Stone Cold
Robert Swindells
When his mum's boyfriend makes home unbearable, teenage Link leaves Bradford for London and ends up sleeping in shop doorways. As he learns to survive the cold and hunger, another voice tells a very different story: a man who has decided the homeless are a problem he must deal with himself.
- Length
- About 40,000 words
- To read it
- About 27 days
- Stage
- Key Stage 3
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 Stone Cold is on the list
- Year 8, Core. The books most schools teach in this year. A good place to start.
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.