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I love being approached by authors to share their work, and I particularly like when the book is good for home education. Tommy Balaam at Captain Fantastic is dyslexic, and on a mission to help other people with it. The book we’re reviewing, Captain Fantastic: the Undersea Monster, is a fab colourful cartoon-style book with rhyming blocks of text and a fun adventure story. It’s the type of thing that you could read aloud, but that should also tempt a reluctant reader to have a go themselves. Firmly aimed at the adventure loving audience, it’s short so not too intimidating, and a great step into reading.
You will want a range of resources when your child is starting to read, and picture books designed for the particular challenges your child experiences are a great addition. I’m also a fan of the Walker books or Barrington Stoke range – the latter are designed for dyslexic readers and well worth a look. You don’t have to buy – your local library should have a range of them.
You can find more about Captain Fantastic on their website or Youtube and buy the book on Amazon (#affiliate)
In his own words, Tommy Balaam, founder and director of fun at Captain Fantastic says:
“I was always in the top set for maths and bottom set for English but had no idea why. I was 19 and at drama school when my teacher noticed I was struggling to read scripts and encouraged me to get diagnosed. The words would jump around and when I needed to read in front of a group, it was incredibly challenging. Sight reading is my weakness, and the Dyslexia diagnosis helped. I found coloured sheets, double spacing and bigger fonts helped stop the words moving. Anyone with Dyslexia will find they need to work much harder than everyone else but there are things that can help. My passion for drama motivated me find ways to learn the scripts in advance and eventually I found enjoyment in text and books by pushing through. I love rhyme and music and for me, being a creative writer is not about spelling – an AI bot can sort this out for me – but much more about storytelling.”
If all of that has interested you in the books, you’ll be pleased to hear you’re in with a chance to win a copy of Captain Fantastic: The Undersea Monster for yourself! There’s a widget below that will give you the chance to win one of 5 copies – so get stuck in, you can do as many of the options as you want to increase your chances. Giveaway is open to UK mailing addresses only, and you must be prepared to give your details in order for the prize to be sent. Good luck, and remember, sharing is caring!