Where the River Runs Gold

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A superb story, brilliantly thought out and well executed. My flaws with it were that a lot happened in the final few chapters and I found it difficult to keep up, let alone an 11 year old. I think it needed explaining more clearly and using much less metaphors. I also had to read the epilogue twice to remotely understand it and still feel a little bit peeved that we didn’t get more information on how Shifa’s discovery went about changing the world and why didn’t the girl narrating know who Shifa was ? Seemed like a pretty important person in the history 🤔 Extremely ravaged by the hurricane Kronos, the city of Kairo is not the same anymore. Bees have vanished and pollination can only be carried out artificially through hands for which children are enforced to work on the fields. The bees have disappeared and children are used to pollinate crops instead so people can eat, but when Shifa and her brother are sent away to work, they uncover a system that is cruel as well as full of corruption and secrets. How can they escape and make the world a better place? The society has been divided into three classes with the Paragons ruthlessly reigning at the top and the Outlanders left out to scavenge for themselves in the outskirts. The Freedoms are the most oppressed in the name of development necessities. The social hierarchy mirrors our modern day turmoils where the privileged always dominates the needy and a dystopian outlook only heightens the matter. This is an incredibly powerful and thought-provoking story which totally engrossed me right from the prologue which occurs 10 years before the main story when society is drastically changed by the catastrophic environmental damage caused by Hurricane Chronos.

The story revolves around Shifa and Themba, a sibling duo who are relentlessly exploited under harsh circumstances. Kairos City is not the same anymore after the hurricane Chronos destroyed everything ten years ago. Now the bees have disappeared forever and children are forced to work in the fields to make pollination possible and enhance food production. This free KS2 maths lesson plan will help you to look at the important issue of single-use plastics with your class. You’ll cover key aspects of the maths curriculum in a practical, real-world way by delving into real data. About the book Two children must risk everything to escape their fate and find the impossible... A brave, thought-provoking adventure by award-winning author, Sita Brahmachari. Shifa and her brother, Themba, live in Kairos City with their father, Nabil. The few live in luxury, whilst the millions like them crowd together in compounds, surviving on meagre rations and governed by Freedom Fields the organisation that looks after you, as long as you opt in. The bees have long disappeared; instead children must labour on farms, pollinating crops by hand so that the nation can eat. The farm Shifa and Themba are sent to is hard and cruel. Themba won't survive there and Shifa comes up with a plan to break them out. But they have no idea where they are - their only guide is a map drawn from the ramblings of a stranger. The journey ahead is fraught with danger, but Shifa is strong and knows to listen to her instincts - to let love guide them home. The freedom of a nation depends on it... These resources have been created by Shapes 4 Schools Having had an interest in climate change (now crisis) and global issues/affairs from the age of 12, I went onto study Geography and World Development at A Level and then Politics and International Relations at university. Due to this, Where the River Runs Gold spoke to me on a level no other fiction book has before. Having studied the theories of Rostow, Boserup, and Malthus, this book echoes these theories in an accessible way for children, highlighting the brink of human history that we are currently edging towards. Although the book is based in a dystopian future, the storyline is so close to what we are already experiencing in the world today and I feel elements of the story are not far off happening in the near future. The narration is vivid and haunting, leaving us to imagine the worst case scenario of an apocalypse which might drive us all beyond the edge of reasoning. The characters are deep-seated and almost instantly relatable.This book was a real mix for me, as there were parts I loved, and other parts that I felt didn't quite make sense or didn't add up at the end. Chelsea Taylor was just a teen when she left her parents property in the township of Barker. As a promising pianist, Chelsea had won a scholarship to study at Adelaide's Conservatorium- a sacrifice for her hard working parents. Shifa and her family have a deep ingrained love of the natural environment and, defying ARK laws, have their own secret garden and ‘skep-heart’ code which becomes a powerful symbol of family love, loyalty and bonding threaded throughout the story.

The bees have long disappeared; instead children must labour on farms, pollinating crops by hand so that the nation can eat. The farm Shifa and Themba are sent to is hard and cruel. Themba won't survive there and Shifa comes up with a plan to break them out. But they have no idea where they are - their only guide is a map drawn from the ramblings of a stranger. Similarly, I feel the character arc of Luca is sublime. Just like how I felt towards Jaime in Game of Thrones, you hate Luca in the beginning, but grow to love him throughout the book. I fully understand the message Brahmachari is trying to get across to children: sometimes people are not how they originally seem. I feel the author really tapped into the assumptions, judgements, and misunderstandings children have about people sometimes, to soon regret and reflect on these as we grow older. The only part which disappointed me is when Jax sees Shifa over the train, and the chapter ends suddenly, and then in the next chapter Shifa is at home, I wanted to know how she reached there, ending seemed a little rushed!! Nine years ago, thirty-year-old Chelsea Taylor left the small country town of Barker and her family's property to rise to the top as a concert pianist. With talent, ambition, and a determination to show them all at home, Chelsea thought she had it made. This is an engrossing story of family, friendship and hope, set in deeply rooted themes of the effects of climatic change, societal injustice and an exploration of freedom, which captured me entirely. This story has incredible potential for classroom discussion. As a teacher, I can definitely see me using it with children of 9+.

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Skip forward ten years … to Shifa and Themba’s tenth birthdays. It is on this day that the terrible, and heart-breaking, pledge their father has made to the ARK is realised. In exchange for the benefits of the food, money and education the family have received, Nabil’s children must give up four years of their lives to become Freedom Field Recruits. These recruits are needed to help with food production, including the pollination of plants as bees have become extinct due to climatic chaos. This is sold to the family as a vital part of the re-generation of society so that all can eventually enjoy the benefits currently only in existence for the Paragons. I felt like it would have been nice if there was a moment where we got details from Nabil's perspective of how the world started to unravel or how the Freedom Fields Family were an inspiring foundation at first. A story told by Nabil or a diary entry that Shifa finds would have been perfect. Lots of subjects lend themselves to climate discussions, including RE. This free medium term plan by Adam Smith explores stewardship in Islam, how the Hajj pilgrimage is being affected by the climate and more.

My favourite Detective, Dave Burrows features in this book. Now working in Barker, Dave works on a case that will change Chelsea's family history forever. It was lovely getting to know Kim, Dave's second wife. She's certainly very different to the not very nice Mel! Psst.. Dave was the reason why I read it in the first place!! A well thought out dystopian world, in which a hurricane wipes out all natural resources, but most importantly the bees are gone. A new government comes into power, society is split, the ‘Paragon’s’ live in luxury whilst everyone else lives in poverty, practically forced into signing up to the ‘Freedom Fields Family’ which means you get (mediocre) benefits for sending your children to school to learn to pollinate in place of the bees. Then at age 11 the children are sent off to pollination farms and put to work. Shifa (our protagonist) knows that her brother Themba won’t cope with the brutality of the farms and starts to hatch a plan to escape. She soon starts to discover that there might be more going on behind the scenes, what secrets are the government trying so hard to keep? I also felt that the different places in Karios City were the perfect balance between familiar and futuristic, and (thanks to the brilliant and detailed description) effortless to become immersed in. The journey ahead is fraught with danger, but Shifa is strong and knows to listen to her instincts - to let hope guide them home. The freedom of a nation depends on it . . . About This Edition ISBN:Chelsea drove slowly through the small country town of Barker, her eyes searching to see what had changed in the last nine years...She's been in two minds about going home. Part of her wanted desperately to sit on the riverbank and breathe in the peace. But why would she put herself through all the pain of a homecoming when she didn't need to? The Primary School Library Alliance is calling on the government to match-fund the private investment it has brought into helping primary schools c... Also, the fact that her actual actions didn't result in the changes that did happen, and that she couldn't personally be involved in the freeing of the other children from the Farm, disappointed me too. The climate and biodiversity crisis are the biggest challenges we face, and there are difficult times ahead, especially for younger generations. A brave, thought-provoking adventure by award-winning author, Sita Brahmachari. Shifa and her brother, Themba, live in Kairos City with their father, Nabil. The few live in luxury, whilst the millions like them crowd together in compounds, surviving on meagre rations and governed by Freedom Fields - the organisation that looks after you, as long as you opt in.

As well as trying to free her world, Shifa is also dealing with more universal issues of finding her identity as she grows from a child to a teenager. There is peril here, but it's not a depressing read. Instead, this book is full of hope and inspiration to young people that they can make a difference. I was very disappointed with where this book chose to go. After a gripping opening, and a very interesting setup of a girl in a dystopian future, I was fully invested. Shades of Margaret Atwood's Maddaddam trilogy, with fairly heavily laid on themes of environmental responsibility. Where the River Runs Gold is an interesting combination of magical realism and dystopia, bringing in themes of extinction, climate change and autism. The use of descriptive language is exceptional, however, often meaning is lost in the poetry and symbolism, making the novel an incredibly challenging read. The story is paced very slowly through the book until the final chapters which seem rushed and a bit forced, and unfortunately the book almost needed a glossary of terms for all of the unfamiliar language which, for the reader, made the story difficult to understand. If every school encourages wildlife into its grounds – wildflowers, log piles, bird feeders, ivy screens separating playgrounds from roads – this adds to nature corridors up and down our country and allows more species to thrive.

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Many organisations reach out to schools with climate education tools, for example WWF has free live lessons you can register for online. It doesn’t matter if your starting point is ignorance; show curiosity and learn alongside your pupils (or from the more nature-literate ones among them). 6. Find out about natural climate solutions A ‘climate-fiction’ story provides an intriguing setting and a ready-made goal (finding clean water / air / land / food / justice). Pupils can write survival stories, journeys and revolutions. 2. Get gardening Two children must risk everything to escape their fate and find the impossible . . . bold adventure, timely climate change themes and breathtaking writing, from award-winning author Sita Brahmachari. But what happens at freedom fields is inhuman, that's when Shifa, the protagonist, decides to break out with her brother and a series of event happens.