Mohinder's War by Bali Rai, reviewed by Dawn Finch

First the blurb...
Thirteen-year-old Joelle Breton stumbles across Indian-born RAF pilot Mohinder Singh when his plane crashes in occupied France and it's up to her and her parents to hide him from the Nazis. After all, her parents are brave members of the French Resistance and will do everything they can to help get Mohinder back to Britain. But when they are betrayed and tragedy strikes, Joelle and Mohinder will have to act fast if they are ever to evade the enemy.

Mohinder is a young RAF pilot who crash-lands in France at the height of the war. To all appearances, Joelle is just a regular girl going about her business and helping her parents in the bakery, but appearances can be deceptive and Joelle and her family are part of the French Resistance. Joelle's family risk everything to protect Mo and are determined to keep him safe and see him home. Mo isn't a victim though, he's a fighter and being rescued is just part of his story. When death and danger come to Joelle's family, it's Mo who bravely honours his oath to them all with a daring plan to save Joelle's life and escape.

The story is thrilling and I was on the edge of my seat reading it. At one point I realised I was holding my breath and willing things to go right for Mo, and for Joelle and her family. The book has all the expert crafting that I've come to expect from Bali Rai's work, and it has been condensed into a very fine little book indeed. A glimpse into a war from a perspective that is new to me, and I'm sure will be new to many other readers.

Published by Bloombury as part of the Flashbacks series, this is another of their books written to give young readers a glimpse into a period of history that is outside their personal frame of reference. The series is excellent and the books written by some of the finest writers for children. There is a risk that books marketed as being "perfect for introducing children to historical topics" might only be found in the classroom, and that would be a great shame because books like Mohinder's War really should have a much wider audience.

Mohinder's War is written by Bali Rai and published by Bloomsbury
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/mohinders-war-9781472958372/

Reviewed by Dawn Finch
Dawn is the current chair of the Society of Author's Children's Writers and Illustrators Committee (CWIG) and Trustee for the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)
@dawnafinch

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The Silver Handled Knife by Frances Thomas. Review by Dawn Finch

First the blurb...
Electra is eagerly looking forward to her father Agamemnon’s triumphant return to Mycenae after the long war in Troy. But his wife Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus have other plans – Clytemnestra cannot forgive her husband for the sacrifice of her eldest daughter Iphigenia at the start of the war, and Aegisthus covets the kingship. Instead of celebrating his return, they murder him horribly; and suddenly Mycenae isn’t a safe place for Electra or her brother Orestes. Orestes goes into exile, and Electra has to submit to a humiliating fate. When Orestes eventually returns, there is only one word on his mind – revenge!
What part will Electra play in this?

I have a great passion for ancient history and, as a result, I read a lot of fiction based in classical antiquity. Sadly far too many of these books seem only to dwell on the masculine sword-and-sandals stories and females are allocated the usual position of wife or servant. Recently there have been two noticeable novels that put girls right at the heart of the story. 

Frances Thomas’ new book, The Silver Handled Knife, is the third in her series The Girls of Troy. In this volume we share the extraordinary story of Electra, daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon as she makes her way to adulthood and independence by way of war, sacrifice and clever wrangling. She is an instantly likeable character and the Classical period is vividly brought to life. Her hardships and suffering are part of the tapestry of her life and, even though it all feels extraordinary to us, Electra regards most of the things that happen to her as an inevitable part of her life. Her struggles become ours and we bear her burdens with her and try to imagine walking in her footsteps. Thomas’ style is to absorb us in the period and yet Electra still feels like someone we know and understand today.

The other book that I have recently enjoyed that is centered on classical history is Lucy Coat’s remarkable book, Cleo. Her description of the life of young Cleopatra is a unique and colourful look into the turbulent path that she lead to achieve her place in history. It is hard writing about a person that everyone thinks they know, but Lucy Coats effortlessly introduces us to a young woman about whom I clearly knew very little. Coat’s style is to bring this to life in a modernistic fashion, but somehow this still works and allows us to see the modern parallels that Cleo shares with teens today.

I have read hundreds of books that base their plot in antiquity, but few writers manage to bring something fresh and new to the tale. I’m very glad to say that these two books are bright and exciting and would make a great addition to any bookshelf.

Cleo by Lucy Coats is published by Orchard Books – May 2015

The Silver Handled Knife by Frances Thomas is published by Silverwood Books – 1 Sept 2015

Review by Dawn Finch

www.dawnfinch.com

@dawnafinch

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ZERAFFA GIRAFFA by Diane Hofmeyr illustrated by Jane Ray. Reviewed by Adèle Geras

First of all, the usual disclaimer: I  know both the writer and the illustrator of this book. As I've explained before, I've been around for a lot longer than I care to think about and know a great many of the creators of the books I review. You will have to take my word for it that I would only  review books that I genuinely believe readers of this blog would enjoy reading.

This book also confirms a  strongly - held opinion of mine which run counter to the prevailing thought among many publishers. For many the received wisdom is that texts have to be ultra short.  Frances Lincoln, happily,  don't agree. They  publish, for example,  the beautiful books produced by Jackie Morris which I reviewed here last time,  and are not afraid of text. By this I mean: they are willing to give the benefit of the doubt to the parent of the child whose book it is  (yes, I'm happy to read  a slightly longer story at bedtime) and also to the child (yes, I can sit quiet and listen for more than two minutes at a time if the story is interesting enough).

This tale is a true story. It's about the bringing of a very young giraffe from Africa to Paris and the effect this has both on the giraffe and the people who catch sight of her on her way over the sea and the desert and the countryside to her home in the Jardin des Plantes.

Hofmeyr has a very beautiful, poetic and evocative way of putting things, but the lyricism is never overdone and it's always in words that the youngest child can understand. The last page reads: "Then they stood in silence and looked out over the lights of Paris. And on those evenings, when the air was particularly balmy, all three turned their faces southwards and on the warm air they felt the kiss of Africa."
This is quite a complicated thought, but one that's easily explained. The reader has seen and experienced Zeraffa's journey and can see that she might miss Africa and that  the wind coming from the South reminds both the giraffe and her owner that the South was where they came from; where their journey began.

The story is exciting, too. Zeraffa becomes a sensation. Women style their hair to copy the animal; and everyone comes out to see her in her enclosure, La Rotonde. Atir, who brought her on her journey was still with her when she died, many years later and the whole tale is a touching demonstration of love and devotion and care.

The illustrations are typical of Jane Ray's work. Richly coloured, humorously detailed (Zerafa's orange cloak is lovely!) and laid out on the page in a way that brings out what Hofmeyr is saying, they are very beautiful. As a reader, you turn each page expecting another  sumptuous surprise and every time, your heart lifts to see that Ray has done it again. The spread which recounts how Paris fell in love with Zeraffa is very funny too. Those giraffe-shaped biscuits, especially, look delicious. I learned from Twitter that there were giraffe-shaped biscuits at the launch of the book, which I believe the author baked herself.  

All in all, this is another delightful book from this publisher. Maybe Hofmeyr and Ray can come together again. They are a very good combination. I'm sure this will be a very popular book and one that teachers and parents will be happy to read aloud over and over again.

Title: ZERAFFA GIRAFFA
Written by: Diane Hofmeyr
Illustrated by: Jane Ray
Publisher: Frances Lincoln hbk: £11.99
ISBN: 9781847803443



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WHERE THE POPPIES NOW GROW by Hilary Robinson and Martin Impey. Review by Penny Dolan.

This year we are, in a variety of ways, commemorating the outbreak of the 1914-18 Great War.  

It is a topic that has led to reports of spats between historians and Michael Gove, as well as Jeremy Paxman’s comments about young people being taught about the war only through the poetry of the period, which seem to have annoyed both English and history 

teachers.

Although Odeon Cinemas are offering the Morpurgo’s “Warhorse” ntlive production, and the novel has shot to fame and film, teachers involved with the Key Stage One “picture book” age may also want to be involved in the significant year. 

Where can they find a book to fit this sombre anniversary? Maybe with this title?

Schools – and possibly families - will surely welcome “Where the Poppies Now Grow”, a book inspired by the family histories of both writer and illustrator.

 This rhyming text has been written by Hilary Robinson. Hilary uses the familiar “This is the house that Jack built” pattern, which makes the text simple enough for use in school or similar assemblies:

“This is Ben and his best friend Ray 

Who are two of the children that like to play

Out in the field where the poppies now grow.”

As the rhyme grows,  the book tells how the two childhood friends, Ben and Ray are eventually forced to join up and share the terrible experiences of the trenches together. It is clear from the mood and detail of the pictures that this is a terrible event, even though the two pals do at last return home.

The text is sympathetically developed through Martin Impey’s powerful illustrations of both friendship and war, using a colour palette that is totally fitting for its sombre purpose.

 

“Where the Poppies Now Grow” is published by Strauss House Productions.

Penny Dolan

www.pennydolan,com

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THE RABBIT GIRL by MARY ARRIGAN : Review by Penny Dolan

 

All Mam’s comforting clutter had been hidden away. Even the picture of rabbits in a field was covered by a white cloth.

            “We’ll go there,” Mam used to say. “You and me, Tony, we’ll go there and play with those rabbits.” Maybe that’s where Mam is, thought the little boy. Maybe she’s gone to play with the rabbits and is waiting for me.”

Rabbit Girl is a tale of two lives that meet in a pet shop. It begins back in 1934 Ireland, when five-year old Tony is taken to say goodbye to his dead mother. Too soon, his father has to go to London to find work, leaving Tony with a neighbour, Mrs Mooney, and the bullying of the local rabbit catcher’s sons. A year later, his father returns to collect Tony and take him back to life in a room in a tenement block, and the occasional care of kindly Doris.

Eventually, as time goes on, Tony returns to the green of the countryside, but as an evacuee, extra labour for a farmer whose son is away.

The hard tale of Tony’s life is balanced and warmed by the character from the present day: Mallie, a lively fifteen year old girl. Although Mallie has problems, being almost a carer for her mother who is a depressed artist, the pages are very much brightened by the jokes, laughter and fun that Mallie shares with her bold best friend Jamila throughout the book: a most wonderfully described relationship.

Mallie is desperate for money to buy her mum a birthday present so she takes on a secret part time job in a pet shop, offered to her by Steve, the man behind the counter, who is caretaking the shop while his dad is in a convalescent home.

Mallie copes with many trials and tribulations, including fear of her job being discovered, the return of Mr Armstrong the ill-tempered pet-shop owner, as well as her attempts - encouraged by Jamila - to bring employment and happiness into her own mother’s life.

Mary Arrigan skilfully weaves chapters from the past among Mallie’s modern life. Gradually we learn about Tony’s friendship with his fellow evacuee Alice during war time among the Lakeland fells. We also discover, as Tony and Alice do, another important character -  a woman farmer and artist at Hill Top Farm, Windermere - and about a drawing of rabbits among green grass that brings rage so many years later.

I felt the writing style of this book was very nicely judged for the older junior/KS2 or the young teen reader.  Although Mary Arrigan tells the story lightly and almost swiftly, her scenes still captures the impact of moments of pain or sadness. I also liked the way she offers a non-simplistic approach to past times, hinting at the true economic necessity behind what now seems like harsh treatment.

Bit by bit, the reader, often alongside the memorable Mallie, understands the reasons behind the older characters behaviour and actions and the story circles round in a satisfying way.  An enjoyable and thoughtful book.

 

By the way, all this is written in awareness of the particular surname, Dolan, that Mary Arrigan gave to that rabbit catcher and his bullying sons.

Penny Dolan

www.pennydolan.com

The Rabbit Girl by Mary Arrigan. Published by Frances Lincoln at £6.99.

ISBN 978-1-84780-156-2

www.maryarrigan.com

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'David': Mary Hoffman reviewed by N M Browne

‘David’ is a wonderful historical novel which powerfully evokes another time and place. More than that, the fascinating details of renaissance Florence provide a vivid backdrop to an exciting personal drama. What more can you want from a novel? And in our fame obsessed time it is particularly clever to focus on one of the most well known faces in western art and to tell the story of the unknown man behind the image: Gabriele, the model for the famous giant statue of ‘David’. In this story the iconic face and body of the shepherd boy who felled Goliath are those of a humble stone cutter, the ‘milk brother’ of the sculptor, Michelangelo. The novel is very much Gabriele’s story simply and economically told from the vantage point of his old age. He recalls the glory of his youth and the dangerously turbulent politics of the time and, as a guide to his own past, is able to make the complex factionalism of his youth comprehensible to the reader. This is no mean feat and one of the great strengths of the story that the reader learns the secrets of the city along with the young Gabriele, the handsome innocent from the country. On his first night in Florence Gabriele is mugged by thugs and then seduced by his rescuer, a wealthy widow, Clarice de Buonovicini. He fathers a son, whom she passes off as the child of her new husband, Antonella de’ Altobiondi, leader of the compagnacci. This group support the reinstatement of the banished Medici ruling elite and Gabriele himself finds himself using these connections to spy for the opposing faction, the republicans, for whom Michaelangelo’s ‘David’, is a political symbol as much as a work of art. When the true paternity of Clarice’s child is revealed and the pro republican statue is unveiled riots erupt on the streets and Gabriele and the statue are both in terrible danger. As we all know, ‘David’ the statue survives but what of Gabriele the man who is blamed for the murder of Altobiondi? How can the best known face in Florence escape the city unseen? The answer provides a radical solution for those who come face to face with the downside of fame. Maybe David Beckham et al could take note.

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