The Night I Borrowed Time (KS2/3)

by Iqbal Hussain

Eleven-year-old Zubair is a seventh son. This means a LOT of big brothers. But when Zubair’s granny arrives from Pakistan and gives him a mysterious amulet, he discovers it means something else, too: he has inherited a gift. The seventh sons in his family have the ability to time-travel.

With his dad a shadow of his former self since his car accident, and his mum always tired and angry, Zubair has a genius idea. He’ll use time-travel to fix things between them.

But each trip comes at a cost. If he changes something small in the past, it can have a huge effect on his future. And if he gets it wrong, the results could be devastating…

"Funny, touching, thought-provoking... Richly imagined and deeply inventive"

- Guardian

"The Night I Borrowed Time gives a fresh, affectionate twist to the usual time-travelling dilemmas... Sweet and sparky"

- The Times

Resources

Age: Key Stage 2/3 (middle grade)
Subject: English Literature
Fiction Text: The Night I Borrowed Time
Author: Iqbal Hussain

The Night I Borrowed Time (KS2/3) - Resource Pack

The 3 worksheets challenge students to think critically about the experiences within The Night I Borrowed Time, integrating the dilemmas Zubair faced during his adventures. The activites gradually zoom out, asking students to imagine a heritage item, develop a story opening, and then realising a self-contained short story.

The activities in the resource pack are designed to be used alongside the media provided below, which include videos of Iqbal Hussain speaking about the historical context of the Night I Borrowed Time and an audio extract of the author reading from his text.