Discovery At Paradise Island

The fun and discovery starts as soon as Alexandria and Sarah arrive at Paradise Island. What would usually be a relaxing holiday on a tropical island turns into an exciting adventure. Sarah thinks because Alexandria's mum is in a wheelchair their holiday will be quite boring. How wrong is she?

The island activities, a mystery code, digging for pirate treasure, clues and discovery make for a surprising holiday and Sarah discovers some things she didn't know before she went away with Alexandria's family.'

Discovery at Paradise Island is a children's adventure storybook written for audiences aged seven to twelve years. The story gives children a chance to learn and discover about disability. This book aims to develop children's literacy, numeracy and social intelligence, while at the same time making it exciting and fun to read. It integrates into the school SOSE syllabus and also critical literacies and numeracy with the code breaking work. It has teacher and parent directed activities included and engagement questions at the end of each chapter to encourage children to think about what they have read and apply it to their own lives.

Written by an author with a strong educational background and a thorough knowledge of disability both from a practical perspective and a theoretical framework this book explores a variety of social justice issues through the eyes of a child. Because this book can be used as a teaching resource across the curriculum and because it has a particular focus on disability it would be an invaluable classroom tool.

The book links into the SOSE syllabus especially the Culture and Identity strand, as well as critical literacy and numeracy. It also is a much needed resource in the area of disability awareness. The engagement questions at the end of each chapter encourage children to think about the issues they are reading about and to apply them to their own lives. At the conclusion of the book it has a section containing teacher and parent directed activities. These can be used to develop a unit of work or activities based around the book and the themes contained within it.

Sharon Boyce is available to come to your school to participate in author visits and also disability awareness sessions. Sharon is a registered teacher and is trained to work across all year levels. Sharon won the Disability Action Week Award for Individuals for this books first edition.