Reviews "This is a gripping adventure story that offers something fresh and original to the middle grade historical fiction market. Polly Crosby tells ReadingZone about her novel, This Tale is Forbidden (Scholastic), a fractured fairy tale set in a dystopian world. She also caught out Chief Obir, who was my least favourite character because he tried to get Ada and Nosa sacrificed to save his throne. While Eze is away consulting a diviner, Ada with the help of Mbe, Eze’s apprentice, risks a journey of her own to find some Golden-leaf bark as she has noticed Eze is becoming weaker.

Shortlisted for the Historical Association's Young Quills Award 2021 for the best children's fiction. Books for Keeps, children’s fiction magazine “When reading this book, you become completely absorbed into the culture of the West African people … because the story is rich and gripping. Spelling Seeds have been designed to complement Writing Roots by providing weekly, contextualised sequences of sessions for the teaching of spelling that include open-ended investigations and opportunities to practise and apply within meaningful and purposeful contexts, linked (where relevant) to other areas of the curriculum and a suggestion of how to extend the investigation into home learning. Having lived and worked in the educational sector of Benin City for several years, I appreciated discovering this wonderful, adventuresome story that can be enjoyed by boys and girls of all ages. This is a brilliant story for engaging children (an adults) in learning about life in the Benin Kingdom.The book is rich in details of village life contrasted against the bustle and splendour of the forest city. The historical Benin Kingdom is now an option for UK primary teachers at KS2, and is a great option for those who are keen to diversify their curriculum.

A clearer explanation of why the people Ada grew up with were attacked by the Edo people would have been useful, but there are some good historical notes at the end. The Sky-king, who does not like Ada’s mother, wants to kill Ada because he does not want any of Ada’s mother’s children to live. Eze disturbs her and realises it is now time to tell Ada about her heritage as the daughter of a queen.

This book includes a factual section at the end, to help readers widen their knowledge of the Kingdom of Benin and West African culture and traditions and linked resources and activity sheets are available to download for free from the publisher, Dinosaur Books Ltd: https://readingagency.

It would also be an excellent class read because the story is rich and gripping and is everything you need to capture the essence of story time.This would be an excellent read for schools and there a helpful factual section at the back of the book placing the story in context and giving more accurate historical details. It subtly weaves in historical learning subjects throughout the story, which is wonderfully written and gripping the whole way through.