This Reading Skills resource contains a range of questions about chapter 2 from ‘Rooftoppers’ by Katherine Rundell. The questions are organised into content domains to allow a focus on one or more specific skills, and this resource also includes questions for more in-depth written answer practice.

From a plaque on her cello case, Sophie believes that her mother lives in Paris, so they decide to travel to France to escape the authorities who want to take Sophie away from Charles. I loved this quote, which takes place when a lady from the authorities comes to their house to say that Charles cannot look after Sophie because it really shines a light on Charles' character: "Your powers of observation are formidable," said Charles. "You are a credit to your optician." They have to travel very carefully to avoid being caught and Sophie has to cover her head because her hair is described as "being the colour of lightning" and therefore very recognisable. Wu Yongning, known as the Chinese Superman; died in 2017 while performing a rooftopping stunt. [21] [22] [23] [24]I do, I’m afraid, understand books far more readily than I understand people. Books are so easy to get along with.” Sophie looked down at herself. She fingered the material. It felt quite normal to her; still a little stiff from the shop, but otherwise fine. "How can you tell it's not a girl's shirt?" she asked. How CAWPILE didn't come out as five stars I don't know. This book isn't perfect but it's pretty damn close!

Mustang Wanted, real name Pavlo Ushivets, a Ukrainian rooftopper who has performed climbs and stunts around the world. In August 2014, during the War in Donbass, he climbed the spire of Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building in Moscow, Russia and painted the yellow star on the top of the spire in blue to symbolize the colors of the Ukrainian flag. He was later prosecuted in absentia in Russia for vandalism, and also awarded in Ukraine. [11] [12] [13] [14] Paris presents them with its own difficulties to overcome, but Sophie soon discovers new allies on the rooftops who can help her with her quest. First, there’s Matteo, a boy who walks tightropes and sleeps under a blanket made of pigeon feathers at night, and then there are his friends Anastasia and Safi, two wild girls who live in the top of Paris’s tallest trees. Racing across the rooftops of the city with only an elusive cello melody to follow, and her new friends to help her, Sophie is determined to find her mother before it is too late. Mother: Great story with spoonfuls of creamy dream-like prose. Loved most young Sophie and her adventures with the rag-tag friends who dwell on rooftops and trees, especially Matteo and the almost more-than-friendship introduced by Rundell...reminiscent of Secret Garden with maybe a dash of Heathcliff in hardscrabble Matteo, the lone wolf kid all haunted, passionate, and grim. (Jump, Sophie, jump. You might die, but maybe you won't. And here, here are my scars from the knife and no, I don't talk about it, like ever, but it messed me up. And yes, give me your ankles to hold and I'll dangle you over the edges of reason and rooftops.) The prose may seem at times a little condescending toward kids and preachy, but I must point out again that its intended audience is 10 years old kids, and not fifty-somethings. Adjectives like 'bouncy' , 'twirling', 'skipping'. 'dancing' and 'singing' are a good indicator for a happy story, yet the author is skillful enough to introduce in the text powerful critical comments about the way we treat orphans and the way we stifle imagination in young children. There were a few missteps that pulled me out of the story several times, but they all can be dismissed as grown-up foibles, so I decided to put them in spoilers, and not to detract from the overall positive impression this short story left.

Beyond the Book

And all of you - do not forget that, lost out here, you were brave even in your sleep. Do not forget to take risks. Standing ovations await your bravery,' Con swallowed. 'But I'm afraid,' she whispered. The Explorer nodded, scarred and dusty and matter-of-fact. 'You are right to be afraid. Be brave anyway.' The plot follows the two as they flee the authorities to France to search for Sophie's lost mother. Sophie discovers a secret world on the roofs of Paris where dirty, poor, clever "rooftopper" children run free from the watchful eyes on the streets. English Year 5 & Year 6​: Understand what they read by exploring the meaning of words in context; drawing inferences and justifying inferences with evidence; predicting what might happen from details stated and implied; summarising the main ideas drawn from more than one paragraph and identifying key details that support the main ideas; and identifying how language, structure and presentation contribute to meaning.