The Bag of Bones by Vivian French

There is trouble stirring in the five kingdoms with the arrival of Truda Hagnail and the Deep Magic she practices. Deep Magic has long ago been outlawed but Truda has ambitions to become the Queen of Waddington or even the ruler of all five kingdoms. We first met Gracie Gillypot in Robe of Skulls. When we left that story Gracie had moved in with the Crones along with her faithful friend a troll called Gubble. For the first time in her life she found kindness and good food.

As Gracie begins her newest adventure Gubble finds some berries. “Gracie stopped and picked a handful … she was pleased to find the berries tasted of chocolate cake. She had eaten them before, and knew they had a delightful habit of tasting exactly like her favourite foods. The first time she had taken the journey to the House of the Ancient Crones she … had the same kind of berries to eat – but at that time Gracie had only eaten potato peelings or porridge skin, and the glories of the berries had almost passed her by.”

Gracie has set off because early one morning a quill pen starts writing messages on the wall of her room and even the house itself seems intent on sending Gracie on a mission to find the source of the Deep Magic and thus save the Kingdom.

Gracie cannot do all this alone, of course. Once again she is assisted by the bat Marlon and his nephew Alfie, along with Prince Marcus and another trueheart girl called Loobly. It is Loobly who has a very special destiny which I will not disclose except to say you might like to think about Cinderella when you are reading this second installment in the Tales from the Five Kingdoms.

This is a series that you need to read in order but I did enjoy The Bag of Bones and now look forward to reading Heart of Glass. In the third book I am sure there will be a little more of the developing romance between Gracie and Marcus. The other aspect of this series which I have enjoyed is the way Vivian French has alternating plots and viewpoints in each chapter. This device certainly keeps the reader on his or her toes and means, for me at least, that I need to read these books quite quickly so I can keep track of all the characters - good, evil, human and animal.

Midnight is a place by Joan Aiken

“So how you can you teach people not to worry?’ ‘You ask some large size questions’ .. ‘You can do it in two ways. … Either you make their lives so much better that they don’t have to worry – or you teach them that worrying doesn’t help, but is only a waste of time.’ … ‘I think both ways together would be best,’ said Anna-Marie. ‘For some people will always be worrying – if only about whether the soup is going to be thick enough or the milk will go sour. So you make them comfortable and you tell them not to unquiet themselves.”

Wisdom like this abounds in Midnight is a Place by Joan Aiken. This is another old book from our library collection. We have disposed of this copy but re-reading it over the last two days has convinced me to purchase a new copy. It was first published in 1974 but Joan Aiken is such a skilled writer this book must be considered a classic.

If you are an adult reader who loved Oliver Twist and other novels by Charles Dickens then you will want your child to read Midnight is a Place. The only difficulty for a young reader might be the phonetic spelling Aiken uses for the various English and French accents but I am sure with a little perseverance a young reader will manage these. The Secret Garden is one possible way to introduce this way of writing.

Lucas has lost both his parents and has been sent to live with his guardian Sir Randolph who is a drunken gambler. Sir Randolph fraudulently won the estate of Midnight Court following a wager many years earlier. As the story opens Lucas has been living in this house for two years with only his tutor, Mr Oakapple, for company. It is Luc’s birthday tomorrow and as he looks forlornly out the window he sees a carriage arrive containing a young French girl. Before Lucas can discover why this girl has been sent to Midnight Court or exactly how she is connected to the family, he is taken down to the mill.

The mill is a carpet factory. It is an incredibly dangerous place. “It was not so much that the sights were frightening, though some were that; but they were so strange, so totally unfamiliar compared with anything that he had ever seen before; the shapes and movements of the machines were so black, quick, ugly, or sudden; the noises were so atrociously loud, the heat was so blistering, the smells so sickly, acid or stifling.” The most awful part is the pressing machine. The carpets are spread out under a great metal slab. Very young children work as snatchers. They must quickly run onto the carpet before the press falls to remove any fluff or dirt. Just prior to Lucas’s arrival a young child has been killed.

The grimy town, factories, unions and poverty are reminiscent of North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell and Lyddie by Katherine Paterson or Bread and Roses, too.
Lucas and Anna-Marie do have a special destiny but before this can be fulfilled both will be in great danger. Lucas will be forced to work as a tosher looking for treasure in the underground sewers. These scenes are so vividly explained you will feel the claustrophobia, smell the stench and hear the rats and hogs as they charge after human flesh. Meanwhile Anna-Marie will go to work at the carpet mill where she will experience some of the horrors I just described first hand. Luckily both children will find some true friends and their good sense, kindness towards one another and ingenuity will save the day.

I highly recommend Midnight is a Place. You can read more of the plot here. Also there was a television series.

Angel Creek by Sally Rippin

Angel Creek is a very powerful book. No part of the plot developed as I predicted. Sally Rippin made me feel as though I was down at the creek. "They crept through Nonna's vegetable patch, ducking between the tomato plants lined up like rows of watchful soldiers.... on the other side of the fence it was dark... the party seemed miles away, drowned out by the rushing water and the whispering of the peppercorn trees... There had been rain in the last few days and the creek was flowing fast. All the rubbish from the suburbs was pushed up onto the banks or caught up in the reeds."

As the three cousins explore the creek in the early evening they discover an angel. "There in the shallow depths was a pale, pale, child with glass-like eyes ... and long white hair that billowed like clouds. It rocked gently under the water, a thin white dress caught up around its knees. And it had wings."

One of these wings is badly damaged and so the children decide to move the angel to the shelter of an old shed on the school grounds. Their journey is made more hazardous by the presence of local bullies and the threat of discovery.

The next day is Christmas Day, it is Summer, it is very hot but the children's elderly Nonna has been rushed to hospital. Life has been turned upside down. With no presents and no celebration the three cousins are left to fend for themselves. There is something strange going on. A series catastrophes seem to befall the family - a smashed car, the baby becomes ill and an old loved tree crashes to the ground.

This book is mainly a story about transitions and the focus is on Jelly. She is in Grade Six and about to head off to High School. She has had to leave her Primary school friends behind as the family have moved into a new house in a different part of town. Jelly also needs to make sense of her extended family and think about relationships especially with her cousins.

It is not often I specify an audience for a book but I do think Angel Creek is really only suitable for girls in senior classes. Take a look at this review. After reading Angel Creek you must read Skellig by David Almond (and then see the movie) and Unfinished Angel by Sharon Creech. Then look at books by Catherine Bateson which are about growing up such as Being Bee and The Wish pony. Also take a look at Cicada Summer and Junonia which are also books about growing up and change.

If you want to know more about Angel Creek here is another detailed review.

Library Lil by Suzanne Williams illustrated by Steven Kellog

In my last two blog entries I talked about how Maisy finds the book she needs, Nicholas discovers the wonder of books and now in Library Lil by Suzanne Williams we read about the importance of libraries in a community.

As a child Lil is a keen reader and library user. When she grows up she becomes a librarian but the people of Chesterville are not avid readers. Television is their favourite form of entertainment. Then one night a massive storm destroys all the power poles. Lil pushes her bookmobile up and down the streets and by the end of the night everyone is reading a book by candle light. The electricity is off for two weeks – just long enough for everyone to become hooked on books. Now for the twist. Bust-em-up Bill and his motorcycle gang ride into town. Bill likes to watch television on Tuesday nights but there is no television in the bar. This obviously means Lil and Bill are headed for a confrontation.

Steven Kellogg adds wonderful illustrations to this book. I have been a fan of his work ever since I read The Rattlebang Picnic by Margaret Mahy.

There are two little videos here about using library shelf markers and book care along with some lesson ideas.

Nicholas at the library by Hazel Hutchins illustrated by Ruth Ohi

A few things happened when I read (re read actually I bought this book in Canada in 1994 and my copy has an author signature) this book. Firstly I have been thinking about the culling or weeding we recently did in our school library. While I know we need space and bulging shelves are not attractive I also hate the idea of removing gems from our collection. While I was thinking about this I heard a radio program about the culling that recently occurred in a University library. The speaker described how libraries are places where it is fun to simply discover things. If everything is in a stack or only available if you know the title then you cannot serendipitously stumble upon treasures. His arguments related to research but I think this is equally true for fiction and for young library users.

This is the process described in Nicholas at the Library. Nicholas and the head librarian randomly search through the library discovering all sorts of wild tales.

Nicholas is not keen on the library at all. He loves to build forts so while his mother is occupied in a different part of the library, Nicholas piles up books from the A, J and O sections. As he moves twelve books from the O section he spies a little chimpanzee “the kind that could ride in a pencil case or bathe in a cereal bowl.” Nicholas tell his mother but she takes no interest, he tells the check-out man but he cannot deal with items that do not have a book card so finally Nicholas tracks down the head librarian.

She is sitting on a pile of books on top of her desk reading a book. What a delightful image. The head librarian immediately recognizes that this is a lost story-kind of chimpanzee. She shows Nicholas a magic ring and together they embark on a wild adventure through the pages of books like Robinson Crusoe, Goldilocks, and more. “They raced through Christmas books. They climbed mountains and drove trucks and rode in covered wagons. They sailed through ocean books. They sped through books of colour and shape. They traversed whole alphabets and went to bed 127 times. Some books felt scary the moment Nicholas jumped into them, and others were like a hot summer day, or a song, or the smell of pepper.”

It seems they might not be able to find the right book in time. Nicholas even wonders if the book they need has been checked out or discarded! Naturally enough they do find the right book which they then settle down to read together. Thank goodness it had not been discarded.

Maisy goes to the library by Lucy Cousins

At this time of year my thoughts turn to school and the return of the children to our school library. I have my own little collection of ‘library’ related picture books.

Maisy goes to the library by Lucy Cousins tell us three things about libraries. In a library you can, of course, find books but more than this you can find THE book to perfectly match your interest. You can find your book because libraries are organized in a special way! Libraries are great places where you can do so many things. Maisy and her friends attend a uproarious storytime. Finally, when you have a book, you need a quite place to sit and read. I especially love the description of the book Maisy finds. “Aquarium? That’s it! So Maisy looked by the aquarium … and that’s exactly where she found a book about fish …and it was sparkly!”

If you would like to find other books about libraries take a look at this list.

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

I am having a great time re-reading titles I have recommended for years. Today I read Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson first published in 2001. I find it interesting the way the human brain works. My memory of this book mostly related to the journey along with Amazon River on the Arabella but that happens right near the end of the story. I had completely forgotten about Maia’s time with the awful Carter family.

Maia has lost both her parents which is really a sad beginning, but she is not a penniless orphan. Her guardian is managing her money, there is plenty, and she is attending a prestigious and comfortable boarding school, so all is well but as the story opens all this is about to change. Mr Murray, her guardian, has found some distant relatives. Adding to this shock Maia is told this family live in Brazil on the Amazon River near the town of Manaus. The family, the Carters, consist of a mother, father and twin girls called Beatrice and Gwendolyn. Maia imagines exotic adventures, wild animals and fun with two friendly girls. For the reader, though, Eva Ibbotson has put in some subtle warning signs, and we know her imaginings are about to be shattered.

The twins are diabolical; the father is reclusive with a repugnant hobby collecting false eyeballs and the mother is obsessive about insects and disease. Eva Ibbotson is such a powerful writer I felt at times I could even smell this house in the Amazon with all the insect sprays and perfumes. “All the windows were covered in layers of mosquito netting and the shutters were kept partly closed so that the rooms were not only hot but dark. ... There were no pictures, no flowers. The smell of Lysol was overpowering.”

Maia is a friendly girl and her ability to make loyal friends is an important key to her survival and ultimate success. Her companion is a mysterious lady called Miss Minton but once again Eva Ibbotson gives the reader just enough little hints that we know Miss Minton is kind and very wise and if she is keeping secrets from Maia it is for a very good reason. Maia also makes friends with a young boy called Jimmy or Clovis who has been kidnapped in England and forced to join a troupe of travelling show people. Her other important friend is Finn Taverner. His father has recently died. Finn’s mother was from an Indian tribe called the Xanti. All these characters and others are connected and that is the part of this story I enjoyed the most.

Reading this splendid book again I am very happy I have been recommending it for over ten years. If you love adventure, you love stories where all the little pieces neatly fit together at the end but in ways you simply would not have guessed then this is a book you must read. I do not rate books but I would give Journey to the River Sea ten out of ten. I was interested to read President Obama gave this book as a gift to his daughters (it is a book boys can read too). I now need to read Little Lord Fauntleroy to make even more connections.

I have put several covers on this post because I really like the butterfly one, but our library copy is the blue one. If you want to see a really sweet video click here. I alsonfound some discussion questions for teachers. If you need to see more of the plot or read some reviews click here.