Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Oh, it seems so wonderful that I'm going to live with you and belong to you. 

I've never belonged to anybody—not really.

That child is hard to understand in some respects. But I believe she'll turn out all right yet. And there's one thing certain, no house will ever be dull that she's in."

I've joined an online US Facebook children's book club. Next month our book is the famous US classic Anne of Green Gables (1908). Until last month I had not read this book. I shared this with one of our esteemed children's literature experts here in Australia and she was utterly shocked and so I felt compelled to now read Anne of Green Gables. I hunted around for a cheaper print copy but eventually I settled on reading an ebook. If you haven't read this classic here are some detailed notes about the themes and plot. You could also consider listening to the audio book - here is a five-minute sample. I also found some free examples. 

Did I love Anne of Green Gables? Not really. There were parts I enjoyed especially early in the story but after a few chapters I found it a bit repetitive and I grew a little tired of anticipating that every 'activity' would end in a disaster for Anne. 

What parts did I enjoy? 

• The rich vocabulary with words like betokened; wincey; alabaster brow; irreproachable; capricious; coruscations; prosaic; and tenacity

• The beautifully expressed descriptions of nature: 

" ... the orchard on the slope below the house was in a bridal flush of pinky-white bloom, hummed over by a myriad of bees."

"Very green and neat and precise was that yard, set about on one side with great patriarchal willows and the other with prim Lombardies. Not a stray stick nor stone was to be seen ..."

"Above the bridge the pond ran up into fringing groves of fir and maple and lay all darkly translucent in their wavering shadows. Here and there a wild plum leaned out from the bank like a white-clad girl tip-toeing to her own reflection. From the marsh at the head of the pond came the clear, mournfully-sweet chorus of the frogs."

"On both sides of the house was a big orchard, one of apple-trees and one of cherry-trees, also showered over with blossoms; and their grass was all sprinkled with dandelions. In the garden below were lilac-trees purple with flowers, and their dizzily sweet fragrance drifted up to the window on the morning wind."

"There were rosy bleeding-hearts and great splendid crimson peonies; white, fragrant narcissi and thorny, sweet Scotch roses; pink and blue and white columbines and lilac-tinted Bouncing Bets; clumps of southernwood and ribbon grass and mint; purple Adam-and-Eve, daffodils, and masses of sweet clover white with its delicate, fragrant, feathery sprays ..."

• I loved some of the characters especially Matthew Cuthbert and Diana. I also appreciated the tiny insights into Marilla and her slowly developing love of Anne. 

• The touches of humor:

"If Marilla had said that Matthew had gone to Bright River to meet a kangaroo from Australia Mrs. Rachel could not have been more astonished. She was actually stricken dumb for five seconds."

"She thought in exclamation points. A boy! Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of all people adopting a boy! From an orphan asylum! Well, the world was certainly turning upside down! She would be surprised at nothing after this! Nothing!"

"But if you call me Anne please call me Anne spelled with an E. ... A-n-n looks dreadful, but A-n-n-e looks so much more distinguished."

"I have no hard feelings for you, Mrs. Barry. I assure you once for all that I did not mean to intoxicate Diana and henceforth I shall cover the past with the mantle of oblivion."

"Yes; but cakes have such a terrible habit of turning out bad just when you especially want them to be good,"

"Almost a month having elapsed since the liniment cake episode, it was high time for her to get into fresh trouble of some sort, little mistakes, such as absentmindedly emptying a pan of skim milk into a basket of yarn balls in the pantry instead of into the pigs' bucket ... "

"I've learned a new and valuable lesson today. Ever since I came to Green Gables I've been making mistakes, and each mistake has helped to cure me of some great shortcoming. The affair of the amethyst brooch cured me of meddling with things that didn't belong to me. The Haunted Wood mistake cured me of letting my imagination run away with me. The liniment cake mistake cured me of carelessness in cooking. Dyeing my hair cured me of vanity. I never think about my hair and nose now—at least, very seldom. And today's mistake is going to cure me of being too romantic."

• Character descriptions:

Anne - "A child of about eleven, garbed in a very short, very tight, very ugly dress of yellowish-gray wincey. She wore a faded brown sailor hat and beneath the hat, extending down her back, were two braids of very thick, decidedly red hair. Her face was small, white and thin, also much freckled; her mouth was large and so were her eyes, which looked green in some lights and moods and gray in others."

Anne - " ... the ordinary observer; an extraordinary observer might have seen that the chin was very pointed and pronounced; that the big eyes were full of spirit and vivacity; that the mouth was sweet-lipped and expressive; that the forehead was broad and full; in short, our discerning extraordinary observer might have concluded that no commonplace soul inhabited the body of this stray woman-child of whom shy Matthew Cuthbert was so ludicrously afraid."

"Diana was sitting on the sofa, reading a book which she dropped when the callers entered. She was a very pretty little girl, with her mother's black eyes and hair, and rosy cheeks, and the merry expression which was her inheritance from her father.

• And of course Anne's relentless imagination. 

How do you feel about the love story? I was a little frustrated that it took so long to reach this scene but I guess the stage is set for the sequel/s. Will I keep reading this series? Probably not but I might try to find the television series. 

Confession - I have been to Prince Edward Island twice (and yes I do live in Australia) but when I visited I had no interest in this famous book. My visit to island was fabulous though, because I had an introduction to a resident - a lady and her husband who were entitled to called themselves Islanders. I had been teaching in Alberta and a wonderful library volunteer had a connection with a family who lived on PEI. I am so glad I took hold of my courage and phoned them. It was an evening to remember ending with the wife and I sitting in front of their fabulous bookshelves exploring her huge picture book collection! I am sad I no longer remember their names. 

"I've always heard that Prince Edward Island was the prettiest place in the world, and I used to imagine I was living here, but I never really expected I would. It's delightful when your imaginations come true, isn't it?"

Here are our Book Club titles for 2025:

The Last Chance Hotel by Nicki Thornton

This is the US cover

This is the cover here in Australia

Do you have a nostalgic memory of reading Agatha Christie murder mysteries? Would you like to introduce this genre to your young reading companion aged 10+?  Then this might be the book for you.

It contains:

• A orphan whose father has disappeared in mysterious circumstances
• A murder in a locked room - it all seems impossible
• A cast of disparate characters - all of them could be the murderer and all of them have fantastic names such as Dr Torpor Thallomius; Professor Penelope Papperspook; Gloria Troutbean; Darinder Dunster-Dunstable; Angelique Squerr; Gregorian Kingfisher; and Count Boldo Marred - thank you to the author for including this list at the beginning of the book - very helpful.
• Poisoning
• Seth, the young innocent boy accused of the murder - has he been framed and if who did this and why?
• A spooky setting in an old hotel located in a remote place near a spooky forest
• Unfairness in the form of the hotel owners who treat young Seth like a slave and even worse their dreadful daughter who enjoys meting out her cruelty
• An attic bedroom
• A wise cat
• A bumbling detective - Inspector Pewter
• The hotel oozes magic and there are other hints such as the talking cat and the mirror in Seth's room that seems to show more than just his reflection

I didn't devour this book in the way I expected. The ending is quite complicated and at times the way the plot kept being repeated was a little distracting. Also as other reviewers have said, it was very clear early on (spoiler alert) that Seth himself had magical ability even though he had no idea. I picked up this book at a charity book sale for just AUS$3. 

Publisher blurb: Seth is the downtrodden kitchen boy at the remote Last Chance Hotel, owned by the nasty Bunn family. His only friend is his black cat, Nightshade. But when a strange gathering of magicians arrives for dinner, kindly Dr Thallomius is poisoned by Seth’s special dessert. A locked-room murder investigation ensues – and Seth is the main suspect. The funny thing is, he’s innocent … can he solve the mystery and clear his name, especially when magic’s afoot?

... a nifty, magical spin on the classic locked-room mystery. Kirkus

A well-crafted middle grade mystery with a touch of magic enhancing its appeal. Fantasy fans will find a lot to love here. School Library Journal

If you enjoy stories set in old hotel these might be better choices:

Vincent and the Grandest Hotel on Earth

The Hotel Balzaar

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Yoko Takana

“You must follow the elephant,” said the fortuneteller. “She will lead you there.”

This is the second time I have read The Magician's Elephant.  This time I noticed:

• The inventive character names: Peter Augustus Duchene; Vilna Lutz; Madam La Vaughn; Leo Matienne; Hans Ickman; Count Quintet; and the dog Iddo. 
• The rich vocabulary: gesture, audacity, honorable, midst, excruciating, and sleight for example
• I had forgotten about the importance of dreams in this story
• The city and the winter cold feel like additional characters.
• The way Kate DiCamillo builds the story so that a reader just knows there will be a very happy ending. I was so happy to discover Leo and Gloria longed for a child of their own.
• Readers have to 'join the dots' in the final scenes to work out that this does come true and the two children are now living with and loved by Leo and Gloria Matienne.
• There is an important minor theme in this story about the futility of war.
• It is wonderful that this book is designed with lots of white space and a larger font size.
• The short chapters and rapid scene changes make this a perfect book to read aloud.
• The way the people in the town became obsessed about the elephant reminded me of the books I talked about in a previous post that tell the story of the arrival of a giraffe in France. 

Blurb from author page: When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch. On this page Kate talks about her book too (5 minutes)

Awards and Honors

• ALSC Notable Children’s Book
• American Booksellers Association Indies Choice Book Awards
• American Library Association Notable Children’s Recordings
• BookBrowse Awards, Best Young Adult Book
• Booklist Editors’ Choice: Books for Youth
• Chicago Public Library Best Books for Children and Teens
• Colorado Children’s Book Award
• Delaware Diamonds Booklist
• Hudson News Best Book of the Year
• Indie Next List
• Kentucky Bluegrass Award
• Maine Student Book Award
• Minnesota Book Awards
• Parents’ Choice Award
• Publishers Weekly Cuffie Award
• Washington State Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Award, Picture Books

Tonight, I have discovered there is now a movie of The Magician's Elephant. After watching the trailer the movie looks very, very different from the book. 

This page from Candlewick has a wealth of activities and an audio sample to use with The Magician's Elephant. 

Reading like a fable told long ago, with rich language that begs to be read aloud, this is a magical story about hope and love, loss and home, and of questioning the world versus accepting it as it is. Brilliant imagery juxtaposes “glowering and resentful” gargoyles and snow, stars and the glowing earth ... Kirkus

Here are a couple of text quotes:

He stood in the small patch of light making its sullen way through the open flap of the tent. He let the fortuneteller take his hand. She examined it closely, moving her eyes back and forth and back and forth, as if there were a whole host of very small words inscribed there, an entire book about Peter Augustus Duchene composed atop his palm.

Not far from the Apartments Polonaise, across the rooftops and through the darkness of the winter night, stood the Bliffendorf Opera House, and that evening upon its stage, a magician of advanced years and failing reputation performed the most astonishing magic of his career. He intended to conjure a bouquet of lilies, but instead, the magician brought forth an elephant.

The questions that mattered, the questions that needed to be asked, were these: Where did the elephant come from? And what did it mean that she had come to the city of Baltese?

I first read and talked about The Magician's Elephant (published 2009) back in 2010. Today on my train journey I re-read and devoured the whole book again and I absolutely loved it. I think I have read nearly every book written by Kate DiCamillo. She recently visited Colby Sharp's school in Parma - I loved reading about the visit and also I loved the way all of the staff embraced this visit and shared many of her books with their students.

You can see the gentle art from inside The Magician's Elephant on the illustrator web page. Here is another book illustrated by Yoko Tanaka:

Dandelion's Dream

Sparrow Girl

Birdie by JP Rose

"Slowly she opened one eye. She peered in the flickering light and gasped. Then she rubbed her eyes as quickly as she could with her sleeve, in case she was seeing imaginary things. She blinked and blinked again, but this time there was no mistaking it. There, right in front of her was a pony. A pony, just standing there!"

Birdie is an orphan living in an orphanage. She was left on the doorstep of a church with a note containing her name - Birdie Bagshaw and a bunch of turnips. Unlike nearly every other orphanage story I have ever read Birdie is happy and she is given care and love and even good food keeping in mind that it is just after the war and so food is scarce.

Then a distant relative locates her, and she is sent away from the orphanage in Leeds to a small mining village to live with her great aunt and uncle - people she has never met.

Right from the beginning Birdie is taunted and treated cruelly for being different. You may have guessed why if you look closely at the cover of this book. She runs away from school on the first day and finds herself under the ground in a coal mine that is due to be closed down. That is where she finds the pony. Her uncle later explains:

"I wanted to explain to't lass how brave they are. They're unsung heroes. Folk forget that without them, coal industry would have come to a standstill. And them horse and ponies gave their all. Many a man I've known has been saved by a pony."

Birdie is so worried about the pony. 

"She'd wondered what he was doing: was he sleeping, eating? Was he just wandering around in the dark tunnels. Or worse still, was he lonely like she was? Was he dreaming of faraway fields, of the sweetness of cherry blossoms, of wildflowers up to his knees, moving in the wind. Because there'd be no sunshine for him, no crisp air. Down in the mine, down in the centre of the earth, there was no day or night, only an everlasting darkness."

I almost read this book in one sitting. It is a measure of how much the story absorbed me that I rushed home from a morning appointment in order to keep reading. There are some wonderful moments in the final pages of this book and the ending will melt your heart. This story is a personal one for the author who was also a 'child of colour' living in Manchester in the 1970s. Like Birdie she was put into foster care and like Birdie she lived in a small mining village. There are also back notes about pit ponies, the history of coal mining in the UK and the special children's homes that took in children like Birdie:

"During World War Two, there were around two thousand babies born to white British women and African American soldiers, who'd been stationed in the UK ... Many of them were rejected by their families and society, not only for having a child 'out of wedlock', but for having a relationship with a person of colour."

Birdie will tug at the heart strings Books for Keeps

A superb historical adventure with a delightful heroine. ... Despite it’s often bleak setting, reading Birdie is like being wrapped in a warm blanket – warm, cost and entirely satisfying. Love Reading for Kids

Bookseller blurb: When Birdie is sent to live with her great-aunt in 1950s Yorkshire, she befriends the village's last remaining pit pony. A story of hope and courage, exploring themes of family, racism and identity. Birdie Bagshaw has never known her parents. Having grown up in a children's home for mixed race children in 1950s Leeds, now she has come to live with her great-aunt in the Yorkshire Dales. From her arrival, Birdie is treated like an outsider by the local children. When their bullying drives Birdie to hide in the nearby coal mine, she finds an unexpected rescuer in the form of Mr Duke, the last remaining pit pony in the village. As the weeks pass, Birdie forms a special bond with the spirited little pony. But his future is in danger, and Birdie comes up with a daring plan to save his life in return.

This BookTrust review has more plot details.

J.P. Rose was born in Manchester but was raised in Yorkshire after her adoption. Growing up she suffered extreme racism, though she continued to be proud of her diverse and rich Jamaican, Nigerian and Anglo-Irish heritage. She trained as an actress but eventually moved into writing, and she is now the author of numerous novels for adults. 

The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg translated by Annie Prime

"Everyone in the city has heard of the Night Raven. The murderer was on the loose for four years. The first victim was a girl a couple of years older than Mika, then two men murdered in the same way. The nickname came from the way the criminal seemed to flutter aimlessly through the night, swooping down on innocent unfortunates ... In the end the killer was caught red-handed, a vagrant named John Almgren."

Mika has lived in the orphanage her whole life. It is not unusual for babies to be deposited on the doorstep but the arrival of this baby after midnight seems very strange - almost sinister. Mika can have no idea that the arrival of this baby girl will set off an amazing chain of events that will see her working with a local, rather eccentric police detective, to solve an infamous series of murders in Stockholm. 

The terrified boy who hands Mika the baby stays long enough to say "The Dark Angel knows I am the one who took her." 

Mika has amazing powers of observation. She sees a figure lingering in the shadows. She notices the baby has a braided leather band decorated with tiny red flowers tied around her ankle. Neither of these mysteries, however, are solved in this first installment. And this mystery deepens when the band disappears and Amelia, who is in charge at the orphanage, seems to be holding an even deeper secret.

Mika works in a bar pouring beer for men who can become violent as they become more inebriated. She overhears some men talking about the city murders and the criminal named The Night Raven. He is supposed to now be dead - having been captured and executed - but note my word 'supposed'. Mika is interviewed by a police man and then a detective arrives with more questions before he takes her away in his carriage to a graveyard where he shows her a dead body in a crypt. Is this the man who gave her the newly born baby? No. Then the detective comes again and this time he takes her to visit the gaol.

Here are a few text quotes:

"And sometimes you have to laugh at the thing that scares you most. Life will be what it will be, regardless,"

"I thought you said he was alive when you arrived? ... Barely. We came just in time to hear his last words. He said ... that the Night Raven had come for him."

"I have to pay attention to detail all the time because my life depends on it."

Here is a great description of Detective Valdemar Hoff:

"The first thing she sees is a scarred face half hidden behind a scruffy beard. Bush eyebrows and a nose as bumpy and brown as a seed potato. His body is thickset and reminds Mika of the unfortunate bears she saw once at Norrbro Bazaar. Hands stick out of his coat sleeves are as big as toilet lids. His knuckles are dented with poorly healed cuts and scabs. The ring finger and pinky on his left hand appear to have been severed at the knuckle."

Bookseller blurb: Mika is not your average twelve-year-old-and she's about to prove it. It's 1880, and in the frigid city of Stockholm, death lurks around every corner. Twelve-year-old Mika knows that everyone in her orphanage will struggle to survive this winter. But at least the notorious serial killer the Night Raven is finally off the streets...or is he? Mika is shocked when a newborn baby is left at the orphanage in the middle of the night, by a boy with a cryptic message. Who is he? And who is this "Dark Angel" he speaks of? When a detective shows up, Mika senses something even more sinister is going on. Drawn in by Mika's unique ability to notice small details-a skill Mika has always used to survive-the gruff Detective Hoff unwittingly recruits her to help him with his investigation into a gruesome murder. Mika knows she should stay far, far away, and yet...with such little hope for her future, could this be an opportunity? Maybe, just maybe, this is Mika's chance to be someone who matters.

A thrilling and thoughtful period murder mystery. Kirkus Star review

Over the past decades, dark Scandinavian mysteries, both historical and contemporary, have become popular, and The Night Raven brings the genre to a younger readership. Despite the gruesome deaths, the violence and threats, and the Dickensian urban setting, the descriptions and events are age appropriate, (keeping) most of the violence off the page. Historical Novel Society

The Night Raven is a smart page-turner that’s a bit dark and full of mystery. Rundberg’s pacing is spot-on, and translator A.A. Prime has done a fantastic job making the book accessible to and English-speaking audience. It’s a smooth translation that doesn’t read like one. Cracking the Cover

Johan Rundberg is an award-winning author of children’s books who lives in Stockholm. He has written picture books, early readers, and middle grade, including Kärlekspizzan, Knockad Romeo, and the series Häxknuten. In 2021, he was awarded Sweden’s most prestigious literary prize, the August Prize, in the children’s and YA category for Nattkorpen, the original edition of The Night Raven, which was first written in Swedish. Nattkorpen was also the winner of a Swedish Crimetime Award in the children’s and YA category. There are now four books in this series published in Sweden.

All the books have a stand-alone mystery that is solved in the end. But there is also a storyline that runs throughout the series, so reading the books in order really gives the reader a bigger experience. For example, Mika’s journey to find out about her past is one such storyline, that is revealed bit by bit. Also, both Mika’s character as well as her relationship with Constable Hoff develops during the series, and that is another reason to read the books in order, I think. But it’s all up to the reader. The Night Raven works really well as a stand-alone, but I hope it will make the reader curious to continue.

A. A. Prime (Annie Prime) is an award-winning translator of Swedish literature. She was born in London and traveled the world studying a number of languages before settling in the English coastal town of Hastings. She now works full-time as a translator, specializing in the weird, witty, and wonderful world of children’s and young adult fiction. She holds an MA in translation from University College London and has published more than twenty books in the UK and US. 

I loved this book from the Moonwind Mysteries series so now I plan to read all of them! There are three in the series in English but there are or will be two more in Swedish (Book 4 is published but Book 5 is still underway) - the most recent one was published this year in 2025. In Swedish the series is called Månvind & Hoff. Book one has the title Nattkorpen (2020).

I highly recommend this book for readers aged 11+ and even adults too. When my adult friends discuss the books they have been reading and enjoying I am often left out of the conversation. I dream of the day that an adult asks me to recommend a middle grade or young adult book that they also might like to read - this book The Night Raven is one I would most certainly rave about. I read this book on a Kindle in one sitting on a short flight to a nearby city. 

Here is an interview with Johan Rundberg where he talks about the first book The Night Raven.

I also found this site which expands the map of Stockholm which appears in this book. This could be a great starting point if you visit the city and want to follow Mika's journey across her city.  And here are some discussion questions. 

Here are the Swedish and Danish covers:

The Didakoi by Rumer Godden

 

Image source: Hastings Independent

Kizzy is a Diddakoi - half gypsy half Irish. She lives with her grandmother in a gypsy caravan and with her beautiful old horse Joe. The gypsy camp is on some land owned by Admiral Sir Archibald Cunningham Twiss. 

"He had put aside the orchard for the travellers and laid on water, a tap and a trough for them, though the village did not approve."

Kizzy does not go to school but then one of the 'do-gooders' in the town tells the authorities and so she is forced to attend. On the first day the girls taunt her about her secondhand clothes so that night she destroys them and from then on turns up at school in her own ragged clothes and boots. Kizzy's grandmother is very old and sadly one day she dies while Kizzy is at school. After the funeral poor Kizzy has to endure the burning of their caravan (a gypsy tradition) - her only home and the one place she has felt safe is now gone. Kizzy tries to run away but she becomes very unwell. Admiral Twiss takes her home and he and his two male servants - Peters and Nat - nurse her back to health but the town will not allow her to stay in the big house. The matter goes to court and it feels for a moment that Kizzy will be sent to a children's home but at the last minute a new single lady who has moved into a local cottage offers to care for Kizzy. 

Olivia Brooke is a woman of enormous good-sense and kindness. She does not chide Kizzy or punish her. Instead she is patient while Kizzy adjusts to her new life and copes with her grief. But school is still torture. The gang of girls attack her so viciously on the way home each day - they trip her, the tie her ankles with a rope, and the ram her into a tree. It is a dreadful scene but luckily Miss Brooke is there and she finds exactly the right way to stop this and make sure all the girls feel enormous remorse.

"They gang up on a particular child ... if one clamps down as Mrs Blount did, it goes underground and it's worse for the victim. How can it be dealt with?' ... 'For a moment they thought they had killed Kizzy. They won't forget that ... it's a children's war. Let the children settle it."

Kizzy spends a few days at home and then she makes a plan to run away. She simply cannot go back to that school. She will take her horse Joe and a few supplies and ride off but on the day she plans to do this she is taken to the big house and told her horse has died. 

There were two points while I was reading this book that I just had to stop and walk away. That scene I mentioned where Kizzy is badly bullied by a large group of girls in her school. And later when the girls come to visit and she accidentally pours petrol on a fire which I was sure would end in disaster.

There are also some absolutely heartwarming moments in this story - such as when Miss Brooke and the Admiral set up Kizzy's room with furniture from the big house; when the Admiral makes Kizzy a small replica caravan; and near the end when she is gifted a beautiful dress that matches exactly the one in the portrait of the young Kezia Cunningham - the admiral's grandmother. Miss Brooks also makes delicious food, and she is happy to eat outside near a fire with Kizzy in the same way Kizzy did this with her grandmother. 

Here are a few text quotes to give you a flavour of this classic book which was first published in 1972.

"Mrs Blount had touched a sore spot; in Kizzy's family, as in some gypsy clans, a child is given three names: a secret one whispered by its mother the moment it is born and, when it is grown, whispered again into the child's ear; a private or 'wagon' name which is used only by its own people, and a third open name by which it is known to the world. Kizzy seemed only to have one, but that was because she was what they called her, a 'diddakoi', not all gypsy."

Kizzy does not know the date of her birthday. 

"There was another side to birthdays Mrs Blount did now know; the girls got you by your arms and legs and bumped you on the asphalt playground, once for every year, and they pulled your hair for the number of them with extra tugs 'to make your hair grow' and 'for luck'. ... but they did not like to touch her dirty boots so they tugged her hair instead, handfuls of her mop of dark curls. Kizzy had red patches on her scalp every day now and they ached at night."

The Didakoi won the Whitbread Award in 1972. Other winners that may be familiar to you were: The Battle of Bubble and Squeak by Philippa Pearce, The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Great Elephant Chase by Gillian Cross, Skellig by David Almond, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling, The Explorer by Katherine Rundell, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk by Natasha Farrant, The Skylarks War by Hilary McKay.

The Costa Book Award for Children's Book, formerly known as the Whitbread Award (1971–2005), was an annual literary award for children's books, part of the Costa Book Awards, which were discontinued in 2022, the 2021 awards being the last made. In 1976 the BBC made a television series based on this book and in 2002 it was released again with a new title and cover:

Just so you don't get confused I discovered that in1940 Rumer Godden wrote a novel for adults with the title Gypsy Gypsy. She wrote over twenty novels for adults and twenty-five books for children.

The Diddakoi made me think about The Present Takers by Aidan Chambers which contains terrible and vicious bullying. The Present Takers upset me so much it is not a book I could easily ever re-read. I am so glad I discovered The Didakoi and I especially loved the fairy-tale ending and touches of a love story but Kirkus roundly condemn it and so does this reviewer. 

I picked up The Diddakoi at a recent charity book sale. To my eye this book has stood the test of time and it is still available. I guess you need to make your own judgement about its appropriateness. As a child I loved books by Rumer Godden (1907-1998) and more recently I also enjoyed The Story of Holly and Ivy. 

The Fairy Doll

The Peach Thief by Linda Joan Smith

This was no place for a girl. And the longer she was here? 

The sooner they’d see that’s exactly what she was

Knowing I was travelling for over five hours on public transport yesterday I decided to add a few more books to my Kindle library. I started and ended the day reading the whole of The Peach Thief (384 pages) - such an engrossing story although at times the anticipation that something utterly dreadful was sure to happen to young Scilla Brown meant that regular intervals I had to 'close' my book and take a huge breath.

Scilla is an orphan living in the workhouse where food is scarce and the punishments are severe. She has one good friend - a girl named Emily but she has been taken away to work in a factory or in service. Then Scilla herself is taken by an older girl named Dora. Dora is a little bit like Fagan from Oliver Twist. She needs Scilla to assist her with petty crimes like shoplifting. Dora steals some rancid meat from a market stall and Scilla finds her dead under the bridge where they were sheltering through the night. Long ago Scilla tasted a peach. The beautiful sensation has never left her. She knows there are peaches in the manor house garden behind the high wall. 

She’d risk anything to taste a peach again, so ripe, so delicious— fit for a queen! And here was her chance, before her life spiraled back to the workhouse, her only choice now

Driven by hunger and her desire to find the fruit of her dreams, late at night she climbs over the wall but her feet are caught in an espaliered cherry tree and she falls to the ground and is caught.

Dora has dressed Scilla in boy's clothes and cut her hair short, so the head gardener Mr. Layton thinks she is a boy. She tells him her name is Seth Brown. Scilla is sure she will be sent straight to jail but someone she manages to convince Mr Layton that she can scrub the garden pots.  

She kept her voice low to match her boys’ cap and clothes, her shorn hair. A boy could blend in, get out of scrapes a girl might not, Dora’d always said.

The other workers seem somewhat suspicious of the newcomer so Scilla keeps her distance, but one young man seems friendly. Right from the beginning, to her absolute amazement, he helps her with her tasks. He is a very charming and very good looking fellow and gradually, as readers, we watch on as Scilla falls in love with him - but is he really being honest with Scilla and does he have some other motive for the advice her gives Scilla. Also it is a huge worry the way he invites her to join in his dangerous nighttime adventures especially when they involve stealing precious fruit from Mr Layton who has shown her nothing but kindness. 

Over time Scilla learns more and more about gardens and the wonders of turning tiny seeds in to fragile plants which then eventually provide delicious and abundant produce for the big housel. Mr Layton seems to take her into his confidence showing her the winter stored fruits and allowing her to study books from is extensive collection. He also gives her a special role on the day Prince Albert visits the greenhouses. All of this is wonderful but also dangerous because Phin, that handsome young gardener, is desperately jealous of these attentions. He is sure he is the one who will one day also become a head gardener. 

Nuanced, richly atmospheric, and exquisitely written. Kirkus Star review

Blurb from the author page: The night that workhouse orphan Scilla Brown dares to climb the Earl of Havermore’s garden wall, she wants only to steal a peach—the best thing she’s tasted in her hard, hungry life. But when she’s caught by the earl’s head gardener and mistaken for a boy, she grabs on to something more: a temporary job scrubbing flowerpots. If she can just keep up her deception, she’ll have a soft bed and food beyond her wildest dreams . . . maybe even peaches. She soon falls in with Phin, a garden apprentice who sneaks her into the steamy, fruit-filled greenhouses, calls her “Brownie,” and makes her skin prickle. At the same time, the gruff head gardener himself is teaching lowly Scilla to make things grow, and she’s cultivating hope with every seed she plants. But as the seasons unfurl, her loyalties become divided, and her secret grows harder to keep. How far will she go to have a home at last?

Here are some key quotes from The Peach Thief - the first ones are words that Scilla luckily remembers when she is in the worse position of her life accused of a series of crimes she did not commit. 

“An honorable man takes responsibility for his actions, you understand, no matter the consequences."

"You have to care about each plant ... the life and beauty in it. You have to give it what it needs to reach its full potential."

"It is our curiosity that leads us to new discoveries, to new opportunities, to what we most need to learn."

You can read some background to this story here. And Candlewick gives you the first seven chapters to sample on their webpage. There are some fun words in this book such as meddling fussock; as wick as the woods; gawped; summat; and Lorjus.

If you are looking for a character description to use as a writing model this one is great:

"The cook, Mrs Keckilpenny, was round as a teapot. Her skirts rose in the back each time she bent to check the black range at the front end of the low-ceilinged room, revealing red-and-black-striped stockings above her high-topped clogs. Her frilled cap, tied beneath her double chin, looked like a crimped crust around a great pink pie."

I had no idea there were so many varieties of peaches (back notes in The Peach Thief tells me there are 95) with beautiful names such as Royal George, Grosse Mignonne, Bellegarde. And the apples have names such as Ribston Pippins and Gravenstein. You will also read about the lengths these early gardeners went to, to grow exotic fruits like pineapples. 

Here in Australia you will have to be patient and wait to add this book to your library. The US edition published by Candlewick is way too expensive at over AUS$45+ but what I hope might happen is the book will be taken up by Walker Books in the UK and their copy will then come to Walker Books here in Australia and the price will come down. How this happens is a mystery to me, but I have seen this pattern with many other middle grade titles. The publisher says this book is for ages 8-12 but I think the love tensions, age of the protagonist and complex relationships mean it would be a better fit for ages 11+ and certainly a great read for younger High School readers. I absolutely adored this book from beginning to end. 

The Peach Thief is a debut novel for Linda Joan Smith. She has worked as a journalist specialising in writing about gardening. She mentions loving The Secret Garden as a child. 

Here are some of her favourite books that transport readers to other times and places - what a fabulous list:

• A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park
• Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
• Chains (and The Seeds of America Trilogy) by Laurie Halse Anderson
• Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Hello Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly
• Holes by Louis Sachar
• Okay for Now and The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt
• Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow
• The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak
• The London Eye Mystery and The Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd
• The Midwife’s Apprentice by Karen Cushman
• When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
• Wringer by Jerry Spinelli

Pablo and Birdy by Alison McGhee illustrated by Ana Juan

"I don't want any more fake stories ... I want my real story, the whole story. I only know the part that begins here, when we came floating in on the waves."

Before you read this book you might like to listen to Buena Vista Social Club - Chan Chan because this is the song that forms the background of Pablo's life with Emmanuel. 

As a tiny baby Pablo washed up on the beach of an island named Isla. The baby was in a small blow-up swimming pool with a lavender parrot. Fast forward and Pablo is turning ten. That day he arrived there had been a tropical storm with strong winds. The local weather reporter calls these 'the winds of change' and they haven't been seen on Isla for nearly ten years. According to local legend 'winds of change mean fortune lost or fortune gained'.  Pablo is about to turn ten. It is predicted the winds are coming. Pablo is upset with all the speculations about his origins. This birthday he is questioning everything, and he wants to know the truth. 

Pablo's best friend is Birdy. She is a parrot who washed up with him all those years ago and she is his protector, but she cannot fly and she cannot 'talk'. The tourist industry of Isla is built around another legendary parrot called the Seafaring Parrot or Seafarer. 

"Reported sightings of Seafarers were very rare, and only when the winds of change were blowing. ... But the most unusual trait of the Seafaring Parrots, according to legend, had to do with sound. Sounds exist in vibrations ... Humans with their unexceptional ears, could hear a sound at the moment it was made, and thereafter only in memory. But not the remarkable Seafaring Parrot. For them, all sound lived on for all eternity ... at any given moment a seafarer could hear and reproduce all the sounds ever made. The laughter of everyone who ever lived. The cries of everyone who ever lived."

Could Birdy be a Seafaring parrot? If she is, then she will be able to tell Pablo the true story of where he came from—of who tied him so lovingly and safely to that raft? But, if she is, that also means the second part of the Seafarer myth is true…that Seafaring Parrots will, eventually, fly away. Simon and Schuster

There are deeper themes in this book about migration and home and belonging:

"Emmanuel, why did you family leave Cuba? ... 'For the same reason that most people leave their hoe, Pablito ... To make a new life somewhere.' 'But why?' Padlo persisted. 'Why would anyone want to leave their home?' ... 'It's not always a question of want, my boy. Countries can be like families. Sometimes they argue with other countries, or the people in one country argue with each other. Things turn out bad. Life can feel impossible, whether because there's no way to make a living or there's war or, for whatever reason, they don't feel free."

I also loved the parallel story of the stray dog that Pablo eventually rescues. It always warms my heart when a dirty tangled haired stray is washed and fed and cared for. Alison McGhee gives her readers little fragments of the back story of this little dog but at the end we never really know how he came to be on Isla and how is arrival is at exactly the right time for Pablo.

A quiet, memorable, fantastical tale beautifully complemented by Juan’s illustrations.  Kirkus Star review

Above all things, this is a story with heart. Mountains of it. Pablo and Birdy are impossible not to love, and the townspeople are natural neighbors, which one wishes they could have. Pablo's search for answers, his attempts to save Birdy and the ache of discovering the truth make this an unforgettable tale. Bookworm for Kids

Here are some comprehension and vocabulary questions.

I read so many books one of my strategies to keep their plot lines clear in my mind is by try to avoid reading books with similar plot lines one after the other. With Pablo and Birdy I broke this rule - albeit unintentionally. My post yesterday talks about The What on Earth Institute of Wonder by Lisa Nicol. That book has so much in common with Pablo and Birdy:

• Both stories have a child who has be sent a special bird
• The child can communicate with their bird but others cannot
• The bird in both stories is rare and somehow living in the wrong place
• Spoken or unspoken the bird offers wisdom
• Both contain specific pieces of music
• Themes of rescue and belonging underpin both stories

I picked Pablo and Bird up at a charity book sale. It was published in 2017. It is still available. I probably won't keep this hardcover copy because I noticed it has become a little mouldy which is a shame. 

Companion books:

The Summer we found a Baby

Jubilee

Foxlight

The Midwatch by Judith Rossell

"Good gravy. What is actually going on here?"

"Holy mackerel"

Getting kicked out of one orphanage and being sent to another is absolutely the best thing that could ever have happened to Maggie. Yes, I did say the 'best thing'. Sister Immaculata delivers Maggie Fishbone to The Midwatch Institute for Orphans, Runaways and Unwanted Girls. 

Maggie's first impression is that this is a thoroughly dreadful place. I have emphasised some of the words in these quotes to give you an idea about this place:

"The woman frowned, let them in, the closed the door behind them with a heavy thud."

"They were wearing long, grey hooded cloaks, and they walked silently past with their eyes down."

"The gloomy organ music echoed around the hallway. Maggie could feel the sadness seeping into her like a trickle of cold water."

"The woman opened the door into a large, shadowy room full of tables and chairs."

"At the far end of the room was a platform, where an extremely tall lady, as upright as a ruler, was playing the organ. She had a grim expression and a black eye-patch and she wore an old-fashioned black gown that reached to the ground."

You now have an impression of The Midwatch but I have to tell you that you are entirely mistaken. Maggie Fishbone, Nell Wozniak and Sofie Zarescu - the three new girls - are all in for a huge shock. All of those sights and sounds from the first scene are designed to trick the outside world and especially people like Sister Immaculata. 

What is really going on in this place? How are the activities connected with the night monster - a creature that has been attacking people in the Northside of the city.  Why do the girls need to learn codes, German, fencing and even stranger subjects like Hiding and Observing? Why has the librarian Dr Entwhistle been hurt and where is Miss Fenechurch? Surely she was just using the library for innocent plant research. 

Judith Rossell is so skilled at world building and she also knows how to write about delicious food.

"The hot chocolate was rich and delicious and quite different from the watery cocoa they sometimes had at the orphanage."

"Maggie hesitated, then took the closest cake, which was shaped like a frog. It was sweet and crumbly and filled with strawberry cream. She finished it in three slightly messy bites."

"Maggie was very hungry, despite all the cakes. They filled their plates with stew, mashed potatoes and green peas."

"On Sundays, there was no morning bell and no lessons, and there were hot cinnamon waffles with maple syrup for breakfast."

If you look at my labels for this post you will see Steampunk because the world of this book is somewhere in the past and perhaps set in a city a little like London or maybe New York (there are two lions outside the library), but this place also has some modern technology and of course airships like the one you can see on the cover. Here is another illustration:

I don't usually quote cover endorsements but I totally agree with Jaclyn Moriarty:

"A cracking concept, sensational characters and absolutely smashing pictures. The Midwatch is the cat's pyjamas."

I can't recommend The Midwatch highly enough. Pop it on your Christmas shopping list and your school library wish list. If your school library buys the Standing Order service from Scholastic, or the Lamont Standing order, or the standing order from Pegi Williams then you will already have a copy of The Midwatch. Why not take it home to read over the Christmas break - you are sure to thoroughly enjoy this clever, page-turning story. And I love the way the publisher Hardie Grant has produced this book as a scrumptious textured hardback.

I am certain The Midwatch will feature in our 2025 CBCA Younger Readers award lists - Notable title and Shortlist and it would not surprise me if this book is even the winner!

POST UPDATE - This book didn't make the CBCA short list - I am so shocked and desperately disappointed for Judith Rossell. Today (6th May, 2025) I saw this book has now arrived in the US. It has a new cover, amended title and a glowing STAR review from Kirkus:

Cinematic, amusing, and exciting: a slightly subversive, 

delightfully empowering, all-around winner.

Australian review comments:

The biggest children's book of the year! The Midwatch is the long-awaited new middle-grade novel from internationally bestselling author–illustrator Judith Rossell. Readings Melbourne

... even the women running the Midwatch have their secrets and connections that nobody really knows about. This is a fun novel, because it uses the girl detective trope well, and plays with it. It allows the girls to be brave and doing things that nobody expects them to do whilst finding ways to blend in with the society. ... This amazing book is one that has something for all readers who come to this book, and is magical for all ages. The Book Muse

This is a rollicking adventure and mystery that has surprises on every page. Judith Rossell has again created an amazing world that you will easily get lost in. Maggie and her classmates are smart, funny and full of life and the Institute has such brilliant classes! A fast-paced and thrilling story that is sure to be a firm favorite, as the girls prove that they are not to be underestimated, and that friendship and trust and determination can overcome even the most scary situations. I absolutely loved this book and it will suit curious minds, 10 years and older. Lamont Books

Companion books:

Cogheart

The Unadoptables

Sweet Adversity

The Runaways of Haddington Hall

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Crookhaven The School for Thieves

Here are other books by Judith Rossell - she also did the splendid art in her book and I am lucky to own a small piece from Withering-by-Sea.

Withering-by-Sea

Wormwood Mire

Wakestone Hall

A Garden of Lilies