BfK 8 – 10 Junior/Middle continued New Talent Mold and the Poison Plot HHHHH


Lorraine Gregory, OUP, 224pp, 978- 0-1927-4582-8, £6.99 pbk


In Mold and the Poison Plot we meet a wonderful new hero with a distinctive voice and an amazing ability to smell out danger.


is small and puny, but he has an enormous nose and a big heart. As a baby, he was found in a dustbin and adopted by Aggy, who makes a living from selling potions in the rag market. Although she drinks more than he would like, they are getting on well, living in the Dregs next to their friend Begsy, the one-legged sailor. After a visit from a mysterious,


tattooed stranger, Aggy is accused of poisoning the King, and carted off to the dungeons. Drawing on all his courage, Mold journeys to the city of Westenburg, with Begsy, to rescue her. The story is set in the imaginary


land called Pellegarno, made up of two islands. The fantastic cover illustration and map by Tom Mead help to bring it to life. Westenburg and the Dregs are on one island, and on the other live the green-skinned Skullenvar, in amongst the swamps. Mold


danger as he plunges deep into the underworld of the city and even


get to the castle. This is a vividly Tales from Weird Street HHHH


Anne Fine, ill. Vicki Gausden, Barrington Stoke, 64pp, 978-1-7811-2572-4, £5.99 pbk


Three friends living on Weir Street challenge each other to tell stories about the strange and uncanny happenings in the neighbourhood they secretly name ‘Weird Street’. Tom’s story tells of how his great- grandpa’s brother drowned, right after his wavering outline in a photograph gave a watery warning. In Laila’s tale an empty fortune cookie predicts a short future for a rowdy customer and Asim’s story tells of Macie, haunted by a strange dream of her future home. Anne Fine has written a trio of


unexpected tales, with just the right amount of creepiness, unease and suspense for the intended age range of 8+, cleverly linked by the device of children living on the same street. Are the stories true or just coincidence? Readers can decide for themselves as they absorb this skilfully written collection in the Barrington Stoke series. The characteristic dyslexia- friendly


layout and production give


extra accessibility to what is already a very readable set of linked stories. SR


crawls through sewers to faces danger after


realised fantasy world, with lots of blood and gore, stinky smells and strange plants and creatures.The baddies are truly bad and the book doesn’t shy away from violence and gruesome detail. Mold finds out how the desire for


Mold


power has led to horrendous deeds, and how hatred between different peoples has meant his race – the Dai Kullen – have been virtually wiped out. His acute sense of smell is central to the plot, enabling him to distinguish between people he can trust and the true villains. He is a wonderful creation; a lovable and funny character who takes you with him every step of the way on his big adventure. LT


Jack and the Geniuses: At the Bottom of the World


HH


Bill Nye and Gregory Mone, ill. Nick Iluzada, Amulet Books, 230pp, 978-1-4197-2303-2, £8.99 pbk


This exciting new series introduces readers to a new family of adventurous children. Ava, Matt and Jack are foster siblings and have been through a lot together. They are also complete geniuses. Well, Matt and Ava are, Jack is just ordinary, and his longsuffering voice narrates the novel. Jack does not enjoy the constant belittling and patronisation that he suffers at the hands of his gifted brother and sister, but it will be difficult for readers to muster up the sympathy he clearly craves, as there are some major advantages to Jack’s situation; an all-expenses trip to Antarctica for a science convention, for example, and a house robot who constantly makes pizza. Jack, Ava and Matt are


taken


to the South Pole by the famous genius, Hank Witherspoon, who has clearly identified potential in the minds of Ava and Matt. They share the of


research station with a host similarly


impressive


including inventors, explorers and even karaoke experts! These brilliant


24 Books for Keeps No.224 May 2017 scientists,


brains soon become a list of suspects when


a reckless biologist goes


missing somewhere out on the ice. The rest of the story plays out as a mystery, and it’s up to Jack and his genius siblings to find the culprits - which isn’t easy as every suspect is a total mastermind! Though there is plenty of intrigue to maintain readers’ interest, this debut novel doesn’t quite deliver the level of action or energy suggested by the action-filled cover illustration. Nor is it quite geeky enough for fans of science for whom it


is clearly marketed.


There are lots of fun gadgets and gizmos to spark the interest of young engineers, but Matt and Ava are afforded little room to really celebrate their enormous mathematical and scientific intellects. Jack and his geniuses are clearly


up for solving plenty of new mysteries in the future, and with Jack’s tendency to get into trouble, they’re bound to find themselves embroiled in a new adventure before long. Readers of this first episode will hope that the young protagonists are allowed to show-off a little more in the next instalment. SD


The Boy, the Bird & the Coffin Maker


HHHHH


Matilda Woods, illustrated by Anuska Allepuz, Scholastic, 198pp, 978-1-4071-7869-1, £6.99 pbk


This story reads like a magical new fairy tale.


It’s a gentle story about


a sad man, Alberto, who lives in the faraway town of Allora, famous for its flying fish and the many varied colours of its bright houses.


Alberto is the


coffin maker, and he takes great care in looking after the dead people who are brought to him before burial. He is a kind, sad man, who has been living alone ever since his whole family died in a plague thirty years ago. One day, he notices that someone is taking food from his kitchen.


But


when he sets out to catch the thief, he finds that it is just a scared little boy and his companion, a magical bird called Fia. Gradually, Alberto wins the trust of the boy, Tito, and together they learn to be happy again. Tito is in hiding, though, from his brutal father, and there’s a real sense of menace as the danger gets closer and closer. The town of Allora is vividly and


humorously brought to life, with a fine cast of characters such as the nosy neighbours Clara and Rosa, the pompous mayor who is as wide as he is tall, and the baker Enzo who provides triple cream gateaux and strawberry jam. There’s a tale within a tale, as


Alberto reads to Tito in the evenings from a book called The Story of Isola. The story captures their imagination and adds another level of meaning to the narrative, already rich with allusions to fairy tales and legends. The illustrations make this lyrical


story even more beautiful and the message of hope and love rising out of despair and loneliness makes this a satisfying, comforting read. LT


Song for Will and the Lost Gardens of Heligan


HHHHH


Hilary Robinson, illus. Martin Impey, Strauss House Productions, 72pp, 978-0-9571-2453-0, £14.99


Here’s another wonder full poetry This gorgeous book moved me to tears. It tells how, when World War One broke out, the majority of the staff of Heligan Gardens left their employment and went off to fight, and how tragically, many did not come back. It takes the form of correspondence between the narrator Alfie, too young to join up, and Fred, the Garden’s stonemason who enlisted. Through


their letters we are


provided with completely contrasting viewpoints: errand boy Alfie’s letters tell of the day-to-day maintenance of the Gardens and the lives of those left behind; how they were impacted by the war, trying to stay upbeat while missing loved ones and workmates away at war, dreading bad news and struggling with rationing, and sometimes, grief. The letters Fred sends Alfie tell


vividly of life on the front line, the on- going difficulties he has to cope with, the constant risks from illness on account of terrible conditions – the wet, the bitter cold, ‘rats the size of cats’; how he misses his family. There


is news too in their


correspondence of his close friend, gardener Will Guy who joined up at the same time as Fred although the two went separate ways: Will to the Western Front; Fred to Greece. Alfie tells Fred that, after returning home briefly in 1916, ‘I noticed that Will’s hand was shaking – he must have been excited to be back’. He talks later of how on another visit home in 1917, Will’s brother reports, ‘Will’s hand was shaking so much in chapel’. Then just over a year after, he writes of the arrival of a telegram for Will’s mother who learns that her son was killed in action in 1918. Shock and grief take over for a while as kind, gentle Will is mourned, not only by the humans who loved him, but also seemingly, by his animal friends. The correspondence is reproduced


in Martin Impey’s illustrations, almost in facsimile, tea


stains and poetic all,


though illuminated and embellished with visual images Hilary Robinson’s


drawn from writing.


Together they have a heart-wrenching profundity and at the same time make the human story all the more harrowingly real for readers. We see 1915 scenes of Christmas at Heligan; and in snowy Salonika where Fred’s fears of malaria, jostle with those of the honeybees back home. Each in its own intimate way is full of passion and beauty. Indeed intimacy is a word that describes the sensation one is left with after closing this book: you really get the feeling that you know each and every one of its characters, and are involved in their experiences throughout; and afterwards. Pitch perfect


for sharing with children and for leading them into


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