Pigeon English
Stephen Kelman
Eleven-year-old Harri has just moved from Ghana to a London housing estate with his mum and big sister. He loves running fast, his new school and the pigeon that visits the flats. When a boy is stabbed outside a chicken shop, Harri and his best friend Dean decide to play detective and find the killer themselves.
- Length
- About 75,000 words
- To read it
- About 50 days
- Stage
- GCSE
Reading time at 1,500 words a day, the pace we start from until we know your child’s own.
Where it is taught
Why Pigeon English is on the list
- Year 10, Stretch. A step up in length or difficulty, for a confident reader. AQA GCSE modern text.
- Year 11, Stretch. A step up in length or difficulty, for a confident reader. AQA GCSE modern text.
Reading it here
What your child does with it
- 1
Choose it and set a finish date
You get a suggested target from the length of the book and your child's reading pace.
- 2
Check in along the way
A longer book has short check-ins every week or two, so it keeps moving and nothing is forgotten.
- 3
Answer two questions
When they finish: a review of the book, and a deeper question about how it works.
- 4
Get it marked, and redraft
Every answer is marked against the rubric for their year, with a reason for every score.