By Tony Bradman (author) , Tania Rex (illustrator)
"A soul-warming story about the magic of a good teacher who turns around a pupil’s bad day, with the promise of a brighter future"
Paperback In Stock £7.99 £7.19
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Interest Age 8+ Reading Age 8
Tony Bradman’s gripping novella about a (bad) day in the life of a boy caring for his mum is truly touching, and especially great for reluctant readers – the concise, considered storytelling holds attention, and the short chapters are perfect for encouraging readers to keep going, or take a break, as they require.
Jayden’s Mum hasn’t been herself since losing her job at the supermarket. “Maybe Mum would do the washing today,” he wonders before school one morning. “They really needed some shopping as well – the fridge was almost empty.” With Mum still in bed, Jayden gets little sister Madison ready for school, all the while worrying about what they’ll do when there’s no money at all, what they’ll eat for dinner now the cupboards are bare. Things get even worse at school when his best friend tells him to “go away...We’re not friends anymore.”
Meanwhile, Jayden’s new supply teacher isn’t having a good day either: “She’d wanted to teach kids, but she had also wanted to make a difference to their lives. Yet things had changed, and over the last few years she had seemed to spend all her time filling out forms... And that made her feel cross and sad.” And now she’s here in Jayden’s school feeling lost, wondering whether she should be a teacher at all.
Seeing Jayden look so sad pains her heart and then, when his sadness turns to anger and erupts like an angry volcano, Miss Wilson helps him see light at the end of his dark tunnel.
Particularly suitable for struggling, reluctant or dyslexic readers aged 8+
Mum won't get out of bed. His best friend has dumped him. And school work is just too difficult. Jayden wants to do the right thing - but how can he when it feels like the world is conspiring against him? Everything is going wrong, and when a supply teacher turns up to take his class, Jayden's sure things will keep on getting worse. But Mrs Wilson is not quite the teacher Jayden expected ... can she help turn his bad day around?
Read the full description
A touching and sensitively told story of life as a young carer from beloved author Tony Bradman.
Tony Bradman was born in 1954 (not during the Jurassic era, as his children have been known to claim). He went to school in London, and then Cambridge University. After university he worked in the music press, then became Deputy Editor of Parents magazine, and began reviewing children’s books. He had his first book for children published in 1985 and became a full-time author in 1987. He is a hugely prolific author with a particular passion for bringing history to life for young people. He is a regular at all the major literary festivals, reviews for The Guardian and is the Chair of the Siobhan Dowd Trust. He is perhaps best known in the UK for his Dilly the Dinosaur stories. His books have sold more than two million copies worldwide and he has been published in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Sweden, Spain and Japan amongst others. Tony loves films and popular culture. He lives in Beckenham, Kent with his wife Sally and their three children Emma, Helen and Thomas and Rufus the cat.
If you were a Viking warrior, what would your name be? And what about your battle cry? I love Viking warrior names – my favourites are Erik Bloodaxe, Ivar The Boneless and of course, Harald Hardnut. I’d like my name to be exciting too! But the Vikings had a great sense of humour, and I’m not very tall, so I’d expect they would call me stumpy or something like that. My battle cry would be easy – “Yaaaaaaagggghhh” Which of the places in the book would you most like to visit: Russia, Norway or Constantinople? Why? I’d like to visit them all. Constantinople is now called Istanbul, and it’s an ancient city full of interesting things. I studied Russian at school and so I’d love to visit places like Novogorod and Kiev. And in fact, I’ve just booked up to go to Oslo, capital of Norway – and the first place I’ll visit is the Viking Ship Museum…. If you were a Viking warrior, and could have any person from history/film/books in your gang – who would you choose? And Why? What would the gang be called? I’d pick all the great Viking warriors – Harald Hardnut, Erik Bloodaxe, the Godwin brothers Tostig and Harold, maybe Thor the Norse God, Beowulf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir and Faramir from Lord of the Rings and loads of others. What would we be called? Why The Cool Vikings, of course!
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Mum won't get out of bed. His best friend has dumped him.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed A Bad Day for Jayden and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
A Bad Day for Jayden features in the following genres: Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 7+, Recommendations, Dyslexia Friendly Books for Interest age 9+, Stories about Family and Friends, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Personal Social Health Economic (PSHE), PSHE: Family Issues, Featured Books for 7+ readers
Paperback. £7.19, down from the £7.99 cover price. In Stock.
A Bad Day for Jayden was written by Tony Bradman and published by Barrington Stoke Ltd
A Bad Day for Jayden has 51 pages
£7.19, reduced from £7.99. In Stock.
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