The Do One Desk

About the Book

Joshua is trouble, the boy who is sent out of every lesson. Waiting for him on the Woodslade corridor each time he is told to Do One, is the wooden desk from “the old days” that every school seems to have lurking somewhere. He soon finds out that the scratches and carvings that cover the old wood are the initials of children who themselves had once sat at that desk and like Joshua, had their problems. The Do One Desk tells the stories of these children and how their adventures took place at the time of some the best known events of the last hundred years. Bernard is under the desk during a World War Two bombing raid; Carnie is not allowed to sing in the choir for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation; Maggie makes a problem for herself at the World Cup Final in 1966; nonswimmer, Goggsie is so excited by the moon landing in 1969 that he finds himself volunteering for a gala and Nicky finds that even in modern times, not all problems for girl footballers were solved by the Lionesses. These stories can be read on their own or as part of Joshua’s journey as a temper tantrum leaves him high up on the school roof and about to find out some very surprising things about his ultra-strict foster carer, Margaret.

About the Author

As a boy, Chris Ashley went to Woodhill School in London. He went on to become a primary school head teacher and only took up writing when he got too old to play football. “It was my back that went first,” Chris explains. “I was a goalkeeper and constantly bending to pick the ball out of the back of the net became too much of a strain.” Chris admits to being the worst school team football manager ever but always made sure that the girls got just as much of a chance as the boys. Away from the sports field the school he led specialised in supporting children like Joshua with social, emotional and mental health issues. Chris has written nine books for children including the popular Wasim series.