Chris Soul

Genre: Action / adventure / sci-fi

If you like: animals, danger, technology

For fans of: Abi Elphinstone, Hannah Gold, Pari Thomson

Age: Year 4+

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Exploding with action and full of warmth in the cold, 'Mammoth Rider' is a thrilling sci-fi animal adventure. Packed with danger and tense like cracking ice, readers will race through the pages to find out what happens. And it's only made more riveting by the inclusion of well-rounded characters to root for and a cute baby mammoth you dream of cuddling!

 

After millennia, mammoths have returned, brought back by scientists to help combat climate change. Ash Grimes, born and raised at the Arctic research centre responsible, dreams of becoming a Mammoth Rider, just like her dad. But mammoths are wild animals and it isn’t easy to earn their trust. So when Ash meets a white mammoth calf, the first of its kind, she’s determined to do anything to protect her new friend...

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What I particularly liked about this story is the depiction of a neurodiverse main character in Ash, who, like the author, has dyslexia, dyscalculia and mild dyspraxia. Having been a teacher of children who struggled to read and write with such neurodiversity, it is wonderful to see them represented in a book so well. The beautiful hardback, along with absolutely gorgeous illustrations inside and facts about mammoths and clothing at the back, is also set in dyslexia-friendly text. For me, this is what makes 'Mammoth Rider' a standout: inclusive, empathetic but also such a rollicking good read!

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https://www.waterstones.com/book/mammoth-rider/s-j-poyton/9781398551329

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