reviews 10 – 14 Middle/Secondary continued Ed’s Choice When the Sky Falls HHHHH


Phil Earle, Andersen Press, 312pp, 9781783449651, £7.99 pbk


Set in the London Blitz this is a striking story which cannot fail to move anyone who reads it. Joseph is sent to stay with Mrs F


as a favour to his grandmother who can no longer cope with his unruly behaviour and the rage he feels that his mother abandoned him at a young age, and his father gone to war. His fury at the world does not endear him to anyone but he meets his match in Mrs F, a formidable lady who takes no prisoners and professes no love of children either. She sets Joseph to work the very next day and he is amazed to find that her job is running and trying to maintain a run-down zoo that has been in her family for generations. The only animals remaining that have not been re-homed are two hungry-looking wolves, a camel, two miniature ponies and a magnificent silverback gorilla, Adonis. Is it clear Mrs F loves this huge beast in particular and does her best to feed the animals with whatever meagre rations she can procure. Joseph is at first afraid but


gradually develops a strong bond with Adonis whose strength and sensitivity


he respects; he has


more in common with Adonis than he realises as both have lost loved ones. The zoo becomes Joseph’s place of refuge He also meets there Syd, a young girl Mrs F had taken under her wing as both her parents had recently died. Joseph gradually


uncommon for biographical essays to highlight the difficulties encountered by the subject. At the foot


of each page there


is a brief summary of the medical condition or impairment relating to that individual. This structure makes for a concise form. However it does not adequately demonstrate how seriously


the impairment affected


the individual, or how difficult it was to overcome it. The book would be useful as a teaching aid in Key Stage 2 and beyond, helping to discuss and normalise personal differences. RB


Children of the Quicksands HHHH


Efua Traoré, Chicken House, 274pp., 978 1 913322 36 6, £7.99 pbk


Efua Taroré grew up in a little town in Nigeria, and had imaginary adventures with her friends in the countryside, also


nearby sneaking to the


forbidden lake where the banks were like quicksand. She used these memories when, having moved to Germany, she started writing stories. Her 6 year-old daughter had come home from school


have disappeared, of course Simi is tempted to go in, and discovers a lake surrounded by quicksands that suck her in until she pops out into another country beyond. It’s a scary place, and she is able to return, but when another girl, Morayo, goes missing, and her new friend Bubu goes into a trance in the forest, she is eventually told the story of the lake, and the reason for the antagonism between her mother and grandmother is gradually revealed. When a local politician decides that the lake must be filled in to prevent any more losses, the villagers are anxious at this prospect, and another new friend, Jay, (Jide) the chief’s son offers his help. Simi, the only child who has the ability to return from the forbidden lake, is determined, against all advice, to go through the quicksands again to try and sort it all out.


This is an engrossing story, an


warms to her and she becomes an ally when he is mercilessly picked on by bullies at school and by the terrible headmaster who beats Joseph with his cane, because he can’t read.


It


is obvious to the reader however that Joseph is probably dyslexic. The story is unflinching in its


detail and realism. The chaos of the falling bombs, and the intensity of the hurt and anger Joseph feels are palpable and the way Mrs F finally admits her own pain and sorrow and comes to love and mother Joseph is magnificent. The story has a similar emotional resonance to Goodnight Mister Tom. The bond between Joseph and Adonis and that between Mrs G and Joseph shows that redemption and humanity are possible even in dark times and that the power of love is unshakeable. This is an exceptional novel. JC


saying that she had learnt that children in Africa were hungry and suffering. She was appalled at the misleading information that the class was getting, and asked her daughter to remember their happy holidays in Nigeria and to tell her classmates about them. Unable to find stories for children that showed a more positive side of Africa, she began writing, won a prize for a short story, and then produced this, her debut novel. 13 year-old Simi, short for


Oluwanifesimi, is sent to stay for a school holiday with a grandmother she has never met before. Her life in Lagos with her friends had been like most other children’s experiences, but in Iyanla’s village of Ajao there is no phone signal or internet, indeed no electricity at all, nor running water, and therefore a very basic shower and toilet, and, although at first Simi finds this hard, she begins to appreciate other aspects of village life. Iyanla is a “wise woman”, helping people with their problems and using herbs for healing, and also a priestess, interacting


with Oshun, goddess the Yoruba culture. of Forbidden to go into the forest because children


excellent debut novel, and it’s great to feel so involved with another culture. There are some Yoruba words, which are all explained, and the interaction with the gods, who sometimes act as capriciously as Greek or Roman deities, is intriguing. Perhaps we can hope for more stories set in Nigeria for young people from this author? DB


make both gawkish and poignant. It’s the combination of his friendship with Bruce, who has his own heart-breaking experience of disaster, and the opportunities for self-expression that the haikus provide, that allow Lenny to work out for himself and for us, what is the most painful aspect of the situation he and his family are in, and how to put it right. Conaghan has a great ear for dialogue and Lenny’s narration is one of the many pleasures of this book. It’s probably his voice that steers what might have been rather a sentimental and improbable story onto different ground altogether.


Lenny’s honesty,


whether describing his feelings or his long-distance lorry driver dad’s smell – is irresistible and we are in the palm of his hand from start to finish. Conaghan has previously written for


teenagers


but seems to have relished writing for younger readers, and the book is funny, authentic and heart-warming.


Brian Conaghan was the subject of our Authorgraph interview, BfK 230.


InvestiGATORS: Take the Plunge


HHHHH


John Patrick Green, Macmillan, 200pp, 9781529066050, £9.99 hbk


Children will love this graphic novel series,


which is crammed with


more jokes than it is possible to keep up with! Mango and Brash are the InvestiGators, a crime-fighting partnership who travel the sewers, powered by their VESTs (Very Exciting Spy Technology) hunting for villains. The InvestiGators arrive in scene sitting atop a giant missile


one Cardboard Cowboys HHHH


Brian Conaghan, Bloomsbury, 352pp, 978-1526628602, £6.99 pbk


A flattened Irn-Bru can chucked down a canal bank kicks off a typically surprising and moving novel from Costa Book Award winner Brian Conaghan.


The can is thrown by


twelve-year-old Lenny, who drinks an awful lot of the stuff. Like many of Conaghan’s heroes, Lenny is bullied at school – it’s because of his weight - but out of it too, one attack leading to


life-changing consequences for


his family. The can lands close to the cardboard shelter that is home to Bruce, another lonely outsider, and despite this inauspicious start, and the age-gap (Bruce is 52), the two form a special friendship. Perhaps their relationship isn’t as unlikely as it might seem: he may only be twelve, but Lenny is a thinker and indeed a poet – the book is scattered with his haikus, which Conaghan manages to


dressed in waistcoats and carrying a trombone. This sums these heroes up perfectly: they’re brave, ridiculous and explosively chaotic. They are not the only completely crazy characters in this comic strip, either...the baddies are just as bonkers. Crackerdile is an evil genius with a serious grudge against the gators and a seriously unfortunate condition (he has been turned into a saltine, making life in the damp sewers very challenging indeed!). In this sequel, Mango and Brash


have to take on Crackerdile while also trying to locate the ‘combinotron’ (a weapon that can stick any two things together) and solving the mystery of a dripping wet ghost of a robot who keeps hugging people against their will. There’s an awful lot going on...it’s no wonder the third instalment of the series is also about to be published. The action is described in vibrant,


energetic cartoons that will instantly grab the attention of any fans of Dog Man or Diary of a Wimpy Kid. As well as plenty of visual gags, there are countless puns, silly acronyms, and toilet humour that will have readers giggling from start to finish. The pace of the action is furious, with the story leaping around and juggling several narratives before smashing together again like a victim of the ‘combination’, itself. Fast, fun, frenetic and full of toilet


jokes, InvestiGators are bound to be a hit with young readers. SD


Books for Keeps No.248 May 2021 29


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