This book was ridiculous fun! With sugar-crazed five-year-old-girl army, noble steed fleas, carrot thefts, sparkle-unicorn onesies, and a headmaster I would love to have pushed into a dustbin, Max's adventure is all kinds of hilarious. It also does a nice job of outlining some basic deaf awareness skills and some of the difficulties that deaf children face. I especially loved how receptive Sasha was to some of these things and the little nods to how the two boys adapted their communication to ensure both understood each other. I would definitely have preferred Max to have sign language knowledge or have used alternative communication with Sasha (such as writing) rather than him having lip-reading superpowers that enabled him to understand basically everything Sasha said (that's very unrealistic - only about 30% of speech can be lipread, and that's without accents coming into the mix). It's also rather inappropriate to have the hearing kid teaching the d/Deaf kid to sign. Despite this, I enjoyed how Max's hearing aids were an important part of the story and the focus on him making friends and developing confidence in himself and his ability to communicate. Sasha was wonderful, as was his sister and her sparkle-unicorn minions.

Max and the Millions - Ross Montgomery

A totally off-the-wall story that combines a fast moving plot with some great characterisation and truly wonderful scenes. An absolute must-read for children aged between 8 and 12.” The book has some strong themes from friendship and fitting in to the importance of co-operation. These messages are made very explicit by Max and Luke's attempts to bring together the three floor tribes but, fortunately, the surreal storyline prevents this sounding in any way preachy. Max's disability is also well used in the plot, making his lip reading into a skill that's akin to a superpower rather than a negative necessity. Author Guy Bass introduces SCRAP, about one robot who tried to protect the humans on his planet against an army of robots. Now the humans need his... Sure signs that the creative wells are running dry at last, the Captain’s ninth, overstuffed outing both recycles a villain (see Book 4) and offers trendy anti-bullying wish fulfillment.A fast-paced and enjoyable adventure that encourages readers to appreciate the small things in life.’ Kirkus Marvellously funny and original . . . it’s the tiny details that make the story work.’ Financial Times The day before summer vacation, Max’s closest friend at boarding school disappears, leaving behind his amazing model collection and a handful of sand on his bedroom floor. Like Max, the eccentric janitor Mr. Darrow is a genius at building tiny models. Eight weeks later, Max finds that the sand has magically transformed into a whole desert kingdom–filled with millions of tiny people! Max was deafened at age four, and initially mainstreamed at a small school that provided communication support. (Note that elementary schools generally have more support and peer interactions are less complex, so this is highly realistic.) But then Max is sent to a large boarding school with no support. A fast-paced and enjoyable adventure that encourages readers to appreciate the small things in life.

Max and the Millions | BookTrust

Additionally, the creative writing ideas this book could spur would be highly inclusive- for example, those pupils excited by the violent threats and tabulations between the three camps could take this element of the story further and story map/ write an alternative section focusing on these miniature groups. The more sensitive of pupils in the class could take on Max’s story for friendship and his difficulties communicating, perhaps how Sasha and his friendship develops in the next academic term. This wonderful novel is a great read for 7-9-year olds; also, a great read for developing readers who are able to understand depth behind the principle of the story and what exactly is going on. The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... And on and on the story goes. Max is helped by his roommate Sasha, who didn't go home for summer break, but is still at school running a summer camp for fifty 5-year-old girls. The girls, fueled by candy, also help Max and Sasha in their attempts to outwit the schoolmaster. Much of the story, though, is about the tiny people and their inability to get along. There is lots of violence and threats of violence, although it doesn't seem like anyone actually gets genuinely hurt. There is also the developing friendship between Max and Sasha, as well as Max's attempts to get him to understand the difficulties he has communicating with others. All and all, it is quite an adventure, and I would only recommend it to children who like adventure stories. In addition, those who like witty type humor certainly may appreciate many of the author's attempts to get laughs.At time this books violent language startled me; it’s been a while since I’ve read the line ‘how many blood sacrifices would you like?’. But it never becomes distasteful. I had to remind myself that I am a very different reader from an eight year old. It is always handled with a pinch of humour. It may feel like too much for an overprotective adult reader, but not for a child. He is singled out by Mr. Pitt, who interacts with him patronizingly and shows him off to visitors like he's a circus attraction. Mr. Pitt raises his voice and overenunciates at Max, and does things like having a chair set up at the front of assembly with a sign in large red letters, "special seat." Every deaf child knows a well-meaning but clueless adult like Mr. Pitt.

Max and the Millions | BookTrust Max and the Millions | BookTrust

Who hasn't wished they had a world of tiny people in their bedroom? I know I used to imagine my toys came to life, that my Duplo characters moved around at night, wished I could talk to the Tooth Fairy - the size difference, the power difference fascinated me.This book is Horton Hears a Who meets Honey I Shrunk the Kids meets MacGyver. It features a deaf boy named Max, who wears bilateral hearing aids. Overall, it's an excellent representation. My only issue has to do with the hearing aids. Let's get into it. This will make children think a lot about the size of things, the interpretations and different viewpoints in a situation. Max's size gives him a new stature to the Floor people, their world is seen as something tiny and insignificant by some full-size characters. As much of the story is about the tiny people and their inability to get along- with multiple threats of violence. Pupils will be able to relate their own experiences of not getting along to this novel. Excellent premise, totally involving, and much more clever than the above would suggest. The historical documents of the Floor are great satire, the story of the warring factions and their place within Max's world gives a new perspective on his own problems. He does a friend in his American roommate, Sasha, who tries to use ASL with him before realizing they ought to be using BSL, an entirely different language. But Max doesn't know any signed language at all, which realistic for mainstreamed children.

Max And The Millions [EPUB] [645ltcpg9c90] Download PDF - Max And The Millions [EPUB] [645ltcpg9c90]

With some similarities to both The Indian in the Cupboard (morality of wielding power over those smaller than yourself) and Horton Hears a Who (tiny world and believing in the impossible), Montgomery has conjured up a modern-day setting - a pretty posh school - and an 'everyboy' - Max, with his hearing aids and penchant for building tiny models, just wanting to be left alone. The ending, I wasn't sure about, but I did come to terms with Max's decisions and saw his reasoning. It fitted. A delightful whiff of Monty Python . . . Ross Montgomery’s writing is often pure Douglas Adams.’ SFX The plot is delightfully daft and complemented by many subtle social comments about inequality, the abuse of power and the futility of war.

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I loved the summer school group (I won't spoil it, but they are hilarious), and the two best-characterised Floor people have a predictable relationship and story arc but it works alongside other fresh features.