Noah Scape Can’t Stop Repeating Himself

Noah Scape is a child who knows exactly what he likes. He doesn’t understand why his teacher, Miss Fiddy, won’t let them learn about dinosaurs in class all day, or why Mrs Tuckin, the dinner lady, insists that he has meat pie for lunch on Tuesdays when he wants spaghetti and tomato sauce. Noah becomes increasingly fed up with not getting what he wants and decides that everyone else in his life needs to be more like him. The next day when Noah comes into school, there’s someone else sitting in his seat- him! The following day, the two Noahs become four, and then eight, and so on. After a few days, Anne Finally, the local news reporter, pays Noah a visit and points out that if he continues to double at his current rate, there will be over a billion Noahs attending the school by the end of the month (1,073,741,824 to be precise!). At first, Noah is delighted with how things are turning out because everyone understands him and everyone agrees with his opinions. However, when he’s outvoted by 63 of his duplicates, he quickly realises that he still can’t always get his own way and that events are spiralling out of control at a frightening rate.

Noah Scape is a highly readable book from the author of the Stitch Head series, Guy Bass. It is part of the acclaimed dyslexia-friendly range published by Barrington Stoke and, although edited to a reading age of 8, would be enjoyed across Key Stage Two. The book subtly raises issues around how children manage OCD and autism in a school environment, as well as cleverly demonstrating how rapidly numbers increase after repeated doubling. It’s a short, pacey book, perhaps no more than half an hour for some children, and will maintain their interest throughout. The slightly ambiguous ending also provides an excellent opportunity for discussion and prediction.