An exciting adventure story for 8-12 year olds, from Eva Ibbotson,
whose ‘Journey To the River Sea’ was a Carnegie medal winner.
When, at the beginning of World War Two, Tally is evacuated
from London to a ‘progressive’ boarding school in Devon, her father is
concerned that she won’t be happy. He’s quickly proved wrong. Tally loves life
at Delderton Hall, where she’s free to choose what to learn and which classes
to join. There’s plenty to enjoy, with interesting characters among staff and
pupils, all with their own stories. Then there’s the pet’s hut ‘for small
animals that can stay in cages’, such as Barney’s axolotl, nature walks at
dawn, and drama, where you have to pretend to be a fork or a pillow or a
teapot.
What Tally really enjoys is the freedom to express her
opinions at school council meetings. Shocked by news of Nazi tyranny in Europe,
Tally suggests supporting a small country striving to stay neutral. The king of
Bergania has invited schools to join in a folk dancing festival and Tally wants
her school to go, but it takes all her determination to persuade her friends to
help bring this about.
In
Bergania, the story deals with some stark issues, when the festival is
threatened by Nazi bullies. It’s there that Tally meets Prince Karil, whose own
education is the opposite of hers. Karil longs to speak and act freely, and to
make his own choices about his future, instead of submitting to the strict life
mapped out for him as the next king. The dragonfly pool of the title is the
place where Karil feels most free, a private place, which he shares with his
new friend, Tally.
‘The Dragonfly Pool’ will appeal to any fans of CS Lewis,
Elizabeth Goudge, Francis Hodgson Burnett, Lucy Boston and J K Rowling, all writers
who take children on perilous journeys, where, with ingenuity and courage, they
take risks, foil bullies and criminals, and break silly adult rules to do what
is right and just.
‘The Dragonfly Pool’ also fits nicely with stories set
during World War Two, when children faced evacuation and the real possibility
of their parents being killed or of never finding them again.
Eva Ibbotson handles this difficult material with her customary
light touch, so that the book is thoroughly entertaining with plenty of humour.
Pauline Chandler
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4 comments:
Oo, I LOVE that book!
So do I, Pippa! I love all of Eva Ibbotson's stories, but this is my current favourite.
I read it for the first time very recently. I loved it, but it is not at all what I expected from the title and cover. I had assumed it would be fantasy. I was delighted when it wasn't.
Yes, Elen! This is such a lovely book,but the title doesn't tell you anything about the story. My first thought after reading it was to write a piece about misleading titles! Not sure authors can get away with such an obscure title these days.
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