Armistice Runner (Conkers)

Product Information

Thanks for sharing this with us, Herbie. Lily and the fell runners from Armistice Runner “Lily” from Newlands School

This is a thoughtful book and ideal for introducing children to the history of the First World War and would be an excellent prompt for discussion on a wide range of topics including dementia, loyalty and forgiveness.” Alibrarylady.blog The part of the story that stands out the most is Ernest’s diary entries to his departed brother, Fred. The entries are endearing and emotional and convey lovely images in your head. I would recommend this book for people aged 10+; the actual read isn’t particularly hard but I think some of the subjects in the book could be upsetting for people under the age of 10. Overall, I think this book is a great read with accurate and interesting facts relevant to the time period. Commissioned by the British Council and Reading Agency’s ‘Chatterbooks’ project. With classroom resources. Read and listen to the story here. In different views of the characters there is a mix of excitement, sadness, and thought provoking times. These feelings are felt from different characters in the story. Three. ‘Be a Trench Runner’ game for the school hall, where children are challenged to memorise information and run, to imagine what it was like to be a trench runner.Today’s grandparents are often portrayed in books as retired, cosy and very much hands-on with their grandchildren. Sadly, many more families today are coping with the heartbreaking affect dementia has on their older loved ones. I n Armistice Runner, I tried to capture the impact this has through Lily’s warm relationship with her ailing gran.

Up and down hills in settings like Yorkshire and Cumbria, fell running evolved from the tradition in village fetes to have a race up and down the nearest hill and to bet on who would win. As a result fell running is steeped in the history of places like Grasmere and Burnsall and throws up some great characters. However, things keep preventing her from reading more - like the disappearance of her Grandma. Through both stories Palmer brilliantly brings together and draws parallels on the themes of family, friendship, rivalry, revenge and loss. The mirrored issues never seem forced - both stories are believable. Many children will identify with Lily's love of her sport, how annoying her little brother is and how worried she is about her grandma. At the same time they will be introduced to the horrors of trench warfare at the beginning of the twentieth century - without going over the top (pun not intended) Palmer describes the smell of a rotting flesh wound in a way that will make the reader physically recoil. For teachers looking for a story set in World War One, this book provides a good starting point to explore both the bigger picture of the war, as well as how individual lives were changed as a result. In Armistice Runner the fictional Ernest Darby survives the war, but never runs the fells again, even though he returned without physical injury. No one in the family knows why. Until Lily finds his running logbooks. What she learns helps her both in her own race and helps her to cope with her grandmother’s failing memory. World War One remains a subject of fascination for readers of all ages, but Tom Palmer finds an original way in to the topic in this poignant new story … Today and yesterday are seamlessly woven together in a story that will move readers in lots of different ways” ANDREA REECE, I liked all the characters because they all behave differently towards each other but always support each other, whether they are rival enemies or best friends.The story is based very loosely on our family’s love of cross country and fell running and the champion fell runner of 100 y ears ago, Ernest Dalzell: @grasmereschool Ernest Dalzell

Elsie certainly looks the part with her plaits, continental hat, simple dress and the all important bag to hide her resistance newsletters. Thanks for sharing this with us, Elsie. The World Wars have provided many an author with fodder for their fiction and there are some truly brilliant books out there as a result. The best are the ones that take a slightly different angle and explore one of millions of individual lives that were affected by those conflicts. ‘Armistice Runner’ is one such book… The fact that a book with sports and war themes centres around a female character is also a plus point – too often these topics see males take centre stage… As with all truly great children’s books it’s one that adults will enjoy sharing too, potentially prompting grown-ups to share their own family’s history and involvement with the World Wars with their children, thus preserving those stories for another generation.” www.thatboycanteach.co.ukDuring an emotional visit to her gran’s house, Lily manages to connect with her gran over her interest in running and is pleasantly surprised to receive a box of running logs that once beloved to her great-great-grandfather, Ernest. Among the papers Lily discovers detailed diaries from Ernest’s time as a soldier in the First World War. This book is about a girl called Lily who loves to run. On a visit to her gran, who has worsening Alzheimer’s, her gran gives Lily diaries from Lily’s great grandfather who was also a runner but before World War One. As Lily reads through these diaries she comes to discover his diary entries from his life and how he felt during the war and during his competitions. When Lily finds out his story of bravery she starts to reconnect with her gran which gives her the inspiration and bravery to try and win her big race. This isn't just historical fiction, though. Palmer has skilfully woven in a modern story of a young girl, also a fell runner, who is a descendent of the World War 1 soldier. Lily is fighting her own battles - Abbie, her rival, always seems to beat her, and her beloved Grandma has Alzheimer's. Tom Palmer’s new book – Armistice Runner – is about a modern day runner who finds out from her grandmother, who is suffering from dementia, that her great-great-grandad was a trench runner during the last few days of the First World War. A virtual chat with the Anne Frank Trust about my book “Resist” and the links between Audrey Hepburn and Anne Frank. Catch up now here …

Tom Palmer has created a poignant story with different voices which manages deftly to explore painful memories of the war while keeping a foot firmly in the present” JUST IMAGINE A powerful intergenerational tale that honours the forgotten running heroes of November 11th 1918 and examines the devastating In my opinion, this book didn’t have a strong plot line and it all led up to a very anti-climactic ending. It was very simple in the sense that the structure and vocabulary was limited. The characters and emotional aspect between the girl and her grandma suffering from dementia is well-written. I feel this wasn’t really too historical, though the sentimental idea of the girl reading her great-grandfather’s diary at war was good, it was just a bit all over the place.

For World Book Day 2023, I am offering a live virtual event and a free mini-film to share in the classroom. More activities and dress-up ideas linked to my books follow on below …