Hairs in the Palm of the Hand facts for kids
Hairs in the Palm of the Hand is an exciting children's novel by British author Jan Mark. It was first published in 1981. This book is a collection of two shorter stories, called novellas, that are both set in schools. It was also made into an audio book, read by the famous actor Tony Robinson.
Adventures at School: Time and the Hour
This story takes place at a school just for boys. It focuses on a specific class called 1x. One of the students, Martin Bennett, starts a fun project. He decides to keep track of how much time is wasted and saved during each school day.
Soon, the school's main troublemaker, Addison, finds out about Martin's project. Addison and some of his friends, Forbes, Hopkins, Luckhurst, and Traill, decide to make a bet. They want to see how much time they can save or waste during the next week! Martin becomes the "bookmaker," keeping track of all the bets, and Forbes helps supervise. This happens even though the Deputy Headmaster has told everyone that betting is not allowed at school.
The rule for the bet was simple: whoever won their bet would collect their prize at the 125 bus stop. If the time saved and wasted ended up being exactly even, then no one would win.
The next week turns into a bit of a mess! Hopkins, who bet on wasting 49 minutes, and Addison, who bet on saving 15 minutes, try their best to win. They cause lots of little incidents and distractions, which really annoys their teachers.
Eventually, all the teachers figure out what's going on. This happens especially when Martin accidentally hands in his time-wasting sheet instead of his test paper to Mr. Holland! After a fire drill, the bet ends, and no one actually wins. This makes Addison quite annoyed!
A Bold Visitor: Chutzpah
This story is about a brave and daring teenage girl named Eileen Skeates. She decides to visit a different kind of school called Shepway School. This school is a comprehensive school, which means it has both boys and girls of all different abilities. Eileen's visit causes a lot of excitement and even a bit of chaos!
Eileen does many surprising things during her visit. When teachers ask her name, she gives out false names like Julie Smith, Susan Tucker, and Deborah Clark. She also talks to the third-year girls about feminist ideas. Feminism is about believing that all people, no matter their gender, should have equal rights and opportunities. Eileen even encourages the older students, called the sixth form, to take over an unused classroom. This is a bit like "squatting," which means using a building or space without permission.
Eileen meets a girl named Lisa Donovan. Lisa thinks Eileen is a bit crazy because of her carefree attitude and all the trouble she causes. Later, after a long chat, the teachers realize what Eileen has been doing. One of the teachers finally catches her!
While being taken to the Headmaster's office, Eileen manages to escape. The teacher gets distracted by the sixth form incident that Eileen had started. This gives Eileen a chance to sneak away. After saying goodbye to Lisa and some other girls she met, and explaining why she came to their school, Eileen heads back home.
