Learning from experience
HBIRTH TO SEVEN
by Tracy N e w ma n a n d Vivien Garofoli (Kar Ben, £5.99) is a rhyming board book with a few forgiveable Americanisms, followi n g a f a mil y ’ s preparations for the festival, as they fry latkes, play dreidl and march like Maccabees. Young ones will like to act out the scenes described.
Raffi isn’t interested in rough games — he likes to knit. But he feels left out at school — until his knitting skills are needed to make a key costume for the class play. Suddenly his peers appreciate that knitting — and Raffi — are cool. by Craig Pomranz (Frances Lincoln, £12.99) is a perhaps over-optimistic but heartening picture book with expressive illustrations by Margaret Chamberlain. In a similar vein is
by Ruthie Briggs-Greenberg (Taylor, £10). Felicity is not quite the dragon she thinks she should be — “no smoke from her nose, no spikes on her toes and her wings were too tiny to carry her hiney” (her rear end, apparently). Her rhyme and rhythm are not always perfect either but she does get to carry out a heroic rescue and find acceptance. It’s good to see the under-fives being presented with such painterly illustrations.
Charlie’s Cream Tea ( Writersworld, £5.99) by child bevahiourist Victoria Hart is a colourful book to introduce the concept of sharing. Charlie the crocodile wants to eat all his scones, jam and cream on his own but, when he meets some of his friends, he feels obliged to divvy them up. There is quite a lot of text on each page for very young children and Charlie seems to learn his lesson rather easily, without suffering the ill effects of first attempting to eat all the goodies himself. But the book may be useful to reinforce a lesson on manners.
OLDER READERS
No tea-making duties for the workexperience kids in Liquidator by Andy Mulligan (David Fickling, £12.99). The makers of a soft drink have put lives at risk and, as the countdown begins to a brand-sponsored concert, a child tester is hours from death. Can the young employees expose the wrongdoing? Fizzing with excitement, Mulligan’s novel speculates what would happen if youngsters were really allowed to try their hand at a job — answering 999 calls, breaking front-page news or even carrying out surgery. Age 12 up.
Adolescence is tough. Especially the
physical manifestations. Such as the water seeping through your hands. And the transformation into a… what — ordinary teens don’t get any of that? Awash with Cornish folklore and witchcraft, Lu Hersey’s Deep Water (Usborne, £6.99) cleverly blends coming-of-age novel with fantasy. When her mother disappears, Danni looks into her family history and finds that she isn’t quite like other teenagers. She must get to grips with her newly acquired powers and use them to save her mother. Age 11 up.
More Cornish witchcraft in Crow Moon by Anna McKerrow (Quercus, £6.99) but this time we have Danny with a y — a male witch-to-be, brought up in eco-friendly Greenworld (segregated from materialistic Redworld). Again there is a skilful mix of realism and magic — Danny’s downfall is caused by his human impulses. When he steals tarot cards to impress the fanciable girl next door, he is drawn into a dangerous mission, both romantic and necromantic. Age 12 up.