We have been helping children in Manchester get ready to start secondary school next month with this year’s exciting new transition read - Quiet Storm by local author and Read Manchester Literacy Champion, Kimberly Whittam.
In July we gifted 8,000 copies of the brilliant book to local pupils who are starting Year 7, and they’ve had the chance to take part in special workshops with Kimberly across the city throughout the summer.
Set in Manchester, Quiet Storm 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 and sometimes shy child.
Before the end of term, Kimberly led online sessions with primary schools across the city to talk to pupils about her book and settling into high school. Over the summer holidays she has continued to connect with children making the move to Year 7, delivering a series of free workshops at five local libraries and Z-Arts, which explored themes of friendship and dreams.
One child who attended session with Kimberly at Moss Side Powerhouse Library said:
“I normally only read books like diary style ones or shorter books but this made me want to read more. The book was really inspiring, and it has made me think about situations that might happen and feel better about going to secondary school. I am really excited about secondary school now. I cannot wait to read the next book that Kimberly writes.”
A mum of another child who attended a session said:
“[It’s] very nice to know it’s a book close to where we live. I have started to read the book with my daughter who is going into Year 7. When I read the back of the book, I just thought this sounds very interesting - just what we need, [it] may give us an insight into what might happen going into Year 7. We are not big readers in our family, but I really want to encourage it over the summer. I am just glad you came to our Powerhouse Library; it is like a home away from home for me and that an author came here is amazing.”
Now in its fifth year, our Read Manchester transition read project gives pupils a shared experience when they start secondary 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. When they start Year 7, they will take part in lessons and activities themed around the book.
For the first time this year, the decision on which book should be used for the transition read project was made by school pupils. Reading Ambassadors from Chorlton High School were charged with the task of reading a selection of books that had been shortlisted as possible titles.
After reading all the books on the shortlist and considering each title against various criteria, 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.
With a day job working in a local school in Manchester, author 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."
Thanks to Usborne, publisher of Quiet Storm, for their support of this year’s project.