BfK 10 – 14 Middle/Secondary continued


Although told through Hudson’s voice, we can understand what happened to Hudson’s parents’ relationship, and how they still care for each other even though his mum is so happy with Louis. And there’s a special moment when Hudson’s father realises how important it is for him to maintain that incredibly close relationship between father and son. The story is moving, and yet the style is understated, with light touches of humour from our very engaging narrator. recommended for young teens.


Highly LT


Shadow Warriors 


Chris Bradford illus David Wyatt, Barrington Stoke, 192pp, 978 -1-78111-2551-9, £5.99 pbk.


 The boys Taka and Renzo and a       aspiring warriors. Taka is about to be  warrior. To his chagrin, he has already  All is not lost. The blind Grand Master


 been stolen by Lord Oda, the leader of the Samurai, the deadly enemies of the  father. The Grand Master ordains that if Taka and Cho can recover the lost scrolls, Taka will be deemed to have passed the Black Belt test. Can they succeed? As a publisher


Barrington Stoke has made a mission of designing books for children who struggle to read well. This offering has an ingredient that encourages such readers, namely it moves at a fast pace. On every page there is a battle or some other heroic event taking place. Wyatt’s illustrations are frequent


Tom Moorhouse and this time he has moved away


behaves and hence the future of the clan. There are meetings with other groups such as the rats of Notratlan and importantly the Damplanders and eventually a violent confrontation takes place. Throughout all of this Gabble the Trickster, who is good with words, does his best to protect his brother and clan, aided by the young female Feather whose father is clan leader. This is the third novel from


voles to concentrate on rats. The characteristics are beautifully observed and there is a real sense that this is the way that they live their lives. Over the years we have become so used to the humanization of animals that it is a real pleasure  animals. Yes, there is the inclusion of beliefs about the ‘Taker’ and other mythologies that the rats might believe in, but this is much closer in feel to Watership Down rather than to Wind in the Willows.


much about being accepted as part of a group and about how being different can change the way you are treated. Ash is an Albino rat and this links him to the ‘Taker’, so he feels that he needs to consistently prove himself. It is also about knowing yourself, which is why having an adult       so important to the rats. Once again Tom Moorhouse has given us a well written and plotted story with strong characters that you care about. MP


TH3 8OY WHO 5P3AK5 1N NUM83R5





and lively. Since every episode of the narrative is illustrated, reading the book seems almost like running through the story boards of a movie. My one main reservation about this book centres on the presentation of the Grand Master. I appreciate the fact that despite his impairment he enters fully        states that his other senses compensate for the loss of his sight. This claim plays into the trap of a Hollywood stereotype, which does a disservice to people who are actually sightless.


RB Trickster 


Tom Moorhouse, Oxford University Press, 256pp, 978-0-1927-4399-2, £6.99 pbk


Ash and Gabble are brothers, young rats who have not yet earned their adult names from their mothers. Gabble is serious and steady but Ash is quick, impetuous and has no sense of danger. So when Ash manages to get on to a raiding party, Gabble has to go along to try and look after his adventurous       manage to get him home and the two brothers receive their names; unfortunately Ash misunderstands due to his condition and thinks he has been given the name that really belongs to Gabble. As the story continues this 


Mike Masilamani illus Matthew Frame, Tara Books, 96pp, 978-9-3831-4527-0 £10.99 hbk


From the outset, it’s obvious that       with a quotation from the UN report on accountability in Sri Lanka, noting that ‘All Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were detained in closed camps ... breaching the basic social and economic rights of the detainees’. How can a children’s book speak         internment and the corrupt face of post-war reconstruction? The answer, it quickly becomes apparent, is through the use of satire and allegory. The deeply ironic narrative is set on the Island of Short Memories, where the Boy who Speaks in Numbers lives. The Civil War of Lies wreaks havoc on his home – the Small Village of Fat Hopes - and he       as an Internally Displaced Person. Or is he an Ignorant Disillusioned Person? Or maybe eventually one of the Ignorant Deceived People who survived the war?


In the course of the story, meet The Constantly Complaining Cow, the Kind Uncle, the Lying Lizard from the Ministry of Internal Revisions, the Little Tin Soldiers and Aunty, the camp commander whose face erupts into pimples whenever she is asked questions. She is responsible for


28 Books for Keeps No.217 March 2016 This is very from water


creating White Van Widows a result of regular Ever Reducing Rollcalls, yet even Aunty is human, descending into the darkness and confusion of mental illness when her own son is killed. This book achieves the seemingly


impossible. It views ugly issues through the eyes of a child who, while retaining his naivety and his steadfast security in  that he does not fully comprehend but which the reader can access at whatever their own point of understanding. In the camp is an ugly tree which


     war make an orphan of hope? Is truth a refugee? Is war a wholesale business? But as the Kind Uncle once told the Boy, however awkward the questions, it’s still important to ask them. This is a book which will provoke challenging questions in the mind of the reader, but one which should nevertheless be available to KS3 pupils.


GR Knightley & Son 3 of a Kind 


Rohan Gavin, Bloomsbury, 288pp, 978-1-4088-6008-3, £6.99pbk


The days are dark and sodden; what could raise the spirits and transport one from a humdrum round of school and chores? I prescribe a dose of Knightley & Son.


teenage sleuth Darkus Knightley, his detective father and his stepsister, computer whizz, Tilly.


worry, the author helpfully provides       has gone on before this story starts. We learn that Darkus, demoralised by the happenings of their previous case (K-9) has given up detection. In any case with their leader in a coma, the criminal organisation, The        kidnapping catapults Darkus back onto the case - and with his father and Tilly, sends him speeding to the USA. Are they facing The Combination again? If so who is behind it? Tapping into cult series ranging from Sherlock through Dr Who to James Bond and Tintin, even the X Files,


But do not This is the third in the series featuring


Darkus may be a detective genius but his ‘catastrophiser’ is far from infallible, while the adults are all seen through comic lenses. They may be treated affectionately if on the side of right; the ‘baddies’ are real comic strip villains. This is not the place to look for nuanced characterisation. Nor is the prose style measured. With phrases such as ‘manifestation of pure evil’ in evidence,   for - open the popcorn, settle back and 


FH


Arsene Lupin vs Sherlock Holmes





Maurice Leblanc, Alma Classics, 288pp, 978-1-8474-9561-7, £6.99 pbk


Alma Classics have produced an appealing package for young readers. David Carter’s skilful translation of Maurice Leblanc’s detective stories keeps the narrative moving at a lively and gripping pace. There are two stories within the book, both featuring the gentleman thief Arsene Lupin and Herlock Sholmes, the audaciously ‘borrowed’ character from the work of Conan Doyle. To assist in the comprehension of these stories, Alma have included a glossary of potentially problematical words and idioms, a mini-digest of characters, a short quiz and an informative piece on the rise of the detective novel. Thus the book becomes both educational tool and literary entertainment. The stories are linked by


use of characters but also by the labyrinthine construction of the plots. Just when a dead-end seems to have been reached a new twist leads the  problems encountered seem insoluble, a solution is found. The battle of wits and wills between the two combatants is the heart of the volume and it is their differences which make their intellectual duals the more entertaining. These are stories with a clearly


  of an apparently worthless Jewish lamp containing a precious artefact in a hidden compartment-and two engaging and mercurial protagonists – and they offer an attractive and eminently readable introduction to the genre and to work both from another country and another century.


VR A Dark Trade 


Mary Hooper, Barrington Stoke, 80pp., 9-781-7811-2516-8, £6.99, pbk


the author serves up a breathless plot that hurls the reader from one tense situation to another, the adrenalin balanced by a liberal dose of humour.


There is a real art in writing a story in 80 pages which is satisfying, tells a real tale and leaves the reader feeling complete, and this is one        and this story of a girl who gets caught up in the trade of the body snatchers showcases her skill. Georgina, an orphan is taken on as a kitchen maid            teasing and the lecherous behaviour of the son of the house who has already got one maid into trouble. Seeing an advertisement for help in a clothing shop Georgina decides to become


their


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