‘Deserves to be
placed alongside such classics as Little
Women and
The Railway Children’ TES
Winner of the 2002
Whitbread Children’s
Book Award
Teaching
points
Very accessible –
suitable for lower-attainers as well as pupils
of all abilities.
High interest and funny
– boy-appeal.
Extensive opportunities
for work on symbolism – colours, names,
the angel.
Excellent model for analysis
of dialogue and humour in writing.
Introduction to the Teacher’s
Resource written by
Hilary McKay.
Synopsis
One of four children in the chaotic Casson household,
Saffy realises that hers is the only name not on the
artist’s colour chart pinned to the kitchen wall
– there’s Cadmium, Rose and Indigo but no
Saffron. It gradually dawns on her that her artistic
parents and eccentric siblings are actually her aunt,
uncle and cousins. When their grandfather dies, his
will mentions Saffy’s angel and, with the help
of her friend Sarah, Saffy plans to stow away on a trip
to Italy to trace her birthplace and find her angel
– to find a real piece of her past. But in the
end, it’s her cousins back in England who find
the broken remains of the angel – carefully reconstructing
it and presenting it, whole again, to Saffy.
Cross-curricular links and themes
Citizenship
and PSHE –
adoption, identity, bereavement, disability, the
family.
RE –
the idea of angels.
Art and Design
– the different types of art produced by the
Casson family.
Themes –
family and identity; acceptance and belonging; convention
versus creativity; colour and mood.
