It is up to Pet to muster every ounce of courage to uncover the truth and do what she can to set things right. Mags becomes increasingly secretive and evasive, and her pa is distracted and distant. Mutti, a German immigrant, is packed off to an internment camp for “enemy aliens” as a matter of national security. Unlike her spirited sister, Pet isn’t particularly brave and is given to believing in myths and legends.Īs war encroaches upon their small community, Pet’s family gets caught up in a plot that threatens to tear them apart. Twelve-year-old Petra (Pet) and her family - older sister Magda (Mags), her pa and mother (Mutti) - are lighthouse keepers in the coastal village of Stonegate. What: It’s 1939, and England is on the cusp of World War II.

Her first book, The Secret of Nightingale Wood, received high praise and her second, Our Castle by the Sea, is the subject of this review. Use the videos and corresponding teaching notes below to explore different topics of inspiration for Lucy’s books – from real-life places and historical events, to art and literature.Who: After stints as an actor, singer and storyteller, Lucy Strange became a secondary school teacher and writer of middle-grade historical fiction. The Ghost of Gosswater teaching resources for KS3 are created by English teacher Nicola Paulson on Twitter).Īnd now, inspire your class to write with Story Starters with Lucy Strange, created by Shapes for Schools! Spark students’ imaginations with these Story Starter Videos featuring Lucy herself. You can find brilliant resources for Our Castle by the Sea on Authorfy, and the KS2 resources for The Secret of Nightingale Wood and The Ghost of Gosswater below have been created by primary school teacher Emily Weston. Lucy's novels are historically rich adventures with interwoven themes of family, friendship, mystery and magic. Lucy Strange is the award-winning author of four middle grade novels for Chicken House: The Secret of Nightingale Wood, Our Castle by the Sea, The Ghost of Gosswater and Sisters of the Lost Marsh.

Our castle by the sea