new man’. The novel shocked Russian society when it was first published in
1862 and still has the power to shock today. (Classic Literature)
Jenny Valentine Fire Colour One (2016 Carnegie Shortlist) - Iris, sixteen, has never met her father; according
to her mother he abandoned them. Then Iris’s mother takes her to meet him because he is
rich and dying and her mother wants his money.
16Gore Vidal Creation - a novel following the grandson of Zoroaster on his travels from ancient Persia to
the East, searching for theological and philosophical ideas about creation. (Recommended
by the RS Department)
Susan Vreeland Girl in Hyacinth Blue - the story of an imaginary painting by Vermeer, and the aspirations
and the longings of those whose lives it illuminates and darkens. (Recommended by the Art
Department)
Alice Walker The Color Purple - written in epistolary form, this is the powerful and compelling story of a
poor young woman’s struggle to be noticed and heard in a patriarchal and prejudicial
society. It is, at times, harrowing but it is also heart-warming.
Elizabeth Wein Codename Verity - a tale of war and adventure with friendship playing a key role.
(Recommended by the Learning Skills Department)
Lauren Wolk Beyond the Bright Sea (2018 Carnegie Shortlist) - moving and lyrical with a vivid sense of
time and place, a tale of adventure, mystery and survival and what it means to be a family.
Historical fiction set in 1925 in America. Crow washes up on a tiny island as a baby and
begins to question who she really is when a fire appears on an abandoned island.
Diana Wynne Jones Hexwood - like a human memory, Hexwood Farm doesn't reveal its secrets in chronological
order. Ann finds entering Hexwood a lottery as she may not end up in the same place or
time period. This is Jones’s best fantasy book. A gripping read.
Recommendations from the Art Department
Jeff Orgee Art Matters (11-14 Student Book) - this book covers a range of styles and cultural conditions
which pupils can use for inspiration and comparison.
Rod Taylor Understanding and Investigating Art - bringing the National Gallery into the Art Room.
Recommendations from the Design Technology Department
Julian Allwood Sustainable Materials – With Both Eyes Open
and Jonathan Cullen
Louis A. Bloomfield How Things Work – The Physics of Everyday Life
J Cristian Campos Product Design Sketches
udith Carmel-Arthur Bauhaus
Andrew H. Dent Material Innovation: Product Design
Mark E. Eberhart Why Things Break: Understanding the World by the Way It Comes Apart
Charlotte & Peter Fiell Design of the 20th Century
Brigitte Fitoussi Memphis
Peter Forbes The Gecko's Foot: How Scientists are Taking a Leaf from Nature's Book
Kevin Henry Drawing for Product Designers (Portfolio Skills)
Jennifer Hudson 50 Product Designs from Concept to Manufacture
Rob Lawlor Engineering in Society
David J.C. MacKay Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air
Natasha McCarthy Engineering: A Beginner's Guide
Catharine McDermott The little book of Design Classics/ 20th Century Design
Merrell The A-Z of Modern Design
Per Mollerup Collapsibles
OB James Dyson – An autobiography
Henry Petroski Invention by Design – How Engineers get from Thought to Thing
Small Things Considered: Why there is No Perfect Design
The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems
Paul Rodgers Product Design (Portfolio)
Alvin R. Tilley The Measure of Man and Woman: Human Factors in Design
17Recommendations from the Drama Department
Plays
Davey Anderson Blackout - inspired by the true stories of a young offender from Glasgow, a 15 year old who
had committed a violent crime. It's a hard-hitting play about getting bullied, fighting back,
trying to make a name for yourself, losing everything, then finding your way again.
Steven Berkoff The Trial - one of Kafka's best-known works, it tells the story of a man arrested and
prosecuted by a remote, inaccessible authority, with the nature of his crime revealed neither
to him nor the reader.
Edward Bond Eleven Vests and Tuesday - one person is involved in two events; one at school, another as
a soldier in the army. Although separated by years, the incidents bear an uncanny
resemblance to each other.
Ryan Craig How to Think the Unthinkable - what could a play written 2,500 years ago possibly mean
today? Ryan Craig’s new adaptation of Sophocles’ famous tragedy captures the passion,
danger and moral deadlock of the story of Greece’s most famous teenager.
De Angelis Playhouse Creatures - the year is 1669, a bawdy and troublesome time. Theatres have just
reopened after seventeen years of Puritan suppression. There is a surge in dramatic writing
and the first English actresses appear on stage.
Helen Edmundson Coram Boy - the story follows the wealthy Alexander Ashbrook and Toby, a young boy saved
from an African slave ship, as their lives become closely involved. The story is told in two
sections: one takes place in 1751 and the other in 1759.
Carlo Goldoni The Servant of Two Masters - a comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni written in
1743. Goldoni originally wrote the play at the request of actor Antonio Sacco, one of the
great Truffaldinos in history.
Charlotte Keatley My Mother Said I Never Should - this play is about the difficult relationships between
mothers and daughters and explores the themes of independence, growing up and secrets.
A story which explores the lives and relationships of four generations of women: Doris,
Margaret, Jackie and Rosie.
Dennis Kelley DNA - a group of teenagers do something bad, really bad, then panic and cover the whole
thing up. But when they find that their cover-up unites them and brings harmony to their
once fractious lives, where is the incentive to put things right?
Joan Littlewood Oh, What a Lovely War! - an epic musical developed by Joan Littlewood and her ensemble
at the Theatre Workshop in 1963.
Arthur Miller The Crucible - a 1953 play by the American playwright, Arthur Miller. It is a dramatized and
partially fictionalized story of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of
Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693.
Evan Placey Pronoun - a play about a transgender teenager, exploring the impact on friends and family
of an individual's decision to undergo gender transition.
William Shakespeare As You Like It - follows its heroine Rosalind as she flees persecution in her uncle's court,
accompanied by her cousin Celia and Touchstone the court jester, to find safety and
eventually, love, in the Forest of Arden.
The Taming of the Shrew - the main plot depicts the courtship of Petruchio, a gentleman of
Verona, and Katherina, the headstrong, obdurate shrew. Initially, Katherina is an unwilling
participant in the relationship, but Petruchio tempers her with various psychological
torments—the "taming"—until she becomes a compliant and obedient bride.
Twelfth Night - Viola is shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria and she comes ashore with the
help of a captain. She loses contact with her twin brother, Sebastian, whom she believes to
be dead.
18You can also read
