O. R. Melling |
Amulet Books |
1904442714 |
Oct 2005 |
|
American Gwen and her Irish cousin Findabhair (pronounced ‘finn-ah-veer’) are sixteen, soul-mates, on the threshold of womanhood but still innocent enough to half-believe that they might achieve their childhood goal of finding a doorway into the Faraway Country. It is not the fairies at the bottom of the garden whom they seek, but an altogether wilder and more dangerous breed. Ostensibly on a bus tour of Ireland (parents have to be pacified in order to be put out of the picture) but in fact prepared to be more reckless in search of their goal, the two are quickly involved in a wild game of hide and seek where one of them inhabits a different realm from the other. |
Archives for January 2006
Let’s Get Lost
Sarra Manning |
Hodder Children’s Books |
0340877014 |
Feb 2006 |
|
In Isabel Sarra Manning has created what surely must be one of the most caustic and insular characters in teenage literature. Her torrent of acerbic and intimidating remarks towards the beginning of the novel make it difficult to identify or empathise with her. What becomes apparent is that Isabel is not only highly intelligent, but that she is also sensitive, however, much her endeavours might attempt to shroud that. It is these facts that pull her apart from partners in crime, Nancy, Ella and Dot. |
Blart
Dominic Barker |
Bloomsbury |
074758074X |
Feb 2006 |
|
Irresistibly irreverent, ‘Blart’ is one of those all-too-rare, laugh-out-loud books. A hapless sort of a chap, Blart, our eponymous protagonist and unlikely hero is a pig farmer by trade and all things porcine certainly form the basis for his comfort-zone. Together with the cantankerous wizard, Capablanca, blowhard warrior, Beowulf and petulant Princess Lois, Blart unwillingly becomes a part of the motley crew who aim to do battle against evil over-lord Zoltab and the minions and Ministers who seek his return. |
Castles
Colin Thompson |
Hutchinson Children’s Books Ltd |
0091884861 |
Jan 2006 |
|
Rant |
The Hand of the Devil
Dean Vincent Carter |
Bodley Head Children’s Books |
0370328833 |
Feb 2006 |
|
Receiving an intriguing letter from a Mr Reginald C. Mather, journalist Ashley Reeves sets off on an expedition to Tryst in the Lake District in pursuit of an exclusive story about the Ganges Red mosquito for magazine ‘Missing Link’. His arrival at Tryst is marked by an imminent rainstorm and on his journey across to Mr Mather’s island, Ashley looses control of his boat colliding it into rocks. Shattering on impact, Ashley is thrust into the cold waters of the lake and swims towards the island, arriving with a soaked, broken mobile phone and no immediate means for leaving the island’ |
Yakov and the Seven Thieves
Madonna |
Puffin Books |
1904442714 |
Oct 2005 |
|
When is a children’s book not a children’s book? The question is neither as facetious nor as frivolous as it might first appear. With the publication of an increasing number of ‘celebrity’ written stories purportedly for children, the alleged new ‘cross-over’ market and the production of collectors’ editions of children’s books with a pricetag way beyond the means of the average child, when is a children’s book no longer for children? |
Dinosaur Chase
Benedict Blathwayt |
Hutchinson Children’s Books Ltd |
0091892937 |
Feb 2006 |
|
Change allows us to meet our surrounding circumstances and thereby to survive’ |
Firestarter
Catherine Forde |
Egmont Children’s Books |
1405210567 |
Feb 2006 |
|
Catherine Forde’s novels have the emotional impact of a clenched fist to the stomach. She writes powerful prose that deliver firm blows. Three-year-old Annie is the lynch-pin in Firestarter, not because she contributes directly to the plot, but rather because she epitomises the dependency and innocence of early childhood, thereby setting a direct contrast with unpredictable and dangerous Reece Anderson, the eponymous Firestarter’ |
Whispers in the Woods
Mark Bartholomew ill. by Jan Evans |
Educational Printing Services Limited |
1904904610 |
Jan 2006 |
|
It is exciting stumbling unexpectedly upon a book that catches one unaware, making one both think and feel in a different way than before. Whispers in the Woods is such a book. It is a traditional and at once quiet tale that looks back to medieval life and traditions, in so doing offering peace and solace from the hustle and bustle of modern life. |
The Wind Tamer
P. R. Morrison |
Bloomsbury Children’s Books |
074757950 |
Feb 2006 |
|
The Wind Tamer is distinctively sensual. First time author P. R. Morrison has a wonderful knack for grounding her prose with strong imagery. The brilliant pure white Ice Gulls against the bleak darkness of Westervoe in coastal Scotland and the slam and screech, whistle and roar of the wind make for a hugely atmospheric and at times filmic backdrop to an unusual novel that sweeps readers into its richly imaginative world of suspense and intrigue. |