It’s been a while since I’ve read a lot of children’s books; I tend to go for nostalgia and reread books, His Dark Materials being a favourite series. As a children’s editor, in the name of market research (and just for the fun) I decided to read a couple of popular books and see what I thought. Also Happy World Book Day everyone! Here are the first two books I have read this year.
Kevin’s Great Escape by Philip Reeve & Sarah McIntyre
Kevin the roly-poly flying pony is a recipe for a successful book, especially as he loves to eat the universally loved Custard Cream for his food. In this book, siblings Daisy and Max must go on a mission to save Kevin who has been signed off to Baz, a nasty talent manager.
The book has the core theme of injustice and uniting a gang of misfits to take down the corporate, beer-bellied, California-esque BAZ. Obviously as a younger children’s book it doesn’t tackle huge themes but I enjoyed the acknowledgment of management controlling the image of a pop-star. It was freakishly like a toned-down version of the Black Mirror episode with Ashley O, but removing all the bits that will scar children for life.
I really enjoyed the humour in this book (and the guinea pig illustrations of course). The self-awareness was hilarious, in one chapter, Kevin remembers he is hungry for biscuits because they’ve got to the end of a chapter and he hasn’t had a snack yet. The charity single for Athlete’s Foot awareness also tickled me; feet have a timeless comedic value.
In the end, we learn a bit about not media corruption, empathy and the importance of individuality in art. A profound novel. But, also, biscuits.
Age: 7+
Rating: 8/10
Mood: a giggly mood
The Good Thievesby Katherine Rundell
I was recommended this book by a colleague and having not read a longer children’s fiction book, I was a little apprehensive…
A pick-pocket, an aspiring circus performer and a circus animal trainer stroll through New York City, along with Vita, a polio survivor; it’s another classic gang of misfits, getting together to avenge a crime of course! Vita’s grandfather has been swindled out of his estate (a castle-esque building) by monopolising, property tycoon Sorrotore. They aptly convince themselves that they are Good Thieves, because stealing something back is alright, isn’t it?
Katherine Rundell really pulled out all the stops to ensure that this book was as relevant and hard-hitting as possible, despite being set in the prohibition era of NYC. I was shocked by the adult themes that were addressed in this, from racism to disability to class and then to just adult legal issues like fraud and contract law. Vita, the protagonist has a disability due to a childhood illness and the honesty in which they deal with her physical struggles is lovely to see. Silk, in particular, has the biggest learning curve and acts so valiantly in the end … no spoilers. Samuel is black and again, the children’s ability to understand the difficulties of that and accommodate to him was wonderful. Now it’s time for the rest of the world to catch-up and stop being racist/ableist/classist.
This book was oddly difficult for me to get into, perhaps it was that it’s readership age is strangely not too far from me but also seemed very stilted and regimented in tone. It took me quite a while to get into this book as I felt the introductions to Silk, Arkady and Samuel felt a little too obvious – but it’s a classic children’s fiction trope. I do wish that I would randomly roam the New York streets and make friends with exceptional talents though. After a while, I was impressed at which the speed just quadrupled and after the initial getting-together of the group, things really started to heat up. Vita single-handedly takes on a dodgy business leader Sorrotore, is pursued by the police several times, ends up in a secret speak-easy all within the first half of the book. It really spoke to the wonders of good children’s writing when things just happen and as a reader, you just accept. There is no such thing as an unbelievable event in this book, and once I had unlearned my editorial brain of continuity and time-frames, I got the most pleasure out of the book.
Age: 10+ (Middle Grade)
Rating: 6/10
Mood: Adventurous
Photo courtesy of Robyn Budlender
I HAD THE BLUES 