This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
BfK 8 – 10 Junior/Middle continued


future with ‘hats for cats’ and ‘swimming pools on trains’; a future where pupils swap with teachers and everyone is forced to dress up on a Friday. Initially, such hilarious schemes are lapped up by an adoring public but ‘behind every good leader there is someone waiting in the wings to crush them’, and Violetta Crump will stop at nothing to nab Joe’s job!


In his debut novel for children, Tom McLaughlin conducts a well-crafted attack on adults who take themselves too seriously. The Anti-Silliness League is established to oppose Joe and contains the sorts of people, ‘who sit twitching behind net curtains … and pop balloons just for the hell of it’. There is a Chancellor who is utterly stumped when asked where all the money is (‘… it’s in the bank, probably, somewhere’), and a Queen with little better to do than shoot squirrels with her catapult.


Thankfully the children, led by Joe, are on hand to teach everyone the importance of simple things like being honest, being kind and being silly. When Joe prevents World War Three by insisting that two angry heads of state should play nicely or go without, it is easy to imagine that perhaps we would all be better off with children in charge!


SD


The Leaky Battery Sets Sail: Adventures of the Steampunk Pirates


HHH


Gareth P Jones, Stripes Publishing, 160pp, 978-1-84715-593-1, £5.99 pbk


As the pirate vessel, the Leaky Battery, scours the oceans in search of booty, it comes across Admiral Fussington’s ship, forcing it to surrender. The pirate crew, with Captain Clockheart in charge, are after gold – as much as they can plunder. But these are no ordinary pirates: the only human among them is Pendle, the cabin boy, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Fussington’s runaway daughter. They are robots – fashioned from scraps of metal, nuts, bolts and clockwork bits – whose body parts, now rusting, need replacing. On hearing their predicament, Fussington suggests they visit the famous alchemist on Snake Island, who can turn scrap metal into gold. Just then, the Iron Duke comes to Fussington’s rescue with his towering battleships, so triggering an adventure of attack and counterattack, complicity and treachery, as Captain Clockheart battles the joint forces of Fussington and the Iron Duke – and sets off for Snake Island.


The story – the first in a series – has many threads, weaving dialogue and flashbacks, puns and author interjections into the telling. The characters are entertaining and well developed, and much of the story focuses on their interactions and ambitions, their origins and the mechanisms by which they function.


Lively and action-packed, with an original take on the pirate theme, the story also provides the inspiration for work on STEM subjects.


AF


The Unlikely Adventures of Mabel Jones


HHHH


Will Mabbitt, ill. Ross Collins, Puffin Books, 290pp, 978-0-14135-514-6, £6.99 pbk


When Mabel Jones went to bed one fateful night and performed ‘The Deed’ (nose picking and eating the results) she did not expect to find herself immediately ‘bagged’ by a child catcher and taken on board The Feroshus Maggot, a pirate ship, to join the crew. There she has to prove herself; for what use is a mere girl, a ‘female human snuglet’ to a band of desperate pirates even if she has passed the nose picking initiation test with flying colours? Mabel survives the greasy pole of certain death and most importantly uses her skills in reading and deduction to reveal a secret list of pirates holding a piece of the missing cross, key to finding and unlocking untold treasure. This is what Idryss Ebeneezer Split, captain of the pirate ship (a fearsome wolf with a false leg) has been seeking.


Thus begins a quest story with our heroine Mabel Jones right at the centre of it. Equipped with a cutlass and the assurance that ‘she is Mabel Jones and not scared of anything’ her adventure takes her from the wild western sea to the haunted seventh sea, to caverns, castles and crypts along the way and even inside the belly of a whale.


This is a fast paced adventure story with witty language. I love the name of the silent loris child catcher Omynus Hussh. There is bathos in the description of this character who becomes an unlikely friend for Mabel and there is lots of humour throughout the writing. Asides to the reader and the excellent drawings by Ross Collins add to the fun.


Children will enjoy poring over the treasure map and may be inspired to make one too, write messages in invisible ink or create their own who’s who of pirates.


SMc The Imagination Box HHHHH


Martyn Ford, Faber & Faber, 288pp, 978-0-57131-165-1, £6.99 pbk


Ten-year-old Tim Hart lives in The Dawn Star Hotel with his adoptive parents, Elisa and Chris Green. However, Elisa and Chris are always very busy or away. Tim feels lonely, until one day, whilst he is stealing brownies from an empty function room, he meets a strange and very interesting man. This man turns out to be Professor Eisenstone. Professor Eisenstone has just invented a very clever machine. It is called TDACD, but Tim likes to call it ‘The Imagination Box’, because it can create anything you think of. It is nearly


26 Books for Keeps No.212 May 2015


finished. However, the professor is very worried that someone is trying to steal it, and that is why he is staying in the hotel.


Tim and the professor become friends, and Tim helps the professor with some very interesting experiments – one of which produces Phil, a friendly, well-spoken finger monkey. But then the professor suddenly disappears. Tim finds the professor’s treasured watch and realises that the professor has been kidnapped. So Tim, Phil and Dee (the professor’s granddaughter) start trying to find out what has happened to the professor.


During their investigation, they come across Chris Crowfield, the new chef and Kane, a policeman, but no one believes that the professor has really been kidnapped. Who can they trust, and what really happened to Professor Eisenstone’s partner, Professor Whitelock?


The Imagination Box is an exciting and fun book. The idea of ‘The Imagination Box’ itself is unusual and intriguing, and the consequences of using it are funny and clever. Tim is a very engaging protagonist whom many children will identify with. His boldness in embarking on a dangerous adventure to save the professor is appealing to children and adults alike. Finally, some of the more fantastical elements in the plot are hilarious and extremely enjoyable. This comic story will appeal to both boys and girls and will definitely make readers laugh. ARa


Balaclava Boy HHHHH


Jenny Robson, ill. Sandy Mitchell, Little Island, 80pp, 978-1-90819-591-3, £4.99 pbk


Balaclava Boy is a fresh,


contemporary and very engaging read from award winning author, Jenny Robson. Life is progressing much as expected for the Doo Dudes, Damisani and Doogal (aka the Big Ds). Boring lessons are mitigated by the occasional joke and football at lunch time is the best part of each day.


But one day Tommy arrives at the school. Tommy is unusual, because he always wears a balaclava. On the first day, this is red-and-orange striped, but each day brings a new colour of balaclava. Because the children at Colliery Primary School are mostly kind, caring and thoughtful, they plan various ways to discover who Balaclava Boy really is and why he wears a balaclava all the time, without actually asking him outright. When they do finally ask, the only answer they are given is ‘Because’.


Every single theory turns out to be wrong and as the book rushes headlong towards its final denouement, the reader is swept along at a rapid pace. When the reason is finally revealed, readers will quickly realise that in the course of the narrative, they have learned profound lessons about identity, self-esteem, bullying, solidarity and the right to be who we are no matter what anyone else thinks.


The narrative is amusing and intriguing. The short text and regular line drawings will appeal to reluctant readers and experienced readers alike. But behind the humour and the clearly drawn characters lie truths that would form the basis of a range of PSHE issues and circle time discussions. It is a must for all KS2 classrooms and libraries.


GR


How to Speak Spook (and stay alive)


HHHH


Ally Kennen, Scholastic, 240pp, 978-1-40714-875-5, £6.99 pbk


Donald Memphis is a frequently tongue-tied misfit who has only ever been awarded one certificate, and that was for successfully tying his shoelaces. However he does have ‘The Gift’ – he can see, hear and communicate with ghosts, predict the future and sometimes even read people’s minds. He inherited this gift from his mother (a medium) and it comes in handy when he sees his father (a ghost!).


In How to Speak Spook Donald helps his mother exorcise ghosts. In fact he is actually much better at it than she is, often solving a problem by talking to the ghost. One day though, he finds himself on a mission which challenges all his skills. He has to try to stop a powerful spirit which is causing mayhem along the south coast. Donald finds himself crossing swords with Estella Gray (also a medium) who is suspicious of his talents and, he discovers, closely involved in the mystery surrounding this troublesome spirit herself and, it transpires, not acting in a lawful way.


There are lots of ghosts or ‘Nothings’ in this story including that of Mary Anning the nineteenth century palaeontologist. Donald is helped by his friend Merry (who is definitely not his girlfriend!) and ‘sort of friend’ Danny Olini (the most annoying person Merry has ever known) and protected by a guardian angel – the ghost of a dog called Bear who appears at times of mortal danger.


The narrative moves at a fast pace in this ghost-busting adventure story. Tension builds as the danger increases and the mystery deepens. There is warmth and sensitivity in Danny’s relationship with his ghostly father and more than a touch of playground humour.


SMc


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32