reviews 5 – 8 Infant/Junior continued


the detective has a crime to solve. Someone has stolen Lion’s tail. (One of many toys partaking in Sophie’s imaginative detective story.) She has a new assistant, Bella, (pet dog) but Sophie considers Bella has not absorbed any knowledge of detecting from her vast library of books on the subject. On her shelves we spot The Art of Investigating, Hidden Secrets, Famous Spies, and Sherlock Bones. These books have obviously been well read by Sophie! Meantime Bella does her best to tell Sophie that a couple of real burglars are sneaking past the window, swag bags aloft. Readers need to search the pictures to discover that Sophie has not only eventually found that missing tail, but has also captured the culprit. Poor ignored Bella gives up trying to attract Sophie’s attention, and sets about creating elaborate traps to catch the real criminals. There is no text


to


explain any of these happenings, so reading the pictures is vital, and this telling is skillfully executed by the


illustrator. Sophie, Detective Genius, solves the case. Rabbit is the guilty party and is dragged off by Sophie to her police station. But it is Bella who receives the police recommendation, a VERY GOOD DOG medal, whilst we see three burglars locked up in the police van. A fun book for would-be detectives and their like. GB


Think Big! HHHHH


Kes Gray, illus Nathan Reed, Hodder Children’s Books, 32pp, 978 1 444 94212 5, £12-99 hbk


‘Believe and you can achieve’ says the front cover, as Humpty Dumpty sits upon his wall, grinning confidently. A wonderful partnership between the author and illustrator is on display here in this highly humourous book. The story line itself is novel, and the illustrations go far beyond the text to make a richly portrayed tale which is surely bound for great success. All children familiar with nursery rhyme characters will love spotting each one


in the pictures, each character taking turns to advise Humpty. Tom Tom the Piper’s son starts the ball rolling by asking Humpty what he wants to be when he leaves school. Humpty promptly replies, ‘A boiled egg.’ His numerous friends, sitting atop the wall on either side of him, are horrified at this response and quickly make suggestions… A hairdresser? A footballer? A musician? The friends then tell Humpty their own aspirations, ranging from scientist, (Little Miss Muffet), a builder, (Goosey Goosey Gander), train driver, traffic warden… each and every aspiration hilariously illustrated in zingy, bright colours. Incy Wincy


Spider tells


Humpty he should definitely not aim to be a boiled egg…. And Jack and Jill sum up everyone’s opinion by saying, ‘You might be an egg, but you should really try thinking outside the box.’ More suggestions follow… an artist (Little Boy BLUE, no less,) policeman, a doctor, a firefighter... until the Dish who ran away with the Spoon aptly announces, ‘If you truly believe in yourself and you work really hard, then you can be absolutely


anything in the world that you want to be!’ Such positive thinking! ‘THINK BIG!’ says the Giant from the top of the beanstalk. ‘Aim for the stars!’ says the cow who jumped over the moon. Convinced, Humpty declares his friends are absolutely right. He will work hard at school, get a job in a space agency, start at the bottom and work his way up and up and up, and become the best astronaut in the whole wide world, no the whole wide universe! ‘good for you,’ cheers Jack be Nimble, giving Humpty a BIG pat on the back… Oh what a delicious ending is then made by Kes Gray! What do you imagine happens next, to end the tale? Readers will immediately want to turn back to the beginning and read the book again, identifying each and every character from traditional tales and rhymes in the


brilliant


illustrations. This book is great for encouraging positive thinking and for building self-confidence. There are lots of opportunities for youngsters to participate, in speaking, drama, art work and to spark imaginative writing…. and reading, again and again! A winner, go find it! GB


8 – 10 Junior/Middle


This turns out to be a sort of Victorian London frozen in time by the chimes of Big Ben, run by magic and peopled by the Night Folk, an assortment of monsters and creatures from myths and nightmares. Here, Emily befriends and commandeers Tarkus of the Night Watch, meets “The Library”, a powerful magical character, and discovers that her Mum is a secret agent librarian, her Dad works for the heroic Night Post in charge of dangerous deliveries and that she herself is a shape-changing pooka.


All must unite to defeat the


deadly Nocturne who plans to use the power of magic and music to destroy the Midnight Hour and invade the day time world. The Midnight Hour is a brilliantly


The Midnight Hour HHHHH


Benjamin Read & Laura Trinder, Chicken House, 275pp, 9781911490906, £6.99 pbk


Emily and her Mum, both feisty, loud and volatile, have had a big row on the night that Mum receives a mysterious letter and disappears into the darkness to solve a family crisis. When Emily’s quiet, seemingly boring, Dad goes to find her and fails to return, Emily decides to set off in search of her vanished parents. Following her Mum’s advice to “never knowingly be under- snacked”, Emily packs sandwiches and a hedgehog companion and heads off into the world of the Midnight Hour.


inventive and quirky fantasy adventure story with an outspoken, determined, brave and funny heroine who is full of attitude and self-confidence. Humour and magic combine throughout, with plenty of scares too, the pace never lets up and the dialogue is sparkling and witty. All in all, this is an excellent addition to the magical fantasy genre and, with sequels and a film planned, Emily and her surprising family, plus assorted


companions, should The Day I Was Erased HHHH


Lisa Thompson, Scholastic, 352pp, 9781407185125, £6.99 pbk


This new novel from the bestselling author of The Goldfish Boy and The Light


Jar presents readers with a memorable central character, eleven- be


keeping readers entertained for some time to come. SR


year-old Maxwell, with all his flaws and


life. At first, Maxwell comes across as


a


strengths brought thoughtless,


disruptive


vividly to boy,


constantly goading everyone around him, testing friends and family to the limit and behaving in a destructive and infuriating way. The reader soon realises, however, that his parent’s constant


arguments and anger


cause a lot of Maxwell’s challenging behaviour and that he does have a kind heart, having saved his beloved dog, Monster, from being run over and befriending his elderly neighbour, Reg, who has


dementia. When


Maxwell commits a truly terrible piece of trouble-making at school he runs away from the havoc he has caused to hide in Reg’s house.


Here, he


discovers a strange object in Reg’s cabinet, wishes he had never been born and suddenly finds himself erased from his own life. Initially, Maxwell enjoys the freedom


of never having existed as nobody recognises him, but gradually


the


loneliness of having no one to share memories with overwhelms him and he determines to find a way to reverse his erasure with the help of his sister, Bex, and his best friend, Charlie. Maxwell’s feelings of loneliness and isolation are powerfully and movingly conveyed, and his situation gives him great empathy with Reg. Lisa Thompson combines warmth,


humour and poignancy in this story of


Maxwell’s erasure


family, friendship and identity. causes him to


evaluate his life and past behaviour and to truly learn lessons about the


consequences of his actions and to work out what is important to him. As Maxwell gradually solves the mystery of what has happened to him the strength of his character comes to the fore and he is able to help others and persuade them to help him. This novel is written in a light,


pacey style but the authors covers important themes including the effect of marriage breakdown on children, dementia,


behavioural issues,


isolation and the need to belong. This is an emotional, but also humorous, read with appealing characters and strong messages on the importance of family and friends and the need to be kind and thoughtful and to take responsibility. Highly recommended for 8+ readers. SR


The Boy Who Flew HHHH


Fleur Hitchcock, Nosy Crow, 260pp, 978 1 78800 438 1, 6.99, pbk


Athan Wilde lives with his mother, his fierce Grandma, his gentle older sister Polly, and his younger sister, Beatty, who was born without the use of her legs, in what seems to be Regency Bath. He dreams of flight, and works for Mr Chen, an inventor, until Mr Chen is brutally murdered, and he realizes that he has to find the plans for a flying machine they were working on, before someone else does. His friend Tod is very useful on the practical side, and together they prowl at night on the rooftops of the city and plan their future. His mother’s new suitor, Colonel


less charming attitude to Athan than Books for Keeps No.235 March 2019 23


Blade, shows a


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