THE CLASS CHAMPION, a Big Cat Collins Early Reader Chapter Book aimed at aged 8+, fully illustrated by Sibu Puthenveettil and has a page on how to respond to the text too.

PUBLISHED January, 10th 2022 

“Mustafa never wins anything. Sam, the teacher’s pet, is always the class competition champion. But when Mustafa finds out the prize for the latest school project is tickets to a football game, he has to win.”

It features a boy who doesn’t have as much as everyone else but with determination and the support of his resourceful and hoarding grandma (basically my mum) he manages to create something wonderful, but will he get it to school on time?

You’ll meet a working class South Asian family who eat a variety of foods. Both parents work shifts; Mum works at the hospital and Dad is a delivery driver. Mustafa doesn’t realise how amazing his gran is until she helps him with his project using recycled items she saves.

It was a really interesting project to work on as I also had to write the art briefs and reader response page. I decided how each page should be depicted and the 40 odd illustrations. I was involved in the revision process too which was wonderful.

It covers recycling, creativity, family and determination and also working class family life (parents working shifts).

The Big Cat series is focused specifically at the educational market, and its goal is to provide the very best writing to children in schools. As (sadly) many children’s only experience of books is at school, it’s crucial that the books at school need to be as good as they possibly can – brilliant, exciting, diverse and inspiring – if we’ve any hope of creating a real love of reading that lasts forever.
It is a highly respected and successful series and boasts a great number of top children’s authors and illustrators, (including Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Michael Foreman, Berlie Doherty, Roger McGough, Benjamin Zephaniah, Julia Donaldson, Gillian Cross, Emma Chichester Clark, Katherine McEwen, Jane Ray.

Add it to GOODREADS

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57431065-the-class-champion
PREORDER HERE:
UK 
https://collins.co.uk/products/9780008440671 Harper Collins 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Class-Champion-Band-Emerald-Collins/dp/0008440670

US
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/class-champion-am-dassu/1139210789

AUSTRALIA 
https://www.booktopia.com.au/class-champion-a-m-dassu/book/9780008440671.html
https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/class-champion-by-a-m-dassu-and-collins-big-cat-9780008440671
FRANCE 
https://www.payot.ch/Detail/class_champion-am_dassu-9780008440671?cId=1
DENMARK
https://www.williamdam.dk/class-champion-band-15-emerald__605534