Bruno and Frida by Tony Bradman

 

2022

hi-lo,  ages 9-11, 10-13, upper primary, Key Stage 2, Lower Secondary, Key Stage 3, Bradman Tony  historical, World War II, Nazi Germany, refugees, Rex Tania,     

The story is set at the end of World War II as the Russians start to occupy Nazi Germany. Bruno’s mother is killed as the Russians attack. Bruno is befriended by the dog Frida, and by an old lady who takes him in for a while.  Frida is a suicide bomber dog and Bruno’s first task when he meets her is to remove her vest.

As the Russian occupation takes hold, Bruno has to move on and try and find his grandparents.  He has to leave the old lady behind. He never sees her again and he never finds out what happens to her. He writes to her daughter but she does not reply.

Bruno finds his grandparents and goes on to live a happy life.  He marries, becomes a doctor and has a family.  His granddaughter interviews him about being a refugee.  The family are sympathetic towards the Syrian refugees.     

This is a Barrington Stoke book and created for less able readers. It is printed on yellow papers.  The text is ragged right and the font  is  plain with simple ‘a’s and ‘g’s.  Paragraphs are indented and there is a line between them as well.  The chapters are short. There are a few monochrome illustrations that help with understanding of the texts and also expand the story. It is 72 pages long.  

 Barrington Stoke claims “Our books are tested for children and young people by children and young people.”  Usually they commission a known writer to create the text and their own editors then work on it to make it suitable for the target reader.  

Tony Bradman offers an historical note at the end and also points out how German attitudes have changed since the end of World War II.

The Boy who Stepped Though Time by Anna Ciddor

2021

The story is set in the modern day in France, and in the same place in Roman times.  Perry gets whipped back in time to the villa the ruin of which he is visiting with his family. He has to learn to become a Roma slave.  

There he meets the girl whose coffin he has seen; she would die very soon if he and his fellow slave Carotus doesn’t save her. He has found a way of getting back to his own time but he postpones this in order to help Valentia, the daughter to his master.

We get a good insight into the Roman way of life both for the nobility and for the slaves. We find out how they were educated, what they ate and what their homes were like.  There ae some surprises; Perry and Carotus go to school with Valentia. At the feast of Saturnalia, a little like our Christmas, the masters become the slaves and the slaves the masters.

Perry gets back to his home time and has not been missed at all. He is not able to tell his family of his adventure in Roman times.  However the label on Valentia’s coffin now says she lives to be 55. He is quite surprised to see who she married.  

The book is 309 pages long –though the text is double spaced.  I uses a young reader friendly  font: 12.25 Bembo though it is serifed and has difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s.  There are a few line drawings at the beginning of the book which give an impression of what the two homes look like and how some of the young people looked. Each chapter has what looks like a coin with a Roman numeral on it, as part of the chapter heading. There is also an ordinary number and a title for each chapter.  

At the end of the book there is a glossary of terms, notes from the author and notes from the researcher.  We also have bios for the author and the researcher.   

Santa’s Lost Buttons by Kirsty-Louise Garbutt and Meneer Marcleo

 

2021

Santa keeps losing his buttons. The child is invited to find them in in the pictures. Some are harder to find that others.

Santa sets off on his journey and we see him visiting homes and enjoying mince pies and other treats.  And of course, losing his buttons.  He has a run in with the Queen’s corgis. He goes to France where we learn his French name.  In Spain we learn his Spanish name.  He goes to the USA and we see the Statue of Liberty. At last his journey is finished.  The elf places one more button in the under the sleeping boy’s bed.  And the reader is invited to find one more that is tucked away at the back of the book in a small envelope.     

The pictures are full of extra activity which provides more story and talking points for the adult and child reading the book together.     

The text is not too dense. It is printed in a simple font, with easy to read   ‘a’s and ‘g’s.  The book is sturdy: it is landscape and in hardback   

Refuge

 

2016, first published 2015  

pre-school, Key Stage 0, ages 1-4,  Booth Anne, Usher Sam, Christian, Nativity,   

This tells the story of Mary and Joseph fleeing to Egypt with Jesus after Joseph dreams they are in danger.  It is told from the point of view of the donkey that carries them.

The donkey’s voice is strong and he recognises the best in humans – the kindness of the innkeeper, the affection of the parents for the baby Jesus, the encouragement of the shepherds who watch them set off on their journey and the refuge the Egyptians offer.

As always with picture books for this age group there is some much extra story in the pictures. Facial expressions tell a lot: we see the tenderness in the face of Mary and Joseph, the wonder in the wise men, hope and fear as they travel, peace and relief as they arrive in Egypt, and kindness in the Egyptians.

The pictures are mainly grey scale.  Much of the action takes place at night. There are touches of yellow and the daytime pictures show a yellow sky. Yellow symbolises light and comfort in the penultimate double spread.

There is a mixture of pictures going across double spreads and isolated pictures integrated into the text on single pages.     

The text is sparse and the pictures dominate. It uses an adult font though it is large.

The story is fundamentally Christian though deals with a less familiar part of the nativity story. Even for those who do not hold the Christian faith this supplies a story important to many cultures.

 £1.00 from each copy sold goes to War Child. There is page at the end of the book, addressed to adults reading with the child, that explains about the work of War Child.  

There is also a QR code in the front of the book that takes you to a free audio version of the book.

  

A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig illustrated by Chris Mould

click on image to view on Amazon 

2021

Nikolas lives with his father. They are poor.  His father works hard and earns little, so he and his friends set off to find the elf village.  There will be a huge reward and they will all be set up for life if they can prove it exists. Meanwhile Aunt Carlotta moves in and makes Nikolas miserable. He leaves in search of his father.

 

He meets and befriends a flying reindeer, Blitzen, on the way. He finds the elf village but all is not well.  His father and the other men have kidnapped Little Kip. The elves are so annoyed by what the humans have done that they will no longer accept outsiders. Nicolas is imprisoned.

 

Some magic has happened, however, and Nikolas has enough hope inside him that he is able to float up the chimney and out of the prison.  He rescues Little Kip and brings him back to the village. His father helps him.  However, his father is too heavy for the sleigh and plunges to the ground.  We assume he dies.

 

Nikolas becomes popular in the village.  Elves, and apparently adopted humans, remain the age they are when they find out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Nikolas is sixty-two, already called Father Christmas, has a rounded belly, a beard and a distinctive laugh, when he decides he wants to bring joy to good boys and girls every Christmas. The Elves and a group of flying reindeer help him with this.

 

This story contains some familiar tropes, some quirky passages and the sadness that Nikolas loses his father.

 

As well as being suitable for the fluent reader, this story may also appeal to younger children if an adult reads it out to them.

 

The novel is 266 pages long. It has blocked text and uses an adult font. Chris Mould’s line drawing enlivens the text. There are pages from the Daily Snow, the Elves’ favourite newspaper. At the end of the book are some puzzles.   

Gracie Fairshaw and the Trouble at the Tower

click on image to view on Amazon

2021

The story is set in Blackpool 1935 as Christmas approaches. But someone is trying to sabotage the Children’s Ballet Christmas spectacular. A piece of scenery injures a dancer, another dancer has itching powder put inside her costume and a several poisonous-pen letters are sent. Naughty chimps and escaping lions add to the drama.  The damage the chimps do often looks like part of the sabotage.   

Gracie becomes a reporter for the local newspaper. This affords the reader several details about what a writer does – and helps Gracie to do more investigating.   

There are many details of time and place here. We have a glimpse of what Christmas was like back then and in a boarding house in particular. Paper chains feature in abundance.  

Susan Brownrigg is a brilliant story teller.  This is a well-told and well-written tale. Here The Family from One End Street, meets Noel Streatfield, meets the Secret Seven, with a good deal of quirkiness and a 21st problem thrown in.  I hope Brownrigg will bring us many more episodes about Gracie.      

The mystery is solved. Albert Ramsbottom was behind all of the threats and damage.  A rumour goes around that he was eaten by a lion. Thus, Brownrigg cross-references to a well-known poem. Ramsbottom wrote his poison-pen letters on British Bulldog notepaper. Yes, he is a racist and targets the Russians and a Chinese girl. And we are kept guessing right up to the last few pages of the novel.  

The book is 235 pages long – some forty pages longer than the first book in the series.  The text is blocked but double-spaced. The font has a serif. The chapters are relatively short.  Chapter headings are in a cursive font and are fronted with a picture of an envelope with a question mark on it. At the end of the book there is a glossary which contains a lot more information about Blackpool, a note from the author on her research about the Children’s Ballet, and an author bio.            

October, October by Katya Balen (illustrations by Angela Harding)

2020

October lives in the woods with her father. They have a house and it even has central heating and freezers.  They get milk and eggs form a local farmer. Despite this certain measure of civilisation they do enjoy the wild.  October’s mother left long ago as she missed the city.  

October’s father has an accident one day. He falls from a tree, damaging his spine. October has to go and live with her mother.  She finds London difficult and for the first time she has to go to school. Yet she gradually becomes reconciled to school, makes friends with Yusuf, becomes a mud lark and gradually accepts that her mother cares for her.  She even begins to find some affection for her mother.

Her father does recover and he and October return to live in the woods. Now though she keeps contact with her mother and the friends she has made in London.  

At the beginning of the story October rescues a baby owl. Somewhat reluctantly her father helps her to care for it. When she moves to London the beast plan is to take her owl, Stig, to an owl sanctuary where she is further looked after and trained to be released into the wild. October accepts in the end that this is the best plan.

The text is quite literary and Katya Balen is very skilled in her use of language. It is 291 pages in blocked text in and adult font but double-spaced. There are a few monochrome illustrations.  It is written mainly in prose but there are some verses.