Malorie Blackman is a British author who has writ en over seventy novels and short stories for young people. We read her short story ‘Humming Through My Fingers’ in Collection 6. Noughts & Crosses is part of a series of books. Blackman likes to explore ethical and social issues in her stories including diff erent forms of prejudice and discrimination.
What I will learn:
The story of Callum (a nought) and Sephy (a Cross) in the novel Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman unfolds in an alternate society where the noughts (lighter-skinned people) fi ght for equality with the Crosses (darker-skinned people). When you read through the extract – narrated by Sephy – consider some of the themes and issues being raised by the author. Blackman herself does not hide the fact that one of her motivations in writing the book was ‘a desire to tackle the subject of racism head on’.
to understand and explore an author’s point of view
What major issues in the world today concern you? If you were to write a novel, what major issues would you like to highlight?
Extract from Noughts & Crosses BY MALORIE BLACKMAN
‘Callum, you’ve already passed the entrance exam. Why do we still have to do this?’ ‘I don’t want to give any of the teachers an excuse to kick me out.’
‘You haven’t even started school yet and already you’re talking about being kicked out?’ I was puzzled.Why was he so cynical about my school? ‘You’ve got nothing to worry about. You’re in now. The school accepted you.’
