The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen by Deborah Abela

 

This is the second time I have read this book and the second time I have talked about it here on my blog. After I read Deborah Abela's latest book - The Book of Wondrous Possibilities -  I had my eye out for The Remarkable Secret of Aurelie Bonhoffen which I read back in 2010. By chance I spied a copy at a recent charity book sale and it was only $2. I am happy to say, though, this book is still in print so you can buy a copy for yourself, your reading companion and your school library. It may already be there because it was a CBCA Notable in 2010.

I suggest you begin by reading my previous post. In this new post I am just going to quote some of the text to give you a flavour of this wonderful rich writing:

Lucien B Crook (the aptly named villian): "His black hair was waxed into a neatly coiffed wave and sat obediently beneath a stiff hat. He stood tall. Some might have described him as good-looking. His trim face was cleanly shaven except for a pencil-thin moustache drawing a neat line beneath his tapered nose."

Take a minute to think about the word choices used here by Deborah Abela: coiffed, obediently, stiff, pencil-thin, tapered nose. 

Mrs Sneed (teacher) : "was a tall, colourless woman, except for the splatter of red paint now on her dress, parts of her face and tightly wound hair. Even her silhouette was harsh, a collection of strict and measured lines. She likes maths not children."

The opening sentence of this book is brilliant: "The girl lay in her coffin with a faint smile on her powder-white face. She had been carefully laid out. Gentle hands smoothed down her white silk dress,k combed her soft curls and brushed on her make-up so that her cheeks look like two faintly pink cherry blossoms."

Mayor Finnigus Bog "wasn't a thin man and, in point of fact, he'd been called, in not-so-polite circles, pudgy, rotund, even chubby. Some say he was worn into shortness by the controlling nature of his wife. Others said it was because his pockets were heavy from the weight of too much money."

This is a story that will quickly become a family favourite. Kids' Book Review

This is a wonderful book and Abela herself is the real magician. Sandy Fussell

The Violet Veil Mysteries: A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly

Fans of feisty girl heroes; detective stories; unsolved mysteries; and clever dogs will certainly enjoy this first book in The Violet Veil Mysteries series.

Publisher blurb: Violet Veil wants nothing more than to prove her worth and become her father’s apprentice at Veil & Sons Undertakers. And one rain-soaked night she gets her chance when she meets a boy, Oliver, who is wandering around the graveyard. Only, the last time Violet saw Oliver, he was indoors and very much dead, waiting to be buried. Violet has just found her first case, and it doesn’t get bigger than this: can she, with the help of her dog, Bones, help Oliver solve his own ‘murder’?

Other things you need to know about Violet:

• She is a girl living in Victorian England
• Girls are not allowed to aspire to an education and she will never be allowed to work with her father in the family Funeral business. 
• Violet's father has been accused of murder. Four men have very recently been buried in the graveyard beside the family undertaker's shop. The four men were all found in a dangerous and poor part of the town but these men, Violet discovers later, are all very wealthy.
• If Violet cannot prove her father is innocent he will hang. The police dismiss her as merely a girl who should not interfere.
• Violet is not afraid to spend time among the graves even at night - the dead feel like her friends.
• Oliver, the boy who someone has also tried to murder, needs to regain his memory but time is short. Oliver and Violet need to form a team and follow all leads to solve this terrible crime.

I read A Case of Grave Danger by Sophie Cleverly (author of the Scarlet and Ivy series) very quickly because it is a story with a terrific pace. Violet does solve this crime about halfway through the story but the police will not act without evidence. Luckily her dog Bones has a good nose for clues and luckily Violet herself is a very brave and determined young girl.

Fans of The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman will also enjoy A case of Grave Danger. 

The Victorian setting with the morbid fascination with death, and life in a mortuary, evokes a sense of place, and oozes mystery throughout. Ashleigh Meikle

Full of mystery, excitement, adventure and suspense, this fantastic beginning to the series, sees Violet evolve and assert her individuality. Kids' Book Review

You can read the first chapter here. Or you can listen here.

Companion reads:

The Detectives Guide to Ocean Travel

Violet and the Pearl of the Orient

The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

The Truth about Verity Sparks

The Case of the Missing Moonstone

Black cats and Butlers

The Legend of Podkin One-Ear by Kieran Larwood illustrated by David Watt

"Stories belong to the teller', says the bard. 'At least half of them do. The other part belongs to the listeners. When a good story is told to a good listener, the pair of them own it together."

"Stories aren't all about fighting and revenge,' says the bard. 'You have to have a bit of character development in there as well. Some suspense, some atmosphere. A little bit of romance."

Podkin is the son of Lopkin, the chieftain.  He has a sister called Paz and a brother called Pook. Life in Munbury longburrow is good and this is an especially happy night because it is Bramblemas eve and tomorrow there will be presents! Then, in the space of a few minutes, this warm scene explodes into one of violence and death. The Grom have arrived. They are after a small dagger called Starclaw. It is one of twelve special gifts given to the first tribes at the start of time.

Who are the Grom? Once they were small grey rabbits but something in the river got into their veins or perhaps they tunneled too far down and "came across something cursed and poisonous. ... They turned into something else. Something evil and unnatural."

Pod, Paz and little Pook are now on the run and it is winter, it is bitterly cold and while Starclaw is indeed a special weapon it is powerless against the metal bodies of the Grom.

The power of this writing comes from the atmosphere created by Kieran Larwood. You will see, hear, smell and touch every scene and person in this vividly created world.

It is the bard who tells this ancient tale. He has arrived on a different Bramblemas eve with a story to tell to the eager listeners in Thornwood warren.  It is an evening of storytelling, legends and turnip soup.

Here are some text extracts to give you a sense of this writing.

Scramashank the Gorm Lord "This wasn't a rabbit any more. If it ever had been, it was now something else entirely. A walking slab of metal and meat, pierced through with rusty thorns and nails. Its armour overlapped in sheets of jagged, dented iron; mottled with rust and splashes of dried crimson that looked very much like blood."

Lady Russet - she has been enslaved by Scramshank. "Before, she had been a plump, bristling bundle of life, with zinging fur, a bubbling giggle and eyes that sparkled like glimmers of summer sunlight. Now her skin hung off her face in folds. Lines of worry creased her brow; her eyes were hollow, haunted, red-rimmed, as if she'd been crying. Crying for a long, long time."

Bridgit's home.  Paz describes this wonderful place of safety and comfort where Podkin's wounded ear receives tender care. "She saw lots of clay pots and jars, all labelled in with neat Ogham writing, some overflowing with herbs and bulbs: wild garlic, rosemary, foxglove, rosehip and lots of mushrooms, like ink cap, blusher, penny bun, brittlegill and angel's bonnet." I was excited to discover these are all real mushroom names.


The Legend of Podkin One-Ear has been published with many different covers. Which one appeals to you?

You can listen to chapter one here.  Here is an interview with the author.  I would follow The Legend of Podkin One-Ear with Varjak Paw, Mouseheart, and the wonderful Redwall series by Brian Jacques. The evil Gorm that we meet in Podkin reminded me of the Creeps in Ollie's Odyssey.

The Legend of Podkin One-Ear was the winner of the Blue Peter Award in 2017.  Here is a set of reviews by young UK students and you can read other reviews with more plot details by clicking on the review quotes below.  I highly recommend The Legend of Podkin One-Ear - for me it is absolutely a ten out of ten book and I am rushing off to pick up the sequel - The Gift of Dark Hollow. The third installment (The Beasts of Grimheart) will arrive later this year.

An original fantasy with warrior rabbits, fierce foes, sibling loyalty, riveting adventure, and genuine storytelling.  Kirkus

A wonderfully told tale of adventure and adversity, packed with courage, heart and hope. Kieran Larwood has created a rich fantasy world in a time long after humans have left the world, complete with it’s own religions, superstitions and traditions.  Miss Cleveland is reading

The Twits by Roald Dahl illustrated by Quentin Blake

Of course this is not a new book.  It was first published in 1980 but recently a teacher reported that our CD version was not working so I bought it home to listen.  The CD just needed a quick clean and this then allowed me a glorious few days of listening to this wildly funny story as I drove my car to and from school and other places.

Roald Dahl is so wonderful at creating fabulous vile characters that all readers love to see get 'their just desserts'.  Mr and Mrs Twit are spectacularly awful.  The description of Mr Twit's beard full of  "dried up scrambled egg ... spinach and tomato ketchup and fish fingers and minced chicken livers and all the other disgusting things Mr Twit liked to eat" perfectly introduces this awful man.  If you look closely Roald Dahl is so skilled with his use of language.  We read of scrambled eggs - that might be okay.  Then spinach - slightly disgusting.  Tomato ketchup - I wonder if he wanted to say tomato sauce? But it is the final food that really twists at your stomach - chicken livers - these sound the most revolting of all.

Our copy of the audio book is read by Simon Callow and he does a wonderful job with all the voices especially Muggle-Wump the monkey and the delightful Roly-Poly bird. When you read or listen to The Twits I am sure you will cheer for these heroes as they outwit and ultimately destroy Mr and Mrs Twit who have been so cruel and horrid for far too long.

"One week later, on a nice sunny afternoon, a man called Fred came round to read the gas meter.  When nobody answered the door, Fred peeped into the house and there he saw, on the floor of the living room, two bundles of old clothes, two pairs of shoes and a walking stick.  There was nothing more left in this world of Mr and Mrs Twit.  And everyone, including Fred, shouted....HOORAY!"

If you have not read The Twits rush into a library and grab a copy today. If you have read The Twits - rush into a library and re-read it - you will not be disappointed.  Finally if you have no time to read The Twits then look for the audio book and listen while you do other things.