Great
Britain
37
Blake, Quentin (text/illus.)
Mrs Armitage, queen of the road
London : Cape, 2003. – [32] p.
(A Tom Maschler book)
ISBN 0-224-06472-x
Woman – Dog – Car – Creativity
In 1987, resourceful Mrs Armitage and her trustworthy dog Breakspear made
their first appearance in a book, adorning an ordinary bike with thousands of
useful objects until it resembled something like a fairground-spaceship. After
a short holiday trip to the sea (1997), the vivacious lady is now back on the
road. This time she takes a fairly bumpy ride in her latest acquisition: Every
time a part of the rusty old car falls off, she simply takes it to the
scrapheap musing »Who needs it?« In the end, the remaining chassis decorated
with some odd bits and pieces serves as an ace vehicle for the »queen of the
road« and her canine partner. As usual, Quentin Blake’s ingenious
watercolour illustrations need no more than a few lines and sketchy fields of
colour to capture the vigour and vibrancy of this nonsensical story.
(4+)
38
Browne, Anthony (text/illus.)
The shape game
[London] : Doubleday, 2003. – [28] p.
ISBN 0-385-60136-0
Family – Art gallery – Looking at art – Imagination
Award-winning illustrator Anthony Browne has created an ingenious picture book
that tells the (autobiographical?) story of a family’s first visit to the
famous Tate Gallery in London. There, the initially reluctant family members
– as well as the readers of this book – soon discover how much fun looking
at art can be. The humorous watercolour illustrations are drawn in the
artist’s characteristic, slightly surreal style with an abundance of funny
details. By placing the chubby protagonists into settings identical to those
of a number of paintings by various artists, Browne offers unconventional
interpretations of these paintings and hints at striking parallels between
reality and art. The short conversational text inspires children to let their
imagination roam. (4+)
39
Deacon, Alexis (text/illus.)
Beegu <proper name>London [et al.] : Hutchinson, 2003. – [32] p.
ISBN 0-09-176829-2
Extraterrestrial being – Earth – Loneliness
– Friendship
Beegu, a small yellow being with long soft ears and three eyes, crashes her
spaceship on planet earth. She walks around looking for a friend but is met
with indifference or contempt by the adults (and things) she approaches for
help. Only a group of children in the playground immediately accept her and
give her a warm welcome. In his first picture book, the young British
author-illustrator makes the readers see their home planet through the eyes of
a stranded alien. Told in a subdued matter-of-fact style, this partly funny
partly sad tale of loneliness and friendship (which does end happily for
Beegu) comes alive in large format illustrations in warm colours and with a
nostalgic touch. (4+) <>
40
Dickinson, Peter
The tears of the salamander
London : Macmillan Children’s Books,
2003. – 233 p.
ISBN 1-4050-2051-2
Orphan – Uncle – Fire – Magic – Music – Family feud – Good/Evil
– Italy/Middle Ages
Peter Dickinson is one of the most popular British fantasy authors for
children. In this riveting novel about a young boy’s destiny involving
magic, music, fire, and salamanders, he takes his readers into medieval Italy.
After his parents and brother have perished in a terrible fire, 12-year-old
Alfredo is whisked away from his familiar life as cathedral choir boy by his
uncle whom he only knows by name. At the ancient ancestral home on top of
mount Etna on the island of Sicily, mysterious and taciturn Uncle Giorgio
teaches him a few things about his family, the masters of the mountain, and
their magical powers. When the boy finally discovers the old man’s true
character, it is almost too late to save himself and the village people.
(12+)
41
Ering, Timothy Basil (text/illus.)
The story of Frog Belly Rat Bone
London [et al.] : Walker Books, 2003. – [44] p.
ISBN 0-7445-8056-0
Boy – Treasure – Hope – Robbers – Protection – Forgiveness
»In a dull, grey, endless place called Cementland ...« a spindly creature in
a bright red and white shirt digs through a junk heap searching for treasure.
After a promising discovery, followed by some disappointments, a mean robbery,
and a clever solution, the boy is eventually rewarded for his patience: The
depressingly dull and lifeless scene from the beginning of the book has turned
into a garden of Eden bursting with colourful flowers and plants – and the
boy has found some new friends. This imaginative story with handlettered text
is carried out in outstanding, vibrant illustrations that combine cartoon-like
elements and cinematic techniques (e.g. close-ups etc.) with crazy landscapes
inhabited by fantastical creatures to create a truly delightful read. (3+) ¤
Special
Mention
42
Haddon, Mark
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time
Oxford : Fickling, 2003. – 271 p.
ISBN 0-385-60587-0
Teenager – Asperger’s Syndrome – Murder – Dog
»5 red cars mean that it is going to be a Super Good Day. And 4 yellow cars
in a row mean that it is going to be a Black Day (...).« That is how life
works for 15-year-old Christopher who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, a
form of autism. While maths and sciences are child’s play for the boy with
his photographic memory, humans and their emotions are all Greek to him.
Therefore, when he finds the neighbour’s dog Wellington murdered with a
garden fork and sets out to solve the mystery, his neat everyday order is
threateningly disturbed and he pushes himself right towards his own
boundaries. Written in an utterly convincing voice, the straightforward and
perfectly logical narration, interspersed with the odd mathematical discourse,
carries readers into the ‘foreign land’ of a highly intelligent boy whose
behavioural difficulties can pose severe problems in everday-life situations.
This amusing and at the same time sad and extremely touching story certainly
challenges a number of prejudices against autistic people. (13+) ¤
(Whitbread Book Award; 2003; Guardian Children’s
Fiction Prize; 2003)
43
Kay, Elizabeth
The Divide
Frome, Somerset : Chicken House, 2003. – 320 p.
ISBN 1-903434-96-3
Boy – Illness – Parallel world – Adventure – Quest
While standing on the Continental Divide in Costa Rica with one foot on the
Atlantic and one on the Pacific side of the watershed, 13-year-old Felix, who
suffers from a life-threatening illness, suddenly passes out. When he comes
round again, he finds himself in a strange upside-down world, where creatures
like »brittlehorns« (unicorns) and »fire-breathers« (dragons) exist, but
humans are regarded as mythical. With the help of Betony, an unruly »tangle-child«
(elf), and the »brazzle« (griffin) Ironclaw, the boy plunges into a
dangerous quest searching for a cure for his illness and the way back into the
real world. This entertaining fantasy adventure draws young readers into a
fascinating parallel universe and offers an exciting and enjoyable read.
(11+)
44
Said, S. F. (text)
McKean, Dave (illus.)
Varjak Paw <proper name>
Oxford [et al.] : David Fickling Books,
2003. – 254 p.
ISBN 0-385-60415-7
Cat – Family – Outsider – Danger – Rescue – Friendship –
Adventure
All his life, Varjak Paw was treated with contempt and ridicule by his
brothers, and even his parents are convinced that he isn’t a proper
Mesopotamian Blue. But when a mysterious tall man and his two killer cats
threaten the proud feline family’s comfortable life-style in the Duchess’s
grand house, the small kitten ventures into the unknown outside world, faces
cruel cat gangs, learns about the »Way« – a number of secret survival
skills – and finds true friends who help him defeat the enemy. This
gripping, fast-paced novel about a lonely outsider’s adventurous quest for
his identity is accompanied by angular black-and-white drawings that
ingeniously capture the story’s tense atmosphere. (10+)
45
Steer, Dugald A. (ed.)
Dr. Ernest Drake’s dragonology : the complete book of dragons
Dorking, Surrey : Templar, 2003. – [38] p.
ISBN 1-84011-503-3
Dragons – Encyclopaedia
This lavishly produced volume claims to be a facsimile edition of a book
originally published in 1896. In a pseudo-serious scientific style, it
compares the different types of dragons that exist world-wide, discusses their
behaviour, life cycle, habitats, and history, and informs readers how to go
about taming and flying these huge beasts. In addition, the appendix offers
spells and charms that might come in handy when encountering a dragon. The
exquisite cover design, the colourful detailed illustrations, drawings,
diagrams, flaps to lift and charts, as well as specimens of dragon skin and
samples of dragondust make this book a real treasure for young would-be dragon
hunters. (8+)
46
Tracey, Rhian
When Isla meets Luke meets Isla
London : Bloomsbury, 2003. – 159 p.
ISBN 0-7475-6344-6
Teenager – Friendship – First love – Sister – Death – Grief
Isla doesn’t want to leave Scotland and start all over again in a small
South England town where her new classmates pretend they cannot understand her
accent. Luke is generally bored with school life and hates his father for
abandoning the family. The quick-tempered girl and the quiet boy are
immediately attracted to each other, quickly become friends, and have a whale
of a time together, until, one day, an accident turns their lives upside down.
Told alternatingly in Isla’s slightly sarcastic distinctly Scottish voice
and Luke’s analytic yet dryly humorous language, this witty and touching
debut novel convincingly describes the ups and downs of teenage life burdened
with difficult relationships and the devastating loss of a little sister.
(12+)
47
Umansky, Kaye (text)
Mould, Chris (illus.)
Meet the Weirds
Edinburgh : Barrington Stoke, 2003. – 77 p.
ISBN 1-84299-114-0
Family – Neighbour – Differentness – Disapproval – Friendship
Sometimes, books for beginning readers can seem a bit dull. With Kaye
Umansky’s ‘weird’ little tale, however, you needn’t worry about this
at all. Already from the cover illustration and the title, readers will sense
that the Weirds are anything but an ordinary family. When the
stuntwoman-mother, the inventor-father, and their offspring move into Number
17 Tidy Street, Mrs. Prim and her equally prim husband are immediately
suspicious about the new neighbours. Nevertheless, their son Pinchton soon
realises that life next door has a lot of funny surprises in store. This
hilarious tale full of dry humour and its utterly comical illustrations will
have small and big readers shrieking with laughter. (8+)