BfK


cellist Yo-Yo Ma and gymnast Nadia Comaneci were all young


8 – 10 Junior/Middle continued than photographs, and the


for their


first achievement. Mark Zuckerberg was 12 when he connected all the computers in his home to ‘ZuckNet’, and in his teens when he invented ‘Synapse’, a program to remember a person’s musical preferences and make suggestions- he had job offers from a few tech companies, but decided to go to Harvard to study further, and the rest is history. Others are less familiar: Lily


Born was 8 when she noticed her grandfather having difficulty holding a drink with tremors caused by Parkinson’s disease, and she invented a cup with legs, which was eventually produced as the Kangaroo cup and is useful in other ways, e.g. keeping a drink upright on grass or sand. Mikaila Ulmer was only 4 when she started making and selling ‘Me and the Bees’ lemonade, to raise money to help save bees. Artist Kieron Williamson was 6 when he sold his first ‘mini-Monet’ painting of Norfolk countryside, and his art is now in huge demand. One young man with huge potential is Dutch teenager Boyan Slat, who disliked diving in plastic, and began to work on removing plastic from the world’s oceans. By the age of 18 he had a plan which no-one believed would work, but he gave a TED talk which went viral, and offers of help flooded in – now his company, Ocean Clean-Up, aims to reduce the Great Pacific Garbage Patch to half its size within five years, to progress to the other garbage patches, and to keep the oceans clear of plastic. Much is made of the difference one


that person can make, no


matter how small it may seem at the beginning. Malala is here, of course, but so is Brandon Green, who at the age of 16, representing Yorkshire and Humber, spoke about improving public transport at the UK Youth Parliament, which is an annual event allowing young people to speak on the issues that affect them. He continues to work with the Barnsley Youth Council. Lula Bridgeport points out that this opportunity is open to anyone, and also on few double-page spreads gives ideas on how young people can make an impact if they have enthusiasm and commitment, but also how to be a hero every day in their local community or school, by being kind and helpful, and getting involved. The three artists have recognizable


different styles, but because of the different areas of coverage, this does work. Some people are featured in single or double pages, and others are put together as part of an overview of


a section, e.g. STEM, Sport,


Environment, Politics and Activism. These books about achieving people, especially recently those on women and people of colour, have been an encouraging trend in publishing for young people. Evidently it’s cheaper to use artists’ impressions


price


is indeed very reasonable, but the sketches do look like the people they portray – your reviewer has checked a sample. This is a fascinating book to dip into, or in which to look up your own area of interest, and there are links to further investigation as well as a comprehensive glossary of possibly unfamiliar words. DB


Veronica Twitch, the Fabulous Witch in Double-Bubble Girl Band Trouble!


HHHH


Erica-Jane Waters, Wacky Bee, 112pp, 9780995697294, £6.99 pbk


Veronica Twitch is indeed a fabulous witch and has some equally fabulous friends


with their own quirky


characters too. Erica-Jane has written a lively story with strong characters and a good storyline. The story will undoubtedly appeal


to readers who like magic, a bit of sparkle,


fashion and reading about


friendships with a baddie in it for good measure. Veronica, Figgy and Pre work at Twitch magazine and are very excited when they are able to meet a band that they all like for an interview in ‘Witch City’. What I particularly liked is the subtle steering of making sure that this isn’t about celebrity chasing but about talking to the band about being successful female artists. The band ‘Double-Bubble’ have chosen Twitch Magazine rather


than their


rival magazine ‘Nosy Toad’ because they have more integrity. The author doesn’t use that term but I like that it’s implied! ‘Nosy Toad’s reporter is called Belinda Bullfrog who is then behind the subsequent kidnapping of Double Bubble. The reporters have to rescue the band and secure their interview. The front cover of the book is rather


fun as it has lots of the key colour purple – a recurring colour throughout the book-but additional sparkly bits too. The illustrations are humorous and eye catching; in two tone blue and purple. I love the drawings of the little pet chihuahuas the Twitch team have. They feature on lots of pages along with lots of great detail from our life that is adapted to their witchy life such as mini cauldrons and mini witches’ hats everywhere. At one point the witches have to catch the ‘Broom tube’. This is a refreshing story about strong girl characters with a sass and personality. SG


Good Knight and Bad Knight and the Big Game


HHH


Tom Knight, Templar Books, 160pp, 9781783708123, £6.99 pbk


rather


Berkeley Paggle and Godwin Paggle are cousins-they live in the same house as Godwin is looked after by Berkeley’s Mum and Dad. They are also knights and attend knight school. Berkeley often spends time in Godwin’s shadow as Godwin is


28 Books for Keeps No.234 January 2019


speak, imagine the stories he would tell”. We’re none the wiser about those stories when we reach the novel’s end. If the cat is elusive, then much the same might be said of the whole book, though it could hardly be more rooted in threatening reality. Columba is growing up in Sydney


in 1942: Air Raid Warning Sirens followed by the All Clear, soldiers everywhere, the fall of Singapore, warships at anchor in the harbour, Darwin bombed by the Japanese with loss of life and property. Columba is very aware of the war, overhearing fragments of her parents’


talk of her headmaster or


listening in confusion to the rallying calls


during The Blue Cat HHHH


Ursula Dubosarsky, Allen & Unwin, 169pp, 978 1 76029 229 4, £6.99 pbk


On the first page, a poem which, the author reveals on the Web, ‘crept into my mind’ on a long overnight flight home to Sydney from Berlin when, she says, ‘I was in a bad mood’: i only know / the cat is blue / he sits alone / his needs are few And, a couple of verses later, he breathes and stares / and then


he blinks / and nobody / knows what he thinks The blue cat slips in and out of


the pages, leaving a scent of feline mystery perhaps, shaping the plot only insofar as his disappearance prompts the young protagonists to search for him all over Sydney. They don’t find him; though maybe they saw him. Columba’s neighbour, Miss Hazel, declares,


“If that cat could


school assemblies. Black and white illustrations punctuate the text, often photographs of what Columba might have seen around her city, along with images of King George VI, Hitler and his entourage in front of the Eiffel Tower, or Government Documents concerning


National Security and


Alien Residents. Columba’s friend Hilda (who knows


everything and is good at almost everything) decides patriotic prayers are not getting anyone anywhere, so she makes some rock cakes, cuts a slit in the lid of a Golden Syrup tin for coins, and goes out to raise cash for War Bonds. Columba’s response to the anxieties raging inside her mind is given immediacy by the arrival of a small boy in her class – a Jewish refugee newly arrived in Australia with his father. No-one knows what has happened to his mother (except Hilda – ‘Hitler’s killed


her’). Ellery


doesn’t speak English – he doesn’t speak at all – but Columba somehow makes silent friends with him, even writing him a reassuring letter as if it’s come from his mother, over in ‘You-rope’. And she dreams, waking and sleeping. Dreams which start to


always


good


at EVERYTHING but


at the beginning of this story we find out that Berkeley vanquished a dragon in a rather ingenious way so has received celebrity status back at school. Instead of dreading the start of term Berkeley actually looks forward to it and his wishes come true and he gets to hang out with the ‘cool kids’. They want him to play ‘bladder ball’ and join them in a league game against a rival team. However as he becomes absorbed with his new friends he starts to forget about his cousin Godwin and best friend Warrick. He doesn’t notice that Warrick is trying to use magic to bring back his missing father and sister and so things become a bit tricky for a while. The story is nicely tied up with all the plots coming together and the little knights are able to realise that they can all offer some of their talents in friendship together.


The layout of the book is appealing


to young readers as there are full page pictures with text as overlay, smaller illustrations and some letters in different fonts. The book is more amusing if you already know about medieval times and understand some of the plays on words and modern


versus medieval time


activities. There’s a handy glossary with explanations of words such as mummers, chivalry, bubonic


and


privy. It is definitely more enjoyable if you have some understanding of the period of history and can make the link with things like wanting to ‘go and hang out on the battlements’, or meeting friends at the ‘wagon stop’ or ‘Bladderball was the most popular game in the kingdom’…… If there was a castle/knight topic in


a classroom the book would be a really funny one to read aloud with a grown up just giving a bit of context too. SG


10 – 14 Middle/Secondary


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