Posts Tagged with middle grade

Melt by Ele Fountain: Book Review

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A heart-warming coming of age story set against the back drop of fast paced survival adventure in the snowy wilderness of northern Canada. This story has it all: well developed characters, an action-packed adventure in the wilderness, secrets to unravel and some wider messages about: taking risks, global warming and how we treat our planet.  I highly recommend it for ages 9 to 80!

Written as a dual narrative from the perspective of two teenagers Bea and Yutu. The young people don’t know each other at the start of their story, but they end up depending on each other for their survival. 

Bea and Yutu are struggling with transitions in their lives. Bea has just moved house for the 5th time in 5 years.  She is finding it hard to find her place in her new school, and her dad seems distracted and distant with his work. Yutu lives with his grandma in a remote Arctic village not accessible by roads. He is beginning to wonder about his future in the world and what lies beyond his village. He is wondering if his grandma will let him take the necessary risks to explore the wilderness on his own.

Bea and her dad share an interest, which is flying small aircraft together. So when Bea’s dad asks her to accompany him on a work flight into the Arctic circle she in initially excited. However, when things take a turn for the worse, her life collides with Yutu and they find themselves depending on each other for their survival. 

To find out more about this book and for some insights into Ele Fountains writing process check out my Blog Tour post here. 

Thank you to publishers Pushkin Press for an advance copy of the book and inviting me to take part in the blog tour (details below, insert jpeg). 

To see my interview with author Ele Fountain check out my next post

 

The books is available to buy from me at Readers that Care click here.

 

 

Tiger Skin Rug by Joan Haig – Book Review

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I really enjoyed this story by debut author Joan Haig. It conjured up a real sense of place in both Scotland and India. I love stories that cross genres. This provides an intriguing balance of family drama, real-world adventure and mystery mixed with magical realism. It is filled with some great description and action, with several twists and turns to keep your attention. There are also some important messages about family and what it means to belong. I would highly recommend for children aged 9+ years.

Lal and his brother Dilip have recently moved to Scotland with their mum, dad and Naniji from India. They are homesick. Their parents bought the house from an old lady together with the furniture. One day Dilip finds the tiger skin rug in the living room is real, and can magic into a real talking tiger.

“Something – what was it? – was rippling, across the tiger skin, rippling from underneath it. The ripples were growing…” (p21)

The tiger needs their help to  unravel some secrets and honour an old promise and in return for their help he promised to take them home. This takes them on a journey first to a closed-down auction house near Waterloo station, then to Coventry in search of a professor and onto India, as it turns out the professor is at a conference there.

There is a wonderful part in the first few chapters where local girl Jenny confuses the Scottish for ‘lassie’ (a girls or young woman) with the Indian drink ‘lassi’ (an Indian yogurt drink). The way that the author handles this helps the reader understand what it might be like to be in a new place and to explore ideas relating to belonging.

“My lassi filled me with happiness – cardamom, brown sugar and Indian sea-sides; tangy tastes of things I missed, the sweet and sour of home. Jenny liked her milkshake and gulped it down: maybe she was OK, after all.” (p19)

You do have to take a little leap in the part where they fly on a magic tiger rug all the way to India! But, once in India descriptions make you feel like you are really there. The shift to India has been made easier for the reader by the author’s decision to start the story in Scotland. This means the reader experiences India through the eyes of a child who knows it well but whom is also delighted to return. Which somehow makes it feel less foreign (for those that don’t know India) Though even Lal discovers there he has things to learn about the contrasts between the rich and the poor in India.

The children finally track down Menko Chatterjee (the University professor). and he and the children return to the Indian forest where he grew up. For a truly special ending and a few final twists. Danger still lurks and will the tiger get to complete his mission? You will have to read it to find out!

 

You can read my chat with the author here
You can buy the book from Cranachan publishers here.

 

Tiger Skin Rug – a short chat with author Joan Haig

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Welcome to my  post on the Tiger Skin Rug blog tour.  Joan Haig’s story is an exciting story about two siblings called Lal and Dilip, their new friend Jenny and a magical tiger. The Tiger needs their help to unravel some secrets and help a friend.  It begins in Scotland and during the story they also go to India. It struck me was how vividly the author conjures up a sense of place. From getting a sense of  the features of ‘Greystanes’ house in Scotland to feeling like you were in India.  I I was intrigued to know how the Joan Haig’s  life experience may have influenced her writing.  So I asked her a few questions.
a) What influenced or inspired you to write a story connected to and set in India?

” As a teenager I volunteered for four months with a charity working in an impoverished area of Hyderabad in Northwest India. It’s such a beautiful country with so many extremes. Then, ten years later, I researched and wrote an ethnography – a study of the culture – of the Hindu minority living in Lusaka, in Zambia. The families I worked with over five years told me stories of their migration, and I ended up researching and writing a lot about ideas of ‘home’ and ‘belonging. When I began to develop the characters for Tiger Skin Rug, it felt natural for me to write about a Hindu family moving to a new place.”

b) How did you research/find out about India?

“When I was in India, I travelled across the sub-continent, keeping a journal and writing screeds of letters home, packed with descriptions of the tastes, smells, sounds and colours I encountered. When I wrote Tiger Skin Rug, I revisited my old diaries and letters. The ethnography I wrote was for a PhD thesis – a big piece of work! – and involved a huge amount of research, which all helped in my fiction writing.”

c)  The house called ‘Greystanes’ that the siblings moved to in Scotland is quite distinctive. Was it inspired by ANY buildings you know?

Greystanes’ is based on two houses in Scotland that I know well – one of which is a very beautiful Anglo-Indian bungalow. Some of the descriptions also draw on childhood memories of my aunties’ house and their magical attic. There are a few other buildings across Scotland that fed into my thinking as I was writing – Dunrobin Castle is one.

Here is the author’s description of the house when they first arrive:

“Naniji let out a cackle of unexpected glee. The bungalow wasn’t an ordinary bungalow. It was huge and looming, with a deep verandah wrapped around its side like old houses in India, and a towering front door. The name ‘Greystanes’ was etched onto a pillar and a date – 1836 – chiseled into the stone above. ” p3

I also noticed how the patio doors in Greystanes house were used to good effect. With one character sometimes waiting outside to come in and the conjuring up of expectation and magic with the open or closing of curtains and/or a slight breeze blowing. Here are a couple of examples:
“I pressed in close to the glass. The wisps danced across the tigers skin. It was clear this time; this was no tick of the light….” p22
” The curtain flapped a little as if there was a breeze. I held my breath as the tiger began to shimmer and move.” p38
You can read my blog review here.
You can buy the book published by CranAchan Publishing here

Flight – Vanessa Harbour

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Sometimes you read a story that you enjoyed so much and which makes you think that you just need to write about it. Last  week that book was Flight by Vanessa Harbour. A thrilling epic journey which is both heartwarming and at times heart-wrenching.

I am a big fan of middle grade fiction with a journey narrative and of accessible historical fiction, and this does both brilliantly. It is a well paced exciting journey, with the strong sense of the threatening presence of  the Nazi’s adding to the risks and excitement and there are lots of horses!

It is a about a Jewish boy called Jakob who when he is orphaned takes shelter in a nearby stables. His guardian takes him on to look after the Lipizzanner stallions.  They are very famous horses owned by the Spanish Riding school of Vienna, who are renowned for their almost dance like dressage performances. When the horses become endangered Jakob and his guardian and a Roma girl called Kizzy set off on an epic journey across the countryside and over the mountains to safety.

I loved this story just as much as ‘Sky Chaser’ by Emma Carroll. Flight by debut author Vanessa Harbour is every bit it’s equal.  Each cut’s across genre, creating modern historical adventures that will appeal to readers of all ages. This book also reminded me of  ‘Running on the Roof of the World’ by Jess Butterworth, where Tash makes an epic journey with two Yaks across the Himalyas. Both stories bring a real strength to the journey narrative in that the main characters have to care for themselves and their animals.

Reading the story I got a real sense of what it might have been like to have lived in a Nazi occupied country in World War Two. The risks are especially high when you are a Jewish boy trying to sneak across country with a large group of highly prized horses! The story opens with Jacob hiding in a hayloft:

“If Jacob sneezed he could die, he passed a sweaty hand over his nose. Every part of him was shaking. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears….”

Early on you learn the power that the Nazi’s have when Jakobs favourite horse is shot. There is more to come, and because of this I would recommend Flight for children aged 9/10 years and older. However, having said that the constant presence of the Nazi’s is effectively integrated into the story in a way that you feel like you are really there At the same time the full impact is ‘softened’ a little for the reader, as is often the case in the very best of middle grade fiction.

The first two thirds of this story is fast paced with plenty of action to keep you reading as you want to find out what happens next. Then the excitement of the journey appears to be over and you are briefly left wondering what will happen in the rest of the story. Less experienced readers and/or children who prefer fast paced stories may need a little encouragement to get past this. The last one third of the story doesn’t disappoint. It is very clever. You get a hint of what life might be like for Jakob and Kizzy after their adventure and for horse fans there is an absolute treat to come!

Set within an exciting adventure with horses, is a running theme of prejudice, which is superbly handled by the author and leaves plenty to discuss. This includes: attitudes towards Jews in World War Two, and towards Roma children both then and now, and attitudes to women in sport at this time.

I really enjoyed reading this book and can’t wait to see what Vanessa Harbour writes next.

 

Blog Tour: Wilderness Wars, a conversation with Barbara Henderson

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I am delighted to have Scottish author Barbara Henderson back on my blog, having interviewed her about her first book Fir for Luck on my blog almost two years ago. Her third book is Wilderness Wars, an eco-thriller set on a remote Scottish Island. Which is a wonderful twist of several genres, survival on a remote island, family, and the developers ignoring the environment set the scene for what follows. The environment fights back and takes on a supernatural force of its own.  In all three of Barbara’s books she has shown that she clearly knows the natural environments of Scotland and has the skill to take her reader there. But, in Wilderness Wars she has absolutely nailed it. Striking a beautiful balance between character led prose and spot on description that you really feel like you are there, which combined with twist and turns and suspense is quite something.  The laying as the two main characters Em and Zac learn about themselves and begin to work out what is happening on the Island and the hints that perhaps something more than unlucky mishaps is going on is superb. I highly recommend it for everyone aged 9 years and above, including adults.

When I talked to you on my blog two years ago about your debut book Fir for Luck. You said one of your family holidays inspired the story, as you discovered a remote clearance village, which was the inspiration for your story.

  1. How have your family holidays to the Scottish Wilderness helped to inspire Wilderness Wars?

I am so lucky in that I live close to a lot of the types of places which helped to create the island world in Wilderness Wars. My base in Inverness can be annoying at times – any city is 2-3 hours away –  but you can drive for a very short time before you reach the sea, or the wilderness, or both. It’s one of the factors which drew us to the region. Holidays on Harris, with its white beaches and turquoise seas, Lewis, Mull, Iona, Skye, Islay, Assynt and Sutherland… all these played into the world I tried to create, and each memory contributed a little.

Some observations, such as seeing the seal move elegantly underwater from a hilltop, coral beaches and being dive-bombed by gulls are all directly lifted from holiday memories. I defy anyone not to be inspired by places like these – there is awe, but also a certain vulnerability as you realise how far you are from anywhere. Both are natural responses, and I hope that Wilderness Wars features a little of that balance.

In both Fir for Luck and Wilderness Wars there is a close connection with the characters to the land and they and their families depend on it for their survival. But, the context of Wilderness Wars is very different. It is not the people that are trying to stop them but nature itself.

  1. Tell me a more about the ways that nature fights back and how you selected the ways it does?

There is a lot more I could have done, a lot more facets of the wild world I could have included. The bottom line is, I wanted a slow escalation, so that initially, the setbacks for the building project would look like mishaps and accidents, before, without the reader realising it, we have moved into something a little bit more supernatural: the wilderness as a sentient force. So initially, the workforce on Skelsay have to contend with small accidents, freak weather, rodents, an inconvenient site for a protected species. If they run roughshod over these, as they do, there is an escalation until we are looking at the inevitable life or death showdown. I liked the fact that it begins with small, explicable things and I wanted to ask myself the question – if nature, as a whole, could fight back against our blinkered, short-sighted, selfish little meddling – what would it do?  It’s the classic Man-versus-Nature conflict, but with a bit of a moral twist.

In your opening chapters of Wilderness Wars you cleverly balance Em’s curiosity about the new environment she is going to live in, with another less friendly side, such as being pecked by seal gulls on the ferry and wild whether resulting in container being dropped in the sea.

  1. Can you explain more about how you balanced building up a picture of a ‘conspiring, sinister nature’ with Em and her friend Zac developing their understanding of the Island and a respect for the wilderness on the island?

It was really important to me that both sides should be shown – nature, respected and left to its own devices, is not a threat in the book. I love the wild landscapes and am definitely at my happiest and most peaceful when I am in such places. But in the book, the wilderness, threatened by thoughtless development and needless interference, certainly is dangerous.

It’s an element of the supernatural, designed to make a wider point about the way we make choices, questioning rather than scaremongering, I hope. The book ends on a very positive note, although I have to admit to terrifying myself with the chapters near the end.

But maybe Wilderness Wars can also be read as whatever you want it to be: a love letter to the wilderness, an adventure story in its own right, a book about integrity, isolation, friendship and finding your place in the world.

Goodness, that sounds a bit ambitious, but that’s my hope! Judge for yourselves readers…

 

Punch by Barbara Henderson

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Having loved Barbara Henderson’s first book Fir for Luck I was delighted to be asked to review her second children’s book, Punch. Drawn in by another great cover I couldn’t wait to get started, and what a cracking read it is. A fast paced and heartwarming story set in late Victorian Scotland.

It starts in Inverness in 1889, when orphaned Phin is ordered by his Uncle to collect some sausages late at night from their market stall. Whilst doing this Phin accidentally starts a fire in the market square and has to flee for his life. I love the dramatic start to this story, which is sure to draw in the reader. Barbara Henderson brilliantly captures the events as they unfold and the fears of Phin in those first few hours after the fire that changes everything.

“ It’s cold, really cold. Or maybe it’s the sweat running down my neck. Away, away from here, is all I can think.”  (p9)

As Phin runs from Inverness he bumps into an escaped prisoner called Mr Robertson, who needs Phin to help cover his escape.

“  ‘Listen, I willnae harm ye. But, they’ll be looking fer a man on his own, no’ a man and a boy. I’ll let you got once I am clear o’ them.’  His eyes dart up the hill and long the river, ahead and behind. ”   (p16)

I quickly warmed to both characters. On the run from the authorities they come across a travelling family called the Moffats. And this is how the story gets it’s name PUNCH. The Moffat’s travel across Scotland putting on Punch and Judy shows. The Moffat’s take Phin and Mr Robertson in, and teach them the tricks of the trade and soon they are an integral part of the show. But, all the while there is the added tension that they might be discovered by the police.

“The pot-woman answers, irritated: “You won’t go anywhere in a hurry. The sheriff officers have blocked the road ahead, they’re searching every cart and carriage. “ p43

In the story Barbara Henderson clearly shows her love of puppetry and there are wonderful insights into what putting on a Punch and Judy Opera was like in Victorian times. To find out more about this and what fired the authors enthusiasm for puppetry check out my interview here.

Punch is action packed with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader interested. Integrated into this on the run adventure is Phin’s personal journey. He is at first not sure about Mr Robertson, you begin to discover this is in part because of his own experience with his abusive Uncle. At the beginning Phin trusts no one, but he gradually begins to trust the adults around him. The relationship that develops between Phin and Mr Robertson is heartwarming to see and add’s something really special. Added to this is another layer as Phin begins to have memories of a more terrible crime. What is really clever about the way that Barbara Henderson has written the story is that you only begin to find out the true extend of this darker crime, as Phin begins to have other adults in his life, which cushion’s the impact for readers a little.

I would highly recommend this for all children aged 9 years and over, and for teenagers and adults too. Great for those looking for a fast paced, heart felt adventure, in the unusual setting of victorian Scotland.

You can BUY PUNCH from Amazon here

Read my Blog Tour interview with author Barbara Henderson here.

Punch Blog Tour: Interview with Barbara Henderson about here love and interest for Punch and Judy

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This is my stop on the Punch Blog Tour, a cracking new middle grade story from author Barbara Henderson.

 

   

 

1. What made you decide to link Phin’s story with Punch and Judy?

I am a self-confessed Puppetry fan! When I was four, I had a horrible accident, which rendered me bed-bound for weeks, on liquidised food and very, very bored! My two older sisters performed puppet shows for me then, and forever after, why would you do anything else with an open doorway or an empty cardboard box? Turning it into a puppet theatre is the obvious thing to do! Once I had time at home and my children were young, I set to work – the long summer holidays were the perfect time to try my hand at building a proper wooden booth, and i still have it. Soon I was taking bookings for children’s parties, festivals and all sorts of occasions – I was officially a puppeteer.

Once the children were at school and we had re-located once more, I went back to teaching – but my lovely booth has never been out of action since – I simply bring my puppets and my booth into the drama classroom with me, and it seems to work.

When I was looking to create the Victorian world which my character Phineas inhabits, there was a proper Eureka moment: here was an unusual, but historical context, and I already knew a lot about it – Victorian puppeteers travelled the length and breadth of the country! The perfect combo, and something to take the book out of the standard Victorian fare of poorhouses and child labour – although the book obviously touches on that.

2. Where does your interest and enthusiasm for Punch and Judy come from? 

My interest is a little wider than just Punch and Judy – I love marionettes, for example and own a pretty decent collection. Recently, I have got into shadow puppetry and even use it in some of my author events, as well as in the drama classroom. Puppetry is the perfect form of drama for those who may be a bit shy: It allows you to write, to make props and backdrops, to craft or customise puppets, to create music and sound effects and of course to use voice and movement in performance, but crucially – without being looked at! Punch and Judy style puppets always go down really well with youngsters, mainly because of the speed you can move glove puppets at, and also the potential for slapstick-type comedy. I love that it is the whole of ‘theatre’ in miniature – live, immediate and striking. I love performing, writing, making, painting, music – and I can do a wee bit of each without having to excel at any one area. Awesome!

 

3. Tell me more about the history of Punch and Judy and it’s importance in the Victorian era? 

I’m pretty sure that most modern children would be a bit bemused if they saw an authentic Victorian Punch show. For a start, they called them Punch and Judy opera, and the term puppeteer hadn’t even been invented yet. Those travelling and performing simply called themselves ‘showman’ and ‘Punch and Judy man’ – and yes there were very few women, although that changed in the early 20th century.

The plays would basically follow the same episodic structure: Punch would stay on stage and the performer would wear a swazzle, a small metal plate which was inserted into the roof of the mouth, and which distorted the voice to make it the distinctive Punch sound. One after the other, the characters would enter, and, by accident or design, Punch would kill them (I know! Modern parents would shudder!) until the devil comes to fetch him at the end. It may not sound like a barrel of laughs, but all this was delivered swiftly, with much chasing and slapstick-fighting. I found the research into this really fascinating. The Scottish records show that vast distances were travelled by these men and women, and that most diversified into being musicians, dancers and animal tamers, and some even travelled with dancing bears. Once I had read that, I had to include a dancing bear in Punch, surely!    

4. It is clear from the story how that you have done quite a bit of research on Punch and Judy, how and where did you carry out your research? Do you have any tips for children/young people wanting to find out more themselves?

My research process is pretty simple: I read around the subject a lot, just to get a feel. If a detail or a particular bit of research stays with me (as in, I don’t forget it immediately), then I can safely assume that others may be as interested or intrigued by it as me. For children’s fiction, you have to be so selective anyway – too much historical context can be a quick turn-off. I can only include as much detail as my readers are likely to care about!

I check out the historical timeline (after all, I can’t and shouldn’t doctor what actually happened) and then get busy with filling in the gaps with fiction. Sometimes this can be a lengthy process, as I often realise in the writing process that I have to know more. Any first draft often has notes like ‘(insert clever paragraph about soldieer recruitment)’ or whatever. 

But my secret weapon is the expert! I managed to locate THE go-to expert on Punch and Judy history in Scotland, cheekily made contact and asked if I could buy him a coffee. After a couple of hours enthusing on his pet subject with someone who genuinely wanted to know (me), he was willing to read the whole manuscript and give me feedback! Score!

There are many other places to find out more, too. The http://www.maskandpuppet.co.uk/ Scottish Mask and Puppet Centre, for example, and the http://www.thepjf.com/events.html Punch and Judy Fellowship. There is a fab puppet festival in Covent Garden every year too: https://www.visitlondon.com/things-to-do/event/29422454-covent-garden-may-fayre-and-puppet-festival-at-st-paul-s-church-garden#oMMLwrsPRLkHRomR.97

You can buy the book PUNCH   here

Read my review of PUNCH here. 

You can find out more about the author Barbara Henderson on her website:   http://www.barbarahenderson.co.uk

Longbow Girl by Linda Davies

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The main character in the story is Merry Owen and she has followed in a long family tradition of being a skilled archer. She lives on a farm in the Brecon Beacons in South Wales with her parents and brother. Their land is adjacent to the much larger de Courey estate , who has for generations thought the land owned by the Owen’s is theirs. They are always looking for ways to grab it back. When Merry’s family hit on hard times and the farm her family have lived on for generations is under threat she is desperate to help. So when a unique discovery of an old book in the roots of an ancient tree opens ups a path to another time 500 years in the past she takes up the challenge.

It is a gripping story and from very early on you are wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next. The short chapters really help. The dual time period is intriguing and the portrayal of the power of the de Courey family and Henry VIII when transported back in time 500 years ago are extremely well done. One of the things I love about this book is that it is one of several I have read that cross genres. Something that I think makes a story both exciting and intriguing but also opens up more possibilities for future reads. These combines, adventure with historical fiction, family saga, and something a little creepy. Merry is a strong but sometimes headstrong girl who stands up for her family. She embarks on extreme adventures of survival to get to another time. She has to use her Longbow skills, wit, mindfulness and pure courage to outwit her enemies and to save her family. There is a strong second character who is James de Courey. Linda Davies very effectively conveys the young people’s mixed emotions, the tension between their two world’s and how these two young people try to navigate their own paths, whilst respecting their families.

For me one of the things that makes this story special is the way the Lisa Davies captures the pure terror that Merry and James feel in some of the situations they find themselves in. Some of which are situations of extreme survival. I love the way the young people draw on their own resources to get them through. Alongside this is the ever present suggestion that there may be something more sinister at work. That is is someone always watching or following Merry. The multi layers of this story is not something which is easy to write, but Linda Davies has done it beautifully. Which was no doubt helped by her passion for the Brecon Beacons in which is was set. The publishers Chicken House recommend this book for 10+ years. I would highly recommend it for anyone aged 11/12 years and both boys and girls.

Available to buy from me at Readers that Care