The beauty of sky, music, and the belief in ‘extraordinary things’ triumph in this whimsical and magical tale” ( Publishers Weekly) about a girl in search of her past who discovers a secret rooftop world in Paris. I think it takes a certain kind of writer who can make the ordinary seem extraordinary with a few sentences and capture your imagination and encourage you, if only for a little while, to see the world in a slightly different way than you’d normally do. And Ms Rundell’s definitely that kind of writer. Sad, child, but not stupid. It is difficult to believe extraordinary things. It’s a talent you have, Sophie. Don’t lose it."It is difficult to believe extraordinary things when you're an adult. But children can, which is why Katherine Rundell's wonderfully fanciful book won both the Waterstone and Blue Peter prizes for children's literature when it came out in 2014. By the same token, it is difficult for an adult to review; we can celebrate the times we share a childlike delight, certainly, but how can we be sure that when it gets a little repetitious to us, it is not in fact drawing the child reader even deeper into its spell?

sophie is our young heroine, charles the man who took her in as a baby when she was found in the water after the capsizing of a boat, and miss eliot the social worker who disapproves of the whole situation. here: a b Bradley L. Garrett (17 February 2015). "Meet the rooftoppers: the urban outlaws who risk everything to summit our cities". The Guardian . Retrieved 3 October 2018. I should be saying that I think Rundell is one of our finest and I hope she stays in the field of children's literature and does not leave. She has a style and heart which is so well suited to the genre - she never writes down and she writes with passion and humour which children will intrinsically love. Yet, the Explorer wasn't as strong, for me, as some of her other work - notably The Wolf Wilder, which is one of my favourites. Ben Westcott and Serenitie Wang (14 December 2017). "Who is to blame for Chinese rooftopper's dramatic death?". CNN . Retrieved 2020-07-14. Embrace possibility and let Sophie’s music take you to the rooftops of Paris. It is about hope and belief, about following your inner voice, listening to your senses and letting the music play on, play on, play on. All wrapped up in luscious, chocolaty prose.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. The main characters are Sophie (a twelve year old girl who was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel on her first birthday) and Charles, her guardian. He is the person who rescued her from the sea and his character is brilliantly brought to life by the author, particularly in the way he speaks. At the start of the book they are living in London, the way the book is written it sounds as if it is not set in the present day, I would guess probably Victorian times. On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel. At its heart, this story was one of human connection and how even in the hardest of times people can get through with teamwork and helping each other out. Some of the characters were difficult to connect to at first which is perhaps why my rating didn't come out as higher however I would like to draw attention to how Rundell masterfully displayed character growth and by the end of this book, I was enchanted by each and every character. I thought this was a very original story and it was quite fast paced. I very much enjoyed it and the dialogue, particularly when Charles was speaking, was very entertaining. I became completely lost in the story and the descriptions of Paris at night made me really want to go and explore Paris by moonlight.

It’s admirable that Rundell has written a story that’s not entirely comprised of white children; however, all four children are exceedingly one-dimensional. Fred is brave, Lila is smart, Con is a brat, and disobedient Max has an endless supply of snot leaking from his nose. Throughout the book, their personalities are cemented; any growth or change is infinitesimal. 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. This might just be me, as I tend to have issues with most endings, but I was really unsatisfied with how this story wrapped up. Like, Sophie found her mom, but then it just ends? The rooftoppers storyline felt unresolved, as well as Charles’s. We never find out what happened with her mom, how she is still alive, if she gets to keep Sophie… The story has several unexpected twists and turns. It builds and builds, and gets better and better. I made a lot of highlights during the second half of the book. There are several unexpected moments.A venture onto the hotel rooftop opens Sophie’s world when she discovers a community of orphan children called Rooftoppers. They live in shadows and move at night, and some of them are highly dangerous. As she begins to spend more time on the rooftops, Sophie learns about bravery and love. Will the rooftoppers be the key to Sophie’s mother-hunt?

A very cute, middle grade read. It kinda reminded me of "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Fluke since both books have a very similar feel. I'd say I liked "The Thief Lord" a little more, but I enjoyed both. The story ends abruptly with Sophie finding her mother, there was no mention of what would happen to Charles or the rooftoppers now.Kyiv won't extradite roofer who painted star on Moscow skyscraper in Ukrainian flag colors". Kyiv Post. October 4, 2014. When the music went right, it drained all the itch and fret from the world and left it glowing. When she did stretch and blink and lay her bow down hours later, Sophie would feel tougher, and braver. It was, she thought, like having eaten a meal of cream and moonlight. When practice went badly, it was just a chore, like brushing her teeth. Sophie had worked out that the good and bad days divided half and half. It was worth it.Sophie's comfort with rooftops will come in handy later. For when she is twelve, the National Childcare Agency tell Charles that she must go to a Home to be Properly Looked After. Finding a label concealed inside the cello case that shows it was made in Paris, they realize that Sophie's mother might have been French, so they escape across the Channel to look for traces of her. All they can afford is a cheap hotel, where Sophie has an attic room with a skylight, and once again she climbs up to practice on the roof. A rare and remarkable treat, witty and full of original thoughts ... This quirky book advocates curiosity, thoughtfulness, freedom and courage * Sunday Times *