The policeman sat on our sofa and told me about people who don’t get an education, then don’t get a job, then start stealing stuff and end up in prison.

‘You know what prison’s like?’ he said.

I shook my head.

‘You can’t leave till they say so. The food is terrible. You can only eat when people say you can. You can only go outside when people say you can, and you have to behave or you get punished.’

‘Like school then,’ I said.

He pursed his lips. He thought I was being cheeky. I wasn’t.

‘Can you go to the toilet when you want to?’ I asked

‘Well yes,’ he said ‘obviously’.

Not like school then, I thought. But I didn’t say it out loud.

Mikey Poole is nine years old. He likes chemistry, cats and meteorites, and has not been to school for a year. In fact he hasn’t even left the house. For Mikey, being at school was like having a ticking bomb inside his chest, till one day, BOOM! He just couldn’t do it anymore. While his frazzled mum is desperate for him to get an education, Mikey is determined to stay safely at home. So, when he suspects that there’s a plot afoot to send him back through the school gates, he’ll do anything, ANYTHING to scupper it.

Funny, moving and told from the heart of an author who’s lived it, No School for Mikey Poole is a story about what happens when a child simply can’t.

About the author

Anna Kemp is the author of eighteen books for children including Dogs don't do Ballet, The Worst Princess and The Goblyn Wood Adventures. Her children’s books have been shortlisted for major UK prizes including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. They have also been adapted across television, theatre, dance, puppetry and orchestral performance.

No School for Mikey Poole is her first novel for adults. The story is based on her family's experience of school distress and explores what happens when a child can't go to school.

About the author

Anna Kemp is the author of eighteen books for children including the bestselling Dogs don't do Ballet, The Worst Princess and The Goblyn Wood Adventures. Her children’s books have been shortlisted for major UK prizes including the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and the Waterstones Children's Book Prize. They have also been adapted across television, theatre, dance, puppetry and orchestral performance. No School for Mikey Poole is Anna’s first novel for adults. It is based on her family’s experience of school distress and explores what happens when a child can’t go to school.