Spalt! by Vanessa Horn and Georgia Przygocki

2025           

There is a problem at Muddlepuddle: the geese keep dropping poo on the village.

Emma and her mum and dad, Mr and Mrs Chatterbustle try to solve the problem.

Using umbrellas isn’t enough.  Giving the geese mirrors doesn’t put them off.  

Then Emma realises they are very good at fertilising the soil. They all set to and create targets for the geese. The goose poo now lands in the right place and the crops grow well on the allotments of the Muddlepuddle residents.

A little fanciful, yes, but full of fun. 

The book is a typical picture book with additional story in the pictures. There are twelve double spreads. The font is without a serif but has difficult ‘a’s. The last spread gives information about the museum of poo on the Ilse of Wight and some general information about animal poo. 

 

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Alex in Wonderland by Simon James Green

2019

Alex is gay and never been kissed.  He lives with his dad and his dad’s new girlfriend, Kendra, a property developer with exacting domestic standards.  

After a freaky accident, Alex manages to secure a job at the run-down amusement arcade, Wonderland. But the establishment is in trouble; owner Maggie keeps getting final demands for unpaid bills and the bailiffs actually turn up in one scene. There also seems to be some sabotage going on; Maggie also keeps getting threatening letters.

Who is behind it all? A rival from the pier? A local property developer? Could it even be Kendra? Is it an insider? Just as Alex is beginning to get on really well with his new found friends and even embarking on a relationship with Ben, he comes under suspicion as being the insider.  Kendra, though, gives him the proof that he isn’t involved and he manages to persuade his friends that he is innocent.

Alex and his friends try to help Maggie.  They work on relaunching the arcade. However, with the press present at the reopening a fire alarm goes off and the place burns to the ground. They also discover that the doors are locked in the mirror maze and they have to rescue people from inside.

Maggie had been behind with her insurance payments.  However, the council agree to buy the land; she is able to pay off all of her debts and move to Ibiza.  Alex and Ben are back on. Kendra and his dad take a break. Life looks promising again.     

We never do find out, however, who was behind the sabotage.        

There is a lot of humour in the book. The paperback is 387 pages.  

Find your copy here 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House publishing.  

Indigo's Star by Hilary Mckay

                                                         

 

 

2003   

This is the second book in the series about the Casson family. It’ is mainly Indigo’s story as the title suggests. However, younger sister Rose also plays an important part.

The family is to a large extent is dysfunctional.  Mother is absent-minded, sleeps a lot and often forgets to buy food. Father lives away from home. Both parents are artists, each eccentric in their own way.  However, there is a lot of love between the siblings.

Indigo is bullied at school but largely copes with it. He is also recovering from glandular fever. Rose wants her father to come home and she does not want to wear her new glasses.

New boy Tom arrives at the school. He now becomes the focus of the bullying and takes some of the attention away from Indigo. He has other problems. He is staying with is grandmother as he has not been getting on with his father, stepmother and stepsister. He bounces a ball a lot, likes climbing on to roofs and plays guitar. He longs to own a rather expensive guitar he sees in the local music shop.

All comes good in the end: Indigo confronts and overcomes the bullies, spurred on because Rose is in danger. Tom is reconciled with his family when his step-sister becomes ill. Rose accidentally breaks his guitar and in her panic phones her father who rushes home.  Money is little object to him and he buys the expensive guitar for Tom.

Tom goes home. Rose and Indigo climb on to the roof. Rose can see the stars now because she is wearing her glasses.       

The book is 244 pages long.  The text is blocked but double-spaced. The font has a serif. The chapters are quite long.         

Deadly Famous by Richard Kidd

                                                          

 

 2001   

Stanley Buckle befriends reclusive artist Neville Windrush.  Neville disappears one day and is presumed dead.  His paintings start selling for a lot of money.  Stanley is invited to Neville’s posthumous exhibition.  He learns that Neville is not dead and that there is a plot to kill him in order to keep the price of his work high.

 Stanley works out where Neville is and goes looking for him. He fool s his mother into thinking he is safely on a nature trip.

On the journey he encounters Elsie Robinson and Francesco Allegretto.  Elsie is a motherly figure.  He suspects Allegretto is the contract killer.  It turns out to be Elsie.

There are numerous twists and turns but Neville and Stanley survive. The big surprise is then that Neville is the father of the Stanley’s friend Ewart. Neville had left the island not knowing about Ewart. We get a charming fairy-tale ending.        

The story is framed as Sally’s uncle tells her why the picture of Neville’s that he has has a bullet hole in it. An epilogue shows us Sally and her uncle being taken by helicopter to Neville’s exhibition. Her uncle is Stanley Buckle and Neville is now so rich and famous he can provide a helicopter for them.

Each chapter heading is a song title and has a line drawing at the beginning that hints at the content. The chapters are of substantial length.  The novel is 204 pages long and uses blocked text with an adult font.    

That Time I Got Kidnapped by Tom Mitchell

2020  

Fourteen year old Jacob wins a competition to feature in a super-hero movie.  “Don’t miss your connection,” warns his father as he sets off towards snow-bound Chicago where he has to change on to a plane to Los Angeles. He misses his connection - and gets kidnapped by Jennifer and her mysterious package.   

There is no romance or sex but there is affection, eventually, and a growing relationship. Jacob and Jennifer are pitted again the grown-ups. This probably makes the text suitable for younger teens. Mature fluent readers could also digest this book.

Jacob is naive.  Jennifer is badass. Both characters mellow and grow as the story is told.

Tom Mitchell keeps us on the edge of our seats as calamity follows calamity for Jacob. Will he get to the studio in time? What will happen when he gets there?  Perhaps importantly what will happen next? Mitchell not only gives us a satisfying ending but leaves it opens for a whole new story.  We hope he will write it.

This is an easy book to read.  It is short.  Its twists and turns provide tension. The chapters are short and almost all end on a cliff-hanger and thus pace is maintained. There is much humour. Jacob’s convincing voice keeps us engaged throughout.