English KS1 / KS2: Tom's Midnight Garden' by Philippa Pearce

BBC Teach > Primary Resources

Paralympic Basketball player and sports presenter Ade Adepitan reads extracts from 'Tom's Midnight Garden' by Philippa Pearce, explaining why he loves the book, how it captured his imagination, and why he loves to read.

The real and animated worlds collide to reveal the wonder that is contained within the book.

Ade tells us about Tom and reads extracts from the story to us.

Ade encourages us to read the book and discover the secrets of Tom's magical and mysterious Midnight Garden for ourselves.

Teacher Notes

Students could write stories which have their name in the title as Ade suggests.

For example: 'Ade's Midnight Garden'. They could also explore other literature which looks at imaginary worlds, such as 'The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.'

Often fantasy books have an important social issue or theme behind them, such as the evacuation from London during World War II in the Chronicles of Narnia.

Students could research the occurrence of measles in the book and how important this is to the story.

Curriculum Notes

These clips are suitable for teaching English and Literacy at Key Stage 1, 1st Level, Key Stage 2 and 2nd Level.