Marigold and the Dark is the second book in this series which began with Left Shoe. I have read the whole series previously but when I spied Marigold and the Dark at a recent charity book sale I decided I would like to revisit the sweet little world of the Seadogs.
Jacket flap blurb: "Nearly a year has passed since Marigold first came to live with the Sandburrow family. Everything would be perfect if only she wasn't so afraid of the dark. One day, Marigold begins a journey that leads right into the territory of a strange looking Mr Many Coats. And he isn't the only strange thing Marigold encounters. How is it that the youngest pup in the Sandburrow family knows about things before they happen?"
The youngest member of the Sandburrow family is Sea Gem. All Seadogs are twins and they are named after their birth using floatsom washed up on the beach. Sadly in the first book Left Shoe's twin has died but Marigold and "they started to think of her as one of their very own pups. She had become Left Shoe's favourite, of course, and even though she wasn't his real twin, she was always at his side."
Sea Gem "was named for a piece of glass, smoothed by sand, roughened by the sea. Her eyes were the colour of the ocean and she was completely white." Her twin is Tumblegrass. Knowing Sea Gem is white is important because later we will read that white Sea Dogs can often foretell the future.
Left Shoe and Marigold are sent to the local market. Their parents - Old Cork and Blue Bottle - only offer one important piece of advice. The young pups need to be careful goannas. Goannas like to eat Seabog pups and they are skilled tricksters who can use hypnotism. I am sure you are anticipating a disaster.
"Left Shoe began to gaze into their inky spheres without knowing why. He mind felt feather light, as if he were on a soft cloud. He was sleepy but he wanted to keep staring into the glistening eyes, as shiny as wet stones."
Marigold and the Dark has just the right amount of tension and it would be a terrific book to read aloud in a family to children aged 7+. You might be luck and find books from this series in your school or local library. If you are fan of cosy little worlds such as Brambly Hedge you are sure to enjoy this series.
Many schools here in NSW Australia use a fairly prescriptive writing program called Seven Steps to Writing. I am not at all convinced that it produces creative or even interesting writing by children but a couple of days ago some one asked for a book like this on a Facebook forum:
We are doing narratives this term so would love some good examples of sizzling starts, backfill, tightening tension (series of events that grows in suspense and complexity), exciting endings etc.
All of this from one book? And for Grade Five? Probably impossible but in terms of tension Marigold and the Dark has some wonderfully tense scenes. This is such a short book with only 72 pages so if you can find a copy it could be used with a younger grade as an example of effective ways to build tension in a story.
Here are some text quotes:
"Are you afraid of the dark? I'm not. I don't know why, but to me the dark is like a soft cloak. I feel safe there, hidden from danger, veiled from the curious gaze of strangers. But there is someone I know who used to be absolutely terrified of the dark."
Questions - who is the narrator? Marigold is the focus of this story - is she the character who is afraid of the dark? If she is terrified of the dark who is telling her story?
"Had she been asleep for long? The last thing she remembered was the nice leathery gentleman looking into her eyes. Now she wasn't on the beach any more but somewhere else entirely. There was a dreadful stench in that airless place ... She was trapped, a prisoner in the dark!"
"The creature was laying wood for a fire. More lizards came into view. They laughed silently. ... It was the laugh of the goanna that his mother had warned him about!"
There are two more books to read in the Seadog Adventure series and I would also pair this book with another older Australian book (sadly also out of print).
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