This is a book with so many plot twists I found myself gasping over and over again. Lucy Willow lives with her mum, dad and baby brother (Lucy names him Stench but his real name is Zac) in a train carriage. They had been living in a high-rise apartment building but mum wanted a garden and dad didn't like heights. Dad also loved trains so when he saw an advertisement to buy a real train carriage which had been fitted out like a house it seemed like the perfect solution. Of course, things are never that simple and when the family move in the train is still running but they are able to work around the train timetable and Dad can get to work in the city and Lucy can go to school in the little village of Maldon-in-the-marsh.
Luckily for the family the train is sold which means it no longer moves back and forth between Liverpool Street Station and the village but the new owners need the family to move the train carriages off their track. Just as all of this happens dad loses his job so now they have no money.
Meanwhile in her class, Lucy and the other children are growing sunflowers. Lucy discovers she has a magical gift with a mysterious sounding name of green fingers. No her fingers are not green but any plants that she touches seem to grow extraordinarily quickly. Naturally because she is a child, a mere eight-year-old girl, no one will listen to her or believe her. But they do need to listen because dad now has a part time job at the local garden centre as an accountant and there is a big wedding coming up in the village with a famous football (soccer) player and the rival garden centre is run by crooks who will stop at nothing to stop the Peppercorns and their nursery supplying the flowers.
Meanwhile there is a delicious extra thread in this story featuring the nasty and corrupt school principal Mrs Sparks. Spoiler alert - when Lucy saves the day it is wonderful to see this horrid woman get her just desserts.
Here is the book seller blurb: 'There were three things that marked out Lucy Willow as different. The first was that she lived on a train. The second was that she had a snail called Ernest as a pet. And the third, the most important of all, was that she had green fingers.' It's Lucy's green fingers that save the day when Silverboots McCoy the famous footballer and his girlfriend Blossom B order flowers for their wedding - for Ricky Sparks, who runs the rival garden centre, will stop at nothing to get the contract for himself. ... Lucy Willow has all Sally Gardner's soaring imagination, enchanting humour and great heart, and is rich in scenes and characters that readers will adore and remember.
My friend asked me to read this book, which was published in 2006, to decide it she should keep it in her library. We have both read and enjoyed other books by Sally Gardner (see below). I am always thrilled when asked to read a book for two reasons. Firstly, it means she trusts my judgement and that's a huge honour and secondly it means I read the book a little more carefully knowing I have to make informed comments.
You can see I have given Lucy Willow five stars because as an adult reader I really enjoyed this story but I am going to say this book could move out of the library now partly because it is a little old-fashioned and very English (some of the references might be confusing for an Australian child). The children who use this library are aged 4-7 and with 214 pages this book might seem a little too long. There are twenty-nine very short chapters and the story does simply rock along at a perfect pace rather like an old steam train but it has not been borrowed for over four years. The copy is not in very good shape and, as with most older paperbacks, the pages are no longer white. My copy has the purple cover which is perhaps also not especially appealing. You can preview parts of the text here.
Here are some review comments:
'A great read. In 29 short chapters we escape to a world saved by a triumphant young horticulturalist and her eccentric and likeable family. Bailey's simple sketch illustrations, lightly sprinkled throughout the book, help to depict the rich array of characters.'
'a delightful story, full of juicy characters... the warm style'
'lively and intriguing... A rollicking read, with lots of twists and turns that will thrill younger readers.'
I do have some good news. This book is available as an ebook and also as an audio book (you can hear chapter one) and I do think, even though it is very English, it would be enjoyed in a family as a nighttime read aloud or on a car journey where you could all enjoy the audio version.
Here are the perfect companion books:
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