When the Sky Falls
Phil Earle
It is 1941 and the bombs are falling on the city. Angry, lonely Joseph is sent to live with Mrs F, a gruff woman who runs a crumbling zoo. Its star is Adonis, a huge and dangerous silverback gorilla, and every air raid Mrs F sits by his cage with a rifle, in case the bombs set him free.
- Length
- About 55,000 words
- To read it
- About 37 days
- Stage
- Key Stage 2
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 When the Sky Falls is on the list
- Year 6, 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.