Library

Ink Pellet’s book review section covers an eclectic selection of new fiction, teachers’ guides, audio books and classics.

Many of our reviews are written by teachers, so we have an expert eye on how texts will work in the classroom. We hope to create a useful archive of reviews so that you can use this as a reference. If you would like to join our panel of reviewers, please join in or email the editor john@inkpellet.co.uk. We hope the section inspires you to share new fiction with your pupils or to revisit old favourites yourself

  1. Natural Selection

    Natural Selection  

    Braving the elements, but enjoying the lack of crowds, Graham Hooper guides through a couple of nature-inspired exhibitions

  2. Talking Heads – BBC iPlayer

    Talking Heads – BBC iPlayer  

    Talking Heads – BBC iPlayer Review by Susan ElkinIt was an inspiration to recreate during lockdown the series of twelve monologues which Alan Bennett wrote for TV in 1998. The original series – and the printed text – will be very familiar to many secondary English and Drama teachers as a way of teaching what monologues...

  3. Pause for thought… Why Arts Matter

    Pause for thought… Why Arts Matter  

    Susan Elkin makes a strong case for preserving and integrating arts opportunities in schools.

  4. Coffee Break: Manjeet Mann

    Coffee Break: Manjeet Mann  

    Actress, playwright and author of a new young adult novel, Run, Rebel, Manjeet Mann who founded Run the World, a non-profit making organisation which works with women and girls from marginalised backgrounds and helps to empower them through sport and storytelling. Susan Elkin chats to her.

  5. 2020 Visions to Savour

    2020 Visions to Savour  

    Guiding you through the upcoming year of exhibition highlights, Graham Hooper suggests making time for these exciting shows. This is the time to look back on what a good year 2019 was for art, and the best time for planning ahead to 2020; whether you intend to take a class of students on a study […]

  6. Stage Schools – tell parents to tread carefully

    Stage Schools – tell parents to tread carefully  

    Susan Elkin is encouraged by the breadth of stage schools, but suggests eyes need to be wide open. Stage schools are big business. They are also a bit of a minefield. How do you balance ensuring that children get performing arts opportunities against the decline of those same opportunities in mainstream schools and everyone’s need […]

  7. Holes on stage

    Holes on stage  

    Adam Penford, Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, has a passion for storytelling. As he prepares to bring a much-loved story about friendship and doing the right thing to the stage, he shows our imaginations ensure there are no barriers to bringing great tales to life. For the 1.5 million-plus people who have bought the book […]

  8. Piers Torday

    Piers Torday  

    Piers Torday, 45, is the adaptor of A Christmas Carol and The Box of Delights for stage as well as the author of eight children’s novels. Susan Elkin chats to him.

  9. THE BIG INTERVIEW: Composed Comfort

    THE BIG INTERVIEW: Composed Comfort  

    Paul Fincham is a composer whose carol Ring The Bells will be sung in concerts all over the country this Christmas and whose opera The Happy Princess got good reviews last summer. Susan Elkin meets him.

  10. A Rye Gem

    A Rye Gem  

    Susan Elkin met with Theatre Peckham AD Suzann Mclean, discovering this hub has much to offer Founded 33 years ago, Theatre Peckham is an unsung jewel tucked away in the back streets of Southwark about ten minutes walk from Peckham Rye station and close to the centre of Camberwell. Mountview Academy, one of the country’s […]