The Revenge of Tirpitz by M. L. Sloan is a thrilling WW II story about a boy's role in the sinking of the warship Tirpitz. It would make an exciting class read for any year 6 class who are studying WW II, looking at 'time slip' novels or adventure stories.
The book cleverly interweaves stories from two different time periods and places: Norway, in 1944 and Shetland in 2014.
The opening chapter of the boook is pacey and launches the reader straight into the drama and intrigue of the novel. The descriptive language creates a real sense of atmosphere and many passages would be ideal for teachers to explore author's use of language for the reading content domain ' explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases' and as models for children's own writing.
The language and vocabulary used would be challenging for most year 6 pupils and therefore makes it an ideal text for developing vocabulary in context. Each of the chapters is fairly short and as such can be easily read during a single guided reading session.
The story itself ties in with real historical events. It introduces the reader to 'The Shetland Bus', which was the nickname given to a clandestine special operations group that made a permanent link between Shetland, Scotland and Germany-occupied Norway from 1941 until the Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany ended on 8th May 1945. Sloan has carefully researched the sinking of the Tirpitz and the detail provided will provide an excellent starting point for additional research. There is a website where information can be found (http://shetlandbus.com/) A google search will throw up numerous links to information about the Tirpitz.
The characters are well developed. There are a number of issues raised through the friendships that emerge, which could form the basis of some very interesting and thought-provoking class and group discussions.
The ending is brilliantly satisfying, and ties up the story nicely.
Sloan provides a useful glossary which defines some of the Shetland dialect. This could be used as a starting point for discussion about Standard English and dialect. In addition, includes some 'author's notes' about the inspiration for the story and the research she undertook.
All in all, this is an exciting, brilliantly written page-turner of a book and one that I would recommend without hesitation to all teachers in Year 6!
Advisory Note
There is one single use of the word 'crap' on page 87. Other than that there is no language or content that would cause any issue in the book.
