reviews


8 – 10 Junior/Middle continued


10-14 Middle/Secondary


Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls


HHHHH


Elena Favilli, Francesca Cavallo, Particular Books, 212pp, 978 0 141 98600 5, £17.99 hbk


Written in bedtime story style,


with a hundred mini biographies of significant women throughout history and from across the globe, this is a fascinating book. Readers are introduced to Egyptian pharaohs Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, present day politicians Aung San Suu Kyi and Hilary Clinton and activists Malala Yousafzai and Wangari Maathai. Significant women from the worlds of science, the arts, archaeology, espionage, exploration and athletics are included. Some names such as Florence


Nightingale, Rosa Parks Sky Thieves HHHHH


Dan Walker, Oxford Children’s Books, 304pp, 978-0-1927-4701-3, £6.99pbk


Sky-high adventures on an air-ship crewed by Robin Hood style pirates and a life or death battle against an evil nemesis make Dan Walker’s new book a thrilling read from beginning to end. When we first meet her, our main


protagonist orphan Zoya Delarose is in trouble yet again for her rebellious nature; by the end of the second chapter


however, Zoya has been


snatched away from the orphanage by the crew of the Dragonfly, a ship full of sky thieves – buccaneers who rob from the rich to help the poor and, it turns out, former ship-mates of her parents. Yes, the sky thieves are the goodies and the thoroughly unpleasant baddie is one Lendon Kane, the kind of duplicitous, power- mad, avaricious villain that we love to hate.


Crystal. Before long the


and Michelle Obama are well known but many are virtually unknown. We discover the struggles many


women have had to fulfil their potential in the face of constant opposition or obstinate lack of recognition. In some cases, such as Hatshepsut the first female pharaoh, being almost erased from history. The writers researched carefully,


consciously including countries not frequently represented in western print media such as Niger with the story of activist Balkissa Chaibu and the ‘Cholita Climbers’; mountaineers from Bolivia. From a UK perspective there are fewer entries than might be expected with a much higher percentage from the US. Perhaps UK children could consider who they might like to add to the collection and do some research of their own? This is a significant project,


published after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Concerned about what they perceive continued


gender Kane wants what’s round


Zoya’s neck, a locket that opens the door to her parents’ secret treasury in which is hidden the mysterious Algrond


Dragonfly is just the kind of home Zoya has always wanted (and one that readers will envy), one that allows her to climb the mast whenever she needs to escape, and where lessons are in sword fighting not maths. The crew – larger than life characters to a man and woman – quickly become her family and the strong sense of camaraderie marks the book out as much as the action sequences. The air-ship shudders and creaks its way through the air, a tangible creation of ropes, planks and rigging, and an encounter with a meteor shower is particularly vivid. To adult readers the plot may feel familiar but the vigour of the telling make this something special while young readers will dream of slashing their way through forests and enemies with Zoya. MMa


amazing stereotyping


media, the writers aimed to show that


as in


girls can be heroic and do things too. Interviewed


by Bookseller magazine co-author Elena Favilli said: ‘You don’t have to be a boy to make extraordinary things or do adventurous things. You can be adventurous on your own.’ This is a very attractive book with striking illustrations; full page portraits by sixty female artists are displayed alongside each mini biography. There is space at the back for young readers to write their own story or ambitions. The quotes on each page are a lovely addition, for example, this from Hillary Clinton after her presidential campaign: ‘To every little girl who dreams big,


I say, yes you can be anything you want, even president.’ A book to open all children’s eyes


to the role of women in our world’s ongoing story and inspire young girls to follow their dreams. SMc


Small Things HHHHH


Mel Tregonning, Allen and Unwin, 40pp, 978-1-7433-6872-5, £16.99hbk


Mel Tregonning’s wordless black and white graphic novel, completed and published after she took her own life, is extraordinarily beautiful and a powerful, moving representation of depression. Its central character is a young boy and a series of comic strip frames show us the ordinary but agonising misery of his day at school; excluded from conversations and games by his classmates, he’s overwhelmed by loneliness and embarrassment. Lessons offer no respite, and while he’s struggling with maths we notice strange shapes in the shadows he casts. These small things


in number, and become a pretty well permanent


presence; strange


increase and


spiky, faceless but with sharp teeth, they trail after him in the day and surround his bed at night, threatening and sinister, literally eating him up as cracks and crevices appear in his skin. The depth of the boy’s anxiety and


despair are unmissable in the finely worked pencil


illustrations, to the


extent that it almost feels too much, too oppressive. Tregonning does allow him a way out however – his family and sister help him and it seems that he can drive the shapes back into the shadows at least. The final spread shows that he’s not alone and that the other children at school are also tormented by worries, the same shapes swooping after them too. Readers will marvel both at Mel


Tregonning’s skill and at the intensity of her vision. Many too will understand exactly how her character feels and one hopes they will take comfort and reassurance from the book. MM


#Help, my cat’s a vlogging superstar!


Rae Earl, Walker, 247pp, 9781406367973, £6.99 pbk


This is the story of the trials and tribulations of Millie Porter as she tries to cope with her changing family life and the pressures of being on social media. Millie decides to go and live with her father and grandfather after her mother’s boyfriend becomes too obsessive about cleaning the house. At the same time she is coping with being a target for the school ‘queen’ Erin, who is on Instagram and has a successful lifestyle vlog.


Eventually


Millie decides to fight back and starts her own advice vlog, but then her cat Dave decides to lend a hand. Suddenly life becomes even more complicated.


Whilst this is a funny and charming


story, it is also a somewhat salutary tale about the modern world and the


pressures feel. that young Millie comes across as a very likeable young girl who thinks that people HHHH


she is quite sensible, but as outsiders we can see the anxiety that she has and also the conflicts that are part of everyday life. It is very much a story about family and about friendship; reminding us that it is the people who surround us who are really important, not the ‘friends’ that we have on social media. As an adult it is good to be reminded that young people really do feel threatened by things that happen online and they are more heavily connected to this world than we are. I am not sure that this book provides any answers but it does show the readers that they are not alone in their insecurities. It is one of a growing number of stories that have social media as the central focus and is able to deliver its message without seeming to be ‘preaching’ to the audience. This is a book that can be read from year 6 upwards; although we are all aware the children tend to gravitate towards books that are cited as being for slightly older readers. MP


Dragonfly Song HHHH


Wendy Orr, Allen & Unwin, 393pp, 9781743369029, £6.99pbk


The world of the Bronze Age


Mediterranean is something that we know a little bit about, particularly when it relates to Knossos and its Bull Culture. Aissa was born on a small island that paid tribute to the Cretan King in the form of young teens; they would then be trained for the bull jumping events that were part of the religious rites. However Aissa was born with additional ‘fingers’ on each hand and had been sent away to die, luckily she was saved and looked after by a farming family.


After they


were killed in a raid she found her way to the temple and worked as a general skivvy. She was known as ‘No-name’ because she had lost the ability to speak after the shock of the raid. After a variety of twists and turns she finds herself among the group being shipped to Crete for training. The consequences would


change


not only her life but also those of her fellow islanders. This is a stunning story of survival against the odds and of how destiny cannot be avoided.


The story is


written in two separate but interlinked styles; most of it is in standard prose but it is interspersed with sections in verse, much as you would find in ancient Greek works. We see the central character grow and develop as she gradually realises that she does have a value and that no one should be looked down on because they do not look or sound like others. Whilst this is a very personal story of a young girl and her struggles to overcome many difficulties, it is also the story of a lost culture that we can catch glimpses of in the ruins of Knossos. This is an outstanding story,


Books for Keeps No.224 May 2017 27


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