Library

Read Up! Kingston Questions

As a First Year at KGS, you will participate in a shared-reading project that is designed to help ease the transition into your new school and to help you prepare for your arrival in September. KGS staff will also be taking part and some of your lessons in the Autumn Term may include themes or links to the book. Since everyone will have read the same book, we will all have something in common to talk about! This year we are reading ‘The Boy Behind the Wall’ by Maximillian Jones.

Things to do over the Summer:

• Read the book! • Have a think about the answers to the questions below – we will discuss them at the start of the Autumn term. • Have a go at some secret lemon writing (see page opposite). Maybe try writing a letter to a new classmate. • Enter the Extreme Reading Competition. To enter, simply take a photograph of yourself (or ask someone to take it for you) reading a copy of the book in the most extreme place you can think of – the more unusual the better! Photographs can be submitted in September and more details will be provided nearer the time 1. What would you risk for a friend you’ve never met? Before reading the book, discuss what you think the strapline means. Think about what friendship means to you and what you might do. Once you’ve read the book revisit this question and discuss whether your thoughts have changed.

2. The chapters in The Boy Behind the Wall are narrated alternately by Harry and Jakob. How does that affect the telling of the story? Do you think it is a good way to tell a story? Can you think of other examples of books being written in this way?

3. “Sometimes, when I’m feeling a bit Work well and be happynervous, I pretend to be one of the superheroes from my comic books.” Have you ever done this? Maybe not a superhero, but maybe you pretend to be someone else or think about having different characteristics. Do you think this is something that everyone does when they are nervous? In what sort of situation do you think this might be helpful? 4. The Berlin Wall was pulled down in 1989, but there are still many walls in place around the world – in Belfast, the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the wall under construction along the US/Mexico

border and The Great Wall of China are just some examples. Use the book as a springboard to talk about how people might feel living in a divided city or country that still has historic walls.

5. Both Harry and Jakob have difficult relationships with their fathers. How do you think that affects their characters? They both seek out different role models to talk to – for Harry it is Dieter and their common interest of comics and for Jakob it is Dana and music – think about the effect that these people had on their individual stories.

6. Harry’s family have moved from America to West Germany. Think about arriving in a new place to live. How would you feel? If it was a different country, think about how different cultures might have an effect.

7. Music plays a hugely important part in The Boy Behind the Wall. Think about the different genres of music that are mentioned throughout the story and why they have been chosen for different parts of the story. How does music make the characters feel?

8. Think about how having mobile phones might have had an impact in the way the story unfolds. Discuss how helpful social media might be in helping to find Jakob’s real family. Activity: Secret Lemon Writing

You can write secret messages just like Harry and Jakob!

You will need: Lemon juice Cotton bud Plain white paper Lamp/light bulb Bowl/cup

Method: 1. Squeeze the lemon juice into a small bowl and mix in a few drops of water 2. Dip the cotton bud into the mixture and write your secret message onto the white paper. 3. Allow the paper to dry (the writing will become invisible). 4. Reveal your secret message by holding it close to a light bulb.

The Science: Lemon juice contains carbon compounds that are colourless at room temperature. The heat from the light bulb breaks down the compounds and releases the carbon. The carbon oxidises when it meets the air and turns brown, making your secret message visible.