Flying Through Water by Mamle Wolo

We all grabbed bailing vessels. Thunder cracked, and lightning streaked across the sky like a celestial tree revealing its branches for a split second. I felt as though I were caught in a different dimension where death was as present as life, and everything was elemental and terrifying.

I thought about this world and the things we humans struggled for, and all the ways in which we imprisoned ourselves, and each other. It seemed to me that greed was just as much of a prison as poverty, only worse. Here I was alone on this island in the middle of nowhere, stripped of whatever meager possessions I had ever owned. And yet in nature’s heart I felt liberated and endowed with a splendor beyond anything humans could ever purchase. 

What greater wealth was there in this world than freedom?

This story is told in three parts. Sena describes his life in Ghana and his special relationship with is grandfather who tells him stories of his village life before the artificial creation of Volta Lake and the Akosombo Dam. Sena lives with his mother, sister and baby brother. They are very poor but he has been able to go to school. His education is not perfect and the teachers are often absent and they do beat the students but if he can sit the final exam there is the promise of further education and hopefully a better life for his family. But there is a young man who visits their village with promises to the young boys of work and money and perhaps even adventures. Sena is suspicious of this flashy man who they call 'Jack of Diamonds' and he has heard stories of boys sent to work with cattle - boys who are given little or no food and forced to work in dreadful conditions. Sena is determined not to follow this path but then his grandfather dies, his mother is gravely ill with malaria and his best friend declares he is heading away to work because he is sure the promises from 'Jack of Diamonds' are true. 

Sena loves his family and he really wants to help them so after his final exam he leaves a letter under his sister's pillow and he heads off - what he does not know is that this will be a journey into hell. So begins part two. Sena is taken to work as a slave for a cruel master catching fish and diving deep into treatrous waters to untangle the fishing nets. He is given virtually no food, he is beaten and the group of about ten boys are forbidden to talk to each other except about their tasks. Yes this is illegal human trafficking. Can Sena escape? Where will he go? What will happen if he is caught? He does befriend one of the boys and then that boy is killed - possibly murdered by their master - so now Sena must leave. He arrived at this place terrified of water and unable to swim. After several months of this cruel work he can now swim but he is still terrified of the dark water and the waves and he has not learned how to float. Part 3 is all about survival because he does find his way to a small deserted island with only monkeys for company but of course he must also find a way to get back to his family. He also carries huge guilt about the boys he left behind and he has made a new wonderful discovery of a special and rare underwater animal - the lake Manatee. The book ends with a sense of hope for the future for Sena himself but also for other trafficked boys and hopefully also for this very special wild creature who is also trapped in the waters of this lake.

Here are a few text quotes from this book:

Treatment by teachers: The humiliation hurt almost more than the lashes, but I hardened myself to it even though it upset me that the teachers beat us when they knew how hard our lives were. They knew we weren’t late out of laziness or what they called I-don’t-care-ism. But I got used to that too—the callousness of powerful people and the way they didn’t care what was fair.

Kekeli - a description: She had a round face, and when she smiled it was as if the distance between her lips and chin had been measured with a protractor and traced with a compass, their curves were so perfectly parallel. Her laughter was like that of a baby discovering funniness for the first time and too little to contain it. She could spark off the whole class.

Grandfather the storyteller: He said stories took us where our legs couldn’t go and showed us what our eyes couldn’t see, and that the best thing about books was that they were still there when storytellers were gone. I could see what he meant when I thought that one day, he wouldn’t be here to tell us stories anymore—a prospect I quickly banished. I loved his stories more than any I’d read in books.

Jack of Diamonds: Everyone was excited and following his every move, but something in me held back. I wondered if I was the only one to whom his mannerisms seemed somehow familiar, as if he’d studied them on someone else, like Shatta Wale or Burna Boy. Perhaps I was just being silly, but it made me uneasy that we couldn’t see his eyes, because he never took off his sunglasses. And it was amazing how he kept that black jacket on in this heat.

Publisher blurb: Sena treasures his life in rural Ghana-playing soccer, working the family farm, striving to do his best at school-but he is increasingly aware of his family's precarious security in the face of poverty. When an alluring gentleman comes to town to befriend local teenagers, offering promises of a better future, it only takes one more unsettling turn of events to send Sena into the clutches of human traffickers. Sena's ordeal, escape, and remarkable survival makes for a page-turning adventure of self-discovery and empowerment.

Searing and eye-opening, readers will devour Sena’s story in a day. School Library Journal

Wolo skillfully sheds light on the horrific practice of the trafficking of children, and the grim situations many are forced to live and work in—but she also tells a story of hope and perseverance. The vividly described settings include imagery that paints the scenes for readers as the story unfolds. A powerful look at human suffering and the will to survive. Kirkus Star review

Jack of Diamonds turns out to be a pied piper for a human trafficking network and thus, Sena finds that he has been sold into indentured labour to a fisherman who employs a motley crew of children, some as young as three, in a bid to compete with foreign trawlers working the Volta Lake. Cold and brutish, Sena’s master is a formidable antagonist, the like of which populates Dickensian novels, but the real villain here is the systemic poverty that has left intergenerational scars and threatens the possibility of a future for its under aged victims, who are malnourished, overworked, and constantly exposed to the risk of drowning. The Lagos Review

Fans of Hatchet and A Long Walk to Water will find Flying Through water an engrossing book. Sadly I have no idea how I discovered this book - I must have seen it recommended somewhere.

Listen to an audio sample here. This book only in hardcover so far is too expensive here in Australia (AUS$32.50) but I read a copy on a Kindle.

I recommend this moving and atmospheric story for readers aged 12+ especially those with an interest in social justice. Your senior students could also investigate the work of our Australian organisation that assists victims of modern slavery - The Freedom Hub.

I recently read this book which also explores the topic of human trafficking:

Stitched up

Ettie and the Midnight Pool by Julia Green illustrated by Pam Smy

I spied this book in Melbourne (Ladyhawke, Ivanhoe) and I recognised the author name but I couldn't think which book I had previously read. I was delighted to find it was House of Light. I said in that post that I would like to read more books by Julia Green but sadly I didn't really love Ettie and the Midnight Pool in the same way. I found the anger Ettie levels against her grandmother quite awful. I know Ettie is growing up and questioning the way her grandmother seems to set so many rules. Ettie is also desperate to know more about her absent mother and she wants her grandmother to acknowledge life is not like a story with a happy ending. In fact, when Ettie finds out that the famous myths and other classic stories her grandmother has told her do not have the endings her grandmother always shared and that these stories are actually filled with tragedy and sadness Ettie becomes even more determined to defy her grandmother.

Near their home there is a disused slate mine. Ettie is not supposed to venture beyond a certain point, and she is most definitely not allowed to swim in the lake at the bottom of the mine. I am sure you have worked out she breaks both of these rules and that her behaviour has dangerous consequences. Ettie is not alone though and perhaps she would not have been so defiant or attempted such dangerous activities if she had not met the mysterious Cora.

It would have been good to find a list of the famous stories referred to in Ettie and the Midnight Pool such as Pandora's box, Persephone and Demeter, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Icarus. Familiarity with these might help readers more deeply appreciate Ettie and the Midnight Pool. There are also references to Little Red Riding Hood (think of the cautionary tale) and The Incredible Journey by Shelia Burnford which is a book I loved as a child. I also wanted to know more about Ettie's absent mother. The story implies she cannot travel home because of Covid restrictions but there is also a hint that her mother has no plan to return and that she thinks Ettie should be raised by her grandmother. 

Readers aged 11+ might enjoy Ettie and the Midnight Pool. These reviewers all enjoyed this book (way more than I did) and you can click these for more plot details. 

Not everything is spelled out for the reader who is given space to form their own conclusions in this haunting, intriguing tale. There is a wonderful use of myth and traditional tales to underpin the message that you cannot, and should not, try to protect children from the dark side of life. We cannot fully appreciate the light without understanding the darkness that exists. Superbly descriptive writing, evocative illustration and psychological depth make this an unforgettable read. Love Reading4Kids 
This review also includes an interview with Julia Green (27 minutes).

'Powerful, haunting and incredibly atmospheric . . . told with all Julia Green's great skill and shot through with a vein of dark mystery. A truly special book' Nicola Davies

Enhanced by Pam Smy’s powerfully evocative illustrations, Julia Green’s wonderful descriptions of the countryside, in combination with intrigue and nail-biting moments, make this a mesmerising story that lingers in your mind long after you’ve set the book aside. Red Reading Hub

This would make the perfect read for those children who are thinkers, who want something different or special to read. Every class has them and it’s always a joy to have a gem like this to offer when they are ready for their next book! It is a wonderful, layered story, full of love, longing and life. Through the Bookshelf

Julia Green’s writing is always incredibly powerful – an ode to nature with a hopeful call to action. Ettie and the Midnight Pool is no different. Readers feel the rhythm of the earth – the peace, the heartbeat, the story of the land – as they think about their own place in it. From the freshness of the hay meadows to the oak trees to the iciness of the water, nature is enchanting and the most beautiful place to be. Scope for Imagination

Ettie and the Midnight Pool companion book:

October and October

Julia Green is an author of over twenty novels and stories for children and young adults. She has worked as a publicity assistant for a publisher, a library assistant, an English teacher, and is currently Emeritus Professor of Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. 

Our Pool by Lucy Ruth Cummins

Pure summer fun. Kirkus Star review

"Everyone is sweating, and smiling, and skip stepping toward ... OUR POOL."

"First stop is the locker room, where clothes come off lickety-split and swim suits go on luckety-spitter."

The pool is like "An ice-cold bowl of City People soup."

"You can feel TALL in the shallow end. And OH-SO-SHORT in the deep end."

This is a joyous, noisy, fun book with the most vibrant illustrations in bright Fluro colours. And the way the text is presented in capital letters it just begs to be read aloud.

While I was in Melbourne this week I took the opportunity to spend a couple of hours in the narrm ngarrgu Library which opened just one year ago. One of the books I read was Our Pool and it 'blew me away'. Click the LOOK button the publisher site to see inside this book. You can see all the pages in this video but do try to find the book to read to your group - that would be way better than just showing this video. 

Publisher blurb: On a hot day, people come from all over the city to spend the day at the pool in this joyful picture book that’s a love song to summer, the city, community, and staying cool! Today is a pool day in the city! The sun is shining, so what are you waiting for? Friends and family. Kids and grandparents. Big bodies and small bodies. Everybody is welcome at our pool! Get ready for swimming and splashing, zigzagging and dunking, and racing and laughing.

Image source NPR (listen to an interview with the author)

Lucy Ruth Cummins is an author, illustrator, and art director of children’s books. She was happily paired with Jean Reidy for both Truman, which was named a New York Times Best Children’s Book of 2019, and Sylvie. She is also the author-illustrator of Stumpkin, Vampenguin, Dalmartian: A Mars Rover’s Story, Our Pool, and A Hungry Lion, or A Dwindling Assortment of Animals. Lucy has swum in creeks, streams, gorges, rivers, swimming holes, pools (above- and in-ground), lakes (both Great and Finger), decorative fountains, and oceans. Her very favorite place to swim, however, is at her community pool in Brooklyn with her sons and her neighbors.

I will swim next time by Emily Joof illustrated by Matilda Ruta

"But when we went to the beach my tummy felt tight. I really wanted to try, but it still felt wrong inside. Definitely, possibly, perhaps I'd swim - next time."

So many of us here in Australia live near the coast. Other kids, who live further inland, are sure to have a beach holiday some time in their childhood, and rural kids often have access to rivers and lakes and of course their local town pool. This book is a beautiful and quiet exploration of the courage it takes to step into the water and swim for the first time. 

Here is a video of the author talking about her book. Emily Joof is from Gambia but she lived for a time in Sweden. Watch the trailer. This book is also an Empathy Lab title for 2024. 

I will swim next time was first published in Swedish with the title Det djupa blå.

The story offers a model for parents looking to quell children’s fears, support their dreams, and allow them room to grow. Given that many swimming pools have historically excluded African American communities and that Black children face an elevated risk of drowning, a narrative that spotlights a Black family reveling in the water is especially welcome. ... Gentle, inspiring, and important  Kirkus

This adorable, sweet book is all about reassuring little ones that they can take their time with things they feel nervous about, and that there’s no rush to get to grips with new experiences like swimming. Everyone will come to it in their own time, and Mum is happy to be patient and supportive. Book Trust

Here is a new Australian picture book which is the perfect companion read (I expect to see this one listed as a 2025 CBCA Early Childhood notable title). Read more here from Pip Harry. 

I'm jumping waves at the beach with Dad.

If they're small I can leap over their frothy peaks.

Easy!

But further out, when they're big, you have to duck dive under.

Maisie is learning about ocean swimming at the beach. The small waves are easy, but how will she know when to dive under the bigger ones? And will she be brave enough to try? Lucky Dad is there to help her.

Here are some very useful teacher resources for Over and Under by Dr Robyn Sheahan-Bright. There is a very comprehensive book list at the end of these notes with so many more books to explore on the topics of the beach and learning to swim including a favourite of mine Bear and Chook by the sea.

Bear and Chook by the Sea

Summer of Shipwrecks by Shivaun Plozza

Do you have a best friend? Is this friendship so important to you that you would try to change yourself to keep this friend? Is it possible to think of someone as your best friend when you only meet once a year for two weeks when your families visit a seaside campground? It is this last point that I found a little unlikely and yet this was the main driver of the plot - with Sid desperate to win the approval of Lou. 

Sid regards Lou as her best friend and so when Lou brings Hailey along this year it is clear things will be different. You have read this plot line before I am sure - once there were two friends and now there are three girls - is there a way they can all be friend. The annual holiday location is called Shipwreck Coast and Sid is totally caught up in the story of a shipwreck from years ago. 

"Since forever I've spent the last two weeks of summer holidays camping at Penlee Point, so I know about every shipwreck that's ever happened her. ... The Penlee set off form London ... March, 1879; there were fifty -four people on board; ... the Penlee hit a reef off Desperation Point and only took ten minutes to sink; the ship was carrying nineteen million dollars worth of treasure; ... only one person survived: Katherine Natpier."

Last summer Sid and Lou found a coin which surely must come from the ship's treasures. Sid has huge plans for her time with Lou but this year everything is different. Hailey just wants to sit on the beach. Hailey is 'cool' and she wears a bikini and she has her period. Hailey seems to know about boys - how to flirt with them and get their attention. None of this interest Sid but she feels she needs to change so she and Lou can go back to the way things were.

It has taken me a while to read this book mainly because instead of settling down and reading long sections I tended to read only 3-5 pages at a time. I was a little invested in the main character Sid but most of the time she really exasperated me. I just wanted to say 'please stop trying to please Lou because she is no longer noticing you'. 'Please be brave enough to be yourself'. 'Please stop making promises and telling lies so you can get back with Lou'. Lou is giving all her attention to Hailey and Lou in turn is letting Hailey manipulate her activities, taste, reactions to boys and especially her relationship with Sid. Growing up should not be this hard. Poor Sid. 

The suggested age for this book is 10+ but I think it might better suit 11+. Other reviewers really enjoyed this book:

Summer of Shipwrecks is a tender and poignant story of best friends growing apart, and the grief that accompanies this change. It’s also an exciting mystery of long-ago shipwrecks and lost treasure, and how life continues – even after incredible suffering. For me, a highlight is the relationship which slowly develops between Sid and her almost-stepsister, which vividly relates all the awkwardness, pain, and surprising moments of joy which can occur as two families become one. Readers ... who like contemporary, character-driven fiction will wholeheartedly enjoy this story. StoryLinks

ReadPlus review. Reading Opens Doors.

Here is an interview with the author and Joy Lawn for Paperbark Words. There is a link to a set of teachers notes for Summer of Shipwrecks on the UQP page but in my view this is not a book I would use for class study - it feels more like a book to be read privately by a girl who is either at the end of Primary School (Grade 6) or just beginning High School. 

If your readers enjoy this book, I would recommend these companion books especially Junonia which follows very similar themes of change and growing up and summer holidays and altered expectations. 

Shouting at the rain (5 stars from me)

Junonia (5 stars from me)

The first summer of Callie McGee

You could also look for a couple of older books - Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord (2014); and Takers and Returners by Carol Beach York (1974).

Just before I left for the IBBY Congress in Trieste a parcel arrived from UQP (University of Queensland Press).  I simply didn't have time to read the two books which were released 3rd September - Summer of Shipwrecks The Lost History by Melanie La'Brooy. The Lost History is a sequel to The Wintrish Girl but with over 430 pages I won't be ready to talk about this one for a week or two. 

I previously read this book by Shivaun Plozza:

Meet me at the Moon Tree

Summer of the Gypsy Moths by Sara Pennypacker

Due to complex circumstances Stella and Angel find themselves living with Louise. Louise is Stella's great aunt and Stella has been sent there while her mother sorts out her dysfunctional life. Angel is a foster kid and this is her sixth placement. Louise is tough with the girls but she is also quietly very caring. The problem is Stella and Angel are like oil and water - they just cannot seem to get on at all - but that is going to need to change because as the story opens Stella arrives home from school to find Louise has died during the day.

The setting for this story is Cape Cod. Louise lives in a house beside a set of four holiday cottages. It is her job to manage the bookings and clean the cottages all through the summer. Stella dreams that one day soon her mother will arrive. Her mother will be magically transformed into a perfect mom and the three of them can all live happily together. But now Louise has died. Mom is far away. The first summer visitors are about to arrive. Angel has a plan to run away. She has an aunt who is working hard to secure a job and a home for Angel but all of this is taking a long time. 

George Nickerson owns the holiday cottages. In the 1940s his parents set them up. They are completely identical, small and very basic but also perfect for families looking for a summer beach holiday. Stella and Angel have not phoned 911and they do not tell George about Louise. Instead they pretend she is just unwell and over the coming weeks, after burying her body, the two girls take on all the summer holiday cottage chores. 

Stella loves these tasks because she craves order and cleanliness. Angel has absolutely no idea about even the most basic things, even though she is older, because for almost her whole life she has lived in care. Stella, on the other hand, has had to manage money, cooking and washing over all the years she and her mother have moved from place to place. Luckily, Stella also has a special guide book or set of advice columns collected by her beloved grandmother. These clippings from magazines and newspapers are called 'Hints from Heloise'. 

Reading this book you know there will have to be a crisis. Two young girls cannot bury someone in a garden. Surely someone will notice Louise is missing? And George has a dog who seems very interested in the freshly dug pumpkin patch. The food has run out and the shops are many miles away. 

Over the coming days our local Lifeline branch here in Sydney Australia are holding their charity Book Fair. I adore attending these because there are always so many book treasures and the kids books are usually SO cheap! Today I picked up a terrific selection from baby board books, nursery rhymes, picture books, junior novels and a few middle grade titles. Most are destined as presents for various children but a few I purchased just for me. What a discovery - Summer of the Gypsy Moth ($3).

If you are curious about the title - the gypsy moth is an invasive species and one of the battles Stella has to fight is to save Louise's precious blueberries from this leaf eating pest. 

I love the way Stella (and Sara Pennypacker) think about the things that are often missing from books:

"One thing about any books I'd write - you would be reading about the cleaning-up parts of scenes. It drives me crazy how characters are always making messes and then the author doesn't tell about cleaning them up. Everybody eats dinner in books, but nobody does the dishes. People wrestle around in the mud and have accidents with blood, and nobody does the laundry. I just hate that."

I am a huge fan of Sara Pennypacker so when I saw this book - in hardcover, with a dust jacket - I popped it straight into my shopping cart. When I arrived home I had some reading time. I am in the middle of the third book in the Five Realms series by Kieran Larwood but I decided to dip into Summer of the Gypsy Moths first. You may have guessed that I ended up reading the whole book in one sitting.

If you are looking for a terrific book for a reader aged 10+ (and a book for yourself too) try to find Summer of the Gypsy Moths - this is a heart-felt story with tiny touches of humour and fabulous tension that I highly highly recommend. 

As a librarian I’m always on the lookout for good middle grade books I can booktalk to kids. Often you don’t need an exciting cover or title to sell a book to kids. Heck, sometimes you don’t even need to show the book at all. Yet in the case of Sara Pennypacker’s debut middle grade novel Summer of the Gypsy Moths I fully intend to show the cover off. There you see two happy girls on a seashore on a beautiful summer’s day. What could be more idyllic? I’ll show the kids the cover then start right off with, “Doesn’t it look sweet? Yeah. So this is a book about two girls who bury a corpse in their backyard by themselves and don’t tell anyone about it.” BLAMMO! Instant interest. Never mind that the book really is a heartfelt and meaningful story or that the writing is some of the finest you will encounter this year. School Library Journal Betsy Bird

The unfolding story is both deliciously intense and entertaining. Kirkus Star review

This book was first published in 2012 but I looked at an online book seller here in Australia and it seems to still be available but the paperback is AUS$26 so hopefully you might find a copy in a library. Listen to an audio sample which begins in Chapter One. Here is an alternate cover (which I do not like). 

Companion reads:

Recommended by Betsy Bird (SLJ review) 

Love, Aubrey

Waiting for Normal

One for the Murphys

Small Mercies

Missing May

Check out some other books by Sara Pennypacker I have talked about here in the blog. She is such a talented writer:

Pax and Pax Journey Home

Waylon

Sparrow Girl

Leeva at Last

The Crocodile who Didn't like Water by Gemma Merino

Do not rush into this book - turn the first pages slowly. You will see a basket of eggs. Nearly all of them are blue but wait one is white. Then on the next page the basket is picked up by a large crocodile wearing red ankle length lace up boots. 

"Once upon a time, there was a little crocodile. And this little crocodile didn't like water."

He watches his brothers and sisters swimming but he would rather climb a tree. Little crocodile saves his money from the tooth fairy and he buys a rubber swim ring but this doesn't really solve his problem. Little crocodile just does not fit in and he is growing way bigger than the others. Then one day he sneezes a huge sneeze and wow - he breathes fire. 

Now turn to the final end paper - a dragon wearing red rubber boots is reading a book "The Dragon who didn't like Fire" and she has her basket of eggs - nearly all of them are white but tucked in you will spy one blue egg. What will happen next?

There are a lot of picture books with a similar theme or focus to this book - The Crocodile who didn't like Water.  These are questions all children ask at some time:

Where do I fit in?

Why am I different from ... ?

What is special about me?

Is this really my family?

I found this list of 25 themes in Children's literature and quite a few of them apply to this book:

Family Relationships; Accepting Differences; Bravery and Courage; Self-Concept; Perseverance and Persistence; and Growing Up. 

Every element of the picture book is in play here -- endpapers that foreshadow the big reveal and cheekily suggest an epilogue; touches of red in the largely green world that mark our hero as an outsider (viz. his tiny red rubber boots); page design that makes us feel his loneliness; emotion-steeped characters whose dot eyes convey trepidation, shock, joy, tentativeness, exhilaration; just enough typographical shenanigans; a pared-down text with one perfect neologism.  Horn Book

This book is filled with humour, but it is touching as well. It is one of those books that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling and a smile on your face. 'The Crocodile Who Didn't Like Water' is a beautiful story about finding your own wings. It is perfect for children who feel like they just don't fit in. It shows them sometimes being like everyone else isn't the most important thing. Sometimes you just need to stretch your wings and be yourself. Book Bag

You can see Gemma talking about her book. Here are the three other books in this series by Gemma Merino:

The most obvious comparison book to go with The Crocodile who didn't like Water is The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Andersen. 

Here are some other books to explore:

Happy Hippo

Little Platypus

The Ugly Duckling

Little Nelly's Big Book

Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin illustrated by Alan Lee

 

In 2020 the CBCA slogan Curious Creatures Wild Minds neatly matched with the book Where the Wild things are.  Someone posed the question a few weeks ago asking for a single book which could be used to explore the theme this year (Old Worlds, New World, Other Worlds) and so I have been thinking about this.  Last night I had a light-bulb moment and thought of a couple of perfect books. The Mirrorstone is one of these. This links also with a post I shared yesterday exploring books which involve a time slip or movement through a portal to another world.

The Mirrorstone by Michael Palin is from 1986 and of course it is out of print but it is sure to be in many school libraries - at least I do hope it is.  This is such a wonderful book to read aloud and I would suggest you could use it with any primary class from Grade 3 up to Grade 6. This book contains amazing holograms by Light Fantastic which add an extra, very appealing layer to the beautiful art by Alan Lee. 

Paul is home alone late one afternoon. He looks in to the bathroom mirror and sees something strange.

It is not his own face which is looking back at him. He reaches out and touches the mirror and finds himself transported to different world. 

"The bathroom he knew so well began to disappear, the light became brighter, the wind blew stronger and the next moment Paul found himself, blinking, in the middle of a strange city. It was full of towers topped with flags which swirled in the breeze. He recognised nothing and no one. It was like a picture in a history book."

Paul is a good swimmer but what he doesn't know is that someone needs his skill. This man has seen Paul. His name is Salaman and his purposes are quite sinister. 

"The man's hair was long and matted as though it hadn't been washed for years. His face was lined and wrinkled, as if he'd been through a dozen lifetimes, but the eyes that stared at Paul were bright and piercing."

"I am, in my humble way, a genius. I have spent my lives studying glass, reflections ... mirrors... the movement of light on surfaces, and I have in my researches discovered the formula for the perfect mirror. A mirror that would show people themselves as they really are. Outside and inside."

Salaman shows Paul a globe. Looking into the globe Paul can see an underwater world. There is an amazing stone that looks luminous. Salaman wants this stone. 

Paul is terrified. He runs out the door and away down the street but he doesn't see the gleaming puddle in the alleyway. As he steps into the puddle he finds himself sinking into the underwater world he had seen in the globe. He sees a palace and swims inside and into air. There is a window and he can see Salaman looking at him. Paul is somehow inside the globe he saw in the old man's room.  Paul is ordered to dive back into the water and retrieve the stone but just as he reaches it the whole rock comes to life. It is an enormous sea monster. Paul is held down and your young reading companions will be holding their breath as Paul struggles to reach the air. Paul does retrieve the Mirrorstone but when Salaman looks into it he does not see the face of a genius. In shock Salaman drops the globe and it smashes onto the floor. Paul is set free. 

I have read this book to groups of students for over 30 years. It takes two sessions but I love to leave the group of listeners desperate to hear the ending. Michael Palin (yes the famous one) has written a wonderful story which I think perfectly matches the 2021 CBCA slogan. 

Mr. Palin has done a splendid job, but the real hero of this enterprise is Alan Lee, the illustrator. His carefully researched, intricately detailed watercolors are just right for illustrations that must be naturalistic enough to complement the images in the hologram. New York Times

Here is the blurb from the back cover of the book:

"The first time Paul saw it was at the swimming baths. The face staring at him from the mirror wasn't his own. Then, at home, even stranger things began to happen and so began an enthralling looking-glass adventure of time, space and imagination."

When this book was released it was one of a pair designed by Richard Seymour.  I read have also been reading The Minstrel and the Dragon Pup to groups of students for over thirty years.