Ash thinks he knows everything about his dad's background as an immigrant from Uganda in the 1970s, but he doesn't really appreciate what his father went through until he experiences it himself.
That's the beauty of time-travel. And for friends Ash, Jess, Nadia and Tomma that's precisely what they get to do.
Ever since they started at Hickley School, they've been momentarily travelling back in time by magical train to a Hickley town and school they recognise, but in an era they don't. This time, it's Ash's turn, and it's back to 1973 for an unexpected meet with Mr Mundair senior, his brother and their two friends, as they try to fit in as young Asian immigrants in a predominantly white area.
Ash Mundair is sick of his dad telling him how lucky he is and how grateful he should be to go to a good school and be able to get an education. Despite how hard Ash works it seems it's never enough for his dad, and Ash begins to wonder why he should bother at all. He doesn't feel he will ever understand what it was like for his dad to have to leave his home in Uganda to come and live in England during the 1970s. That is, until a trip back to that time unveils the true difficulties that people like Ash's dad faced and what it was really like to be an ethnic minority at such a tense time.
Time School: We Will Stand with Them is the third book in the Time School series which follows Jess, Nadia, Ash and Tomma as they navigate their way through the first year of secondary school (7th Grade) whilst experiencing what life was like during pivotal moments in history and learning about their ancestry.
Ideal for those who love historical fiction, time-travel and books about friendship, the series is upper middle grade, aimed at children aged 9-13 years.