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| David Almond, ill. Polly Dunbar |
| Walker Books |
| 1406304867 |
| Oct 2007 |
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Lizzie misses her mother, however, her dad and his quite literal flights of fancy provide plentiful diversion and distraction, as too do Auntie Doreen’s endeavours to normalise the situation that father and daughter find themselves within through her homely domesticity and the cooking of doughy dumplings!
Dad is eager to enter the human bird competition that is due to take place over the river Tyne and which has attracted international interest – ‘there’s a fella from France that’s screwed wings to his bike. There’s a lass from Japan with a ten foot pogo stick. There’s a bloke from Brazil with an umbrella on his head and a propeller on his bum…’ The archetype whereby the child’s inner-imaginative world is constructed as all-embracing is reversed by David Almond in this latest work, where it is Lizzie’s dad – and his obsession with all things fowl and flight – that drive the story and the attempts to find freedom of flight. Polly Dunbar’s vibrant illustrations make her the perfect illustrator to collaborate on this book. The building blocks of the story will feel familiar with those who have read Almond’s body of work to date, influences from William Blake continue to abound as too does a preoccupation with the human form and flight. Ultimately, however, this is an upbeat and uplifting story that transcends ideas of social norms through realising the importance of the love than underpins all of this.
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Early Readers: November 2007 Archives
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| Rachel Anderson, ill. Jane Ray |
| Barn Owl Books |
| 1903015707 |
| Oct 2007 |
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Matthew has a deep level of care and respect for his elder brother Ben. He endeavours to protect Ben from the types of assumption and stereotype that he is subjected to by neighbours and his peers. The strength in Anderson’s text lies in its awareness that even the best intentions of his brother Matthew, do not really allow Ben’s skills and abilities to shine through and that accordingly, his departure to a residential school tailored to his needs comes as a liberation.
There is a marvellous sense of joyous celebration towards the end of this short book as we see Ben actively engage and participate, at which points he feels valued and worthwhile. The juxtaposition between this and the opening of the books is a testament to Anderson’s very real skills as an author. In a short work she has created an entirely convincing fiction where characters develop and adapt to the circumstances surrounding them and to the altered situations facing one another when interacting. Praise must go to Barn Owl Books – who have recently faced financial uncertainties – for bringing back into print this brilliant shot novel, first published under the ‘Mammoth Read’ imprint and given a new lease of life with superb new accompanying illustrations by Jane Ray
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