This year, Miss Ormrod has banned words in books!

Small Things tells the tale of a young boy trying to find his place in the world and struggling to do so. No matter how hard he tries and longs to fit in and connect with his peers and those around him he cannot seem to get there. As he looks around him, all he can see are the successes of others – they are able to make friends, they are able to smile and laugh, they are doing well in school, ultimately, they have what he is missing.

Gradually, all these ‘small things’ start to creep in and cracks begin to show. Despite attempts to ignore and resist, they keep growing and chipping away at him. No one seems to understand and he feels alone and in his despair. He withdraws further and further from those around him as the darkness descends.

It is the persistence of a friendly face, and the sharing of a connected experience which beings a turnaround for the boy. He starts to realise that he is able to feel stronger with the support of others and with renewed determination regains a sense of control. He even comes to see that his experience is not an isolated one, that everyone is affected by some small things, and with this, he sees a familiar face in the crowd…

Year 5 have been thoroughly engaged in a whole host of activities based around the book including: hot-seating different characters; using inference and deduction to work out what is happening in the story; discussing the main themes and issues; creating a movie trailer and writing letters from one main character to another!