The book is really interesting as it shows light can come from dark, no matter who you are or where you come from you can be friends with anybody and that you can achieve anything if you really put your mind to it. The book ends with Lily winning a race as her great-great-grandfather had also done before he went off to fight/be a messenger for WW1. 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. 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.

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. The genre is fiction however it is an event, especially with the mental illness, that could happen to anyone. It’s utterly compelling – a pacy tribute to the athleticism and bravery of men such as Ernest Dalzell, fell-runner extraordinaire and soldier. I think this was a great fit for history books and children’s books because it wasn’t all about the World War, it was about Lily’s feelings and running. I really njoyed this book because I could keep up with it and it was really clear on what was happening.Palmer has crafted an emotional story spanning several generations, and you'll want to be there, right to the finish line.

I read that there was no time to lay down communication wires, the allies had been advancing so quickly on the Germans. Tom visits over 150 schools every year to run his Football and Rugby Reading Games, which tie in with his long-term work in reader development.

She’s struggling to compete in her fell-running races and, worse, she’s losing her gran to Alzheimer’s. I personally believe that the level of detail was what made it come to life even more for the reader.

There was just the right amount of choice to suit everyone without being overwhelming and I received comments from parents and staff about the quality of books offered compared to previous sales which have always been based around current crazes and well known celebrity authors. The thing that stands out most to me is that it is not just an overload of non-fiction, it is a well balanced mix of both non-fiction and fiction. The perspective in the book switches between Lily coping with her grandma's suffering of Alzeimer's, and her great grandads experience as a messanger during the war. Yesterday a parent came over to tell me how impressed she was by the book fair and that you did a fabulous job of selling the books to the children first. Through both stories Palmer brilliantly brings together and draws parallels on the themes of family, friendship, rivalry, revenge and loss.Armistice Runner’ is a moving and inspirational story fromTom Palmer, who is something of a master when it comes to sport-themed writing. See also … Ten national and local opportunities that schools in the UK can take to mark the Armistice centenary this November. To add it is written form the point of view of one soldiers which makes it more personal and it makes it easier to relate. A book that sucks you in, and whilst slow to start, gets the audience engrossed by half-way and wanting to come to school early to know what happens in the second half - well done Tom.

Sheʼs struggling to compete in her fell-running races and, worse, sheʼs losing her gran to Alzheimerʼs. But Lily discovers they are not running logs but a diary of his time in the trenches during WWI as a runner – someone who would be trusted to take messages between stations on the frontline.These books about World War I will offer young readers a range of different perspectives on the conflict, ranging from picture books to teen novels there's something here for everyone. 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.