CHILDREN’S BOOKS
FRIENDS LIKE THESE by Meg Rosoff (Bloomsbury, £12.99) is a classic summer friendship novel, set in 1982, in New York. Beth is in the city for a journalism internship and is adopted by charismatic fellow intern Edie, who wafts her off to a life of frozen margaritas and dangerous liaisons. For YA readers, 1982 is ancient history, so the workings of a large NY newspaper could have been fascinating, yet there’s barely any background detail. Instead it’s all about the emotions, making for a more intimate, confiding relationship between narrator Beth and the reader. Like the tub of melting ice cream next to Beth’s bed, drawing out the cockroaches, the sweet summer friendships eventually go sour and the enemies implicit in the title are revealed. A feel good coming-of-age treat, with ripples of NY angst and comforting rainbow sprinkles on top.
Until recently, Rosa Sweetbaum’s main friend has been a jaguar. Like Rosa, the jaguar is a refugee, since both have been displaced by the Second World War, which is at last over. A Kindertransport child, Rosa is awaiting news of her family in Vienna. To escape her sadness, she joins an expedition to track the Great Sloth in the Amazon – but finds something even more dangerous. Escape to the River Sea (Macmillan, £12.99) is Emma Carroll’s sequel to the Eva Ibbotson classic, Journey to the River Sea, and it’s a bighearted, traditional novel, with quirky, memorable characters and a satisfying denouement. Age ten to 14.
José and the Pirate Captain Toledano is a colourful graphic novel by Arnon Z Shorr and Joshua M Edelglass (Kar-Ben, £7.99). José is a bright but discontented boy, growing up in Santo Domingo in the 16th century, not realising he is Jewish until moments before the Inquisition arrives in the colony. José stows away on board the Laqish — and discovers it’s a pirate ship. What’s more the Captain, too, is secretly Jewish. The adventure culminates in a battle that is about more than piracy — with a wonderful Spartacus moment when the multi-faith crew express their allegiance. An exciting introduction to Sephardi history (and ideal for reluctant readers). Age eight to 12.
Jane Yolen makes the ark-builder’s wife the protagonist of the biblical tale in Mrs Noah’s Doves (Kar-Ben, £6.99) which is illustrated in shimmering watery greens and shades of stone by Alida Massari. The beadyeyed, proud-feathered birds are enchanting. Age up to seven.