The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe by Karen Foxlee illustrated by Martina Heiduczek

The curse: "We must find The Marigold's stolen treasure and return it before the dawn of the last day of the seventh year. If we don't we are doomed to be turned to sand."

"You are much more than your name, always remember that. All of us are a tale within a tale within a tale."

So, time is ticking. As this story begins it is the seventh year - April 4th 1719 and they only have until December 31st to complete their quest.

Every crew member (called the Worshipful Company of Uncommon Seamen) on the ship and every 'kidnapped' child is there because they possess a magical gift. With Lavender this gift is of hearing and naming the winds. You are right if you are thinking this is a very important skill on a sailing ship. 

I really wanted a character list for this book so I have created one:

• Lavender Wolfe - left at a wharf by her mother, snatched by the cook Big Agatha and taken onto a pirate ship named The Good Marchioness "the most magical and cursed pirate ship that ever sailed the seven seas". Lavender is renamed Hans Whitby (Whitby is the name of the town where she was 'found').
• Big Agatha the ogress and magical cook - she hugged "so hard that you were turned to flummery with being loved." "I can sense a teaspoonful of magic in an urchin quick as the whiskers grow on my chin. Yet I cannot say what that magic all be." 
• Colin one of the kitchen rats - he/she is especially kind to Lavender
• Poppet - another kitchen rat - he/she knows all the recipes cooked by Agatha
• Odine - a chicken 
• Samuel, Thomas, and Peter Portugal all ship's rats but none are able to complete the voyage with Lavender
• Michael - a boy who has been magically trapped in shell
• Captain Odyessia Pleasant - she is the captain of The Good Marchioness. One of her arms is a huge bird wing. "She was beautiful; a ragged scar across the left side of her face, from her lip to her missing ear, ... Captain Pleasant had a wing instead of a right arm. A large wing reached down almost to the floor, glowing coppery beneath the lanterns."
• Ginger - cat who can transform into a sailor
• Oliver de Basseterre - a baby
• The Princess with no name and her father the Wizard King
• Captain Barnabas Bloom - pirate and father to Michael. He is transformed into ... (sorry I can't tell you)
• Queniva - a sparrowhawk
• Crew - Sasha Blackhat; Jonas; Tiny Percival; Percy; Grimes and Savage
• Lyneham prisoner from the ship the pirates attacked and pillaged. (He is not to be trusted)
• The Little Duchess - Ghost-fetcher and her guardian The Dowager
• Princess Yasbel de la Esclera who has her named changed to Phillip - she has magical hair

Ships - Lady Eloise - a ghost ship which holds the spectral map; The Good Marchioness the ship carrying Lavender and others who need to break the curse; The Marigold which is the ship carrying the Princess to her betrothed and The Fair Fortune the ship of Captain Barnabas Bloom.

Recipes - all contain extra magic - I learned a new word or two in this book - ananas it's a pineapple and the word clapperdudgeon which means beggar.

Agatha calls the kitchen kids (all with boys names) rats but in fact she showers them with her love and enormous hugs. 

Text quotes:

"I never wanted to meet a ghost ship nor glimpse one from a distance. But I wanted to see the spell canister and its last spell resurrecting the princess and Michael out of the shell. I wanted Samuel and Peter and Octavius returned. I wanted everything restored, which meant me going home. I wanted more story. I wanted questions answered. I wanted to know how Captain Pleasant came to be cursed and how Ginger could turn into a cat."

"And I knew that I, Hans Whitby, previously of the pickling shelf, floor scrubber, potato peeler, spoon-shiner, still with the name of Lavender tucked safe inside me, magic porridge-stirrer, tender of wounds, meant for the sea, rescuer of prisoners and friend of a ghost-fetcher, with a tiny drop of blood from a cutlass upon my chest, climber of masts, was about to die."

This book is a huge saga - with nearly 400 pages and a myriad of characters and a complex plot. Young readers aged 10+ will need reading stamina and also plenty of time because I think you need to read this book over just two or three days so you can keep track of all the threads. I am speaking from experience because I read this book over five days in very small snatches and I kept having to turn back to previous scenes to follow all the twists and turns. There is the potential at the end of the story for a sequel but I actually hope Karen Foxlee does not continue her story and rather leaves the future adventures of young Lavender to our imaginations. 

You can find teachers notes on the publisher web page. Take a look at the labels I have assigned this post - these might give you further ideas about some of the themes (such as the importance of names and destinies) and these also hint at some major plot details.

A new book by Karen Foxlee is always something to celebrate and The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe is a wondrous and wonderful tale indeed, full of mystery and magic, inventive and memorable characters and a compelling protagonist. Story Links

This is a children’s book full of pirates and dangerous land and sea adventures. It is also a story of growing up and being there for others. It is about a growing awareness. Lavender was to learn that all of us are much more than what we first seem. We all have a tale within us. Even within the worst of us, goodness can be found. There are fair winds trapped within storms and even love hidden in bad spells. Queensland reviewer's collective

Blurb from author web page: Lavender Wolfe is a pickpurse, with a magical secret. She is all alone on a wharf when she is snatched by Big Agatha and thrown into the galley of the pirate ship, The Good Marchioness. Disguised as a boy (for only boys may live in the galley) and renamed Hans Whitby, Lavender has to make her home among the kitchen rats. However, The Good Marchioness is no ordinary no ordinary ship. Captained by Odyessia Pleasant, a fierce pirate with long blonde hair, violet eyes and a bird’s wing in place of an arm, the crew are on a desperate voyage – to find and return stolen treasure before all those who sail within the cursed pirate ship are turned to sand. Lavender included. Lavender is quick-witted and sharp as a tack, and as her magic starts to be revealed she finds herself coming under the arresting gaze of Captain Pleasant. Will Lavender help break the curse? Or will she be just another victim of this story within a story, her true identity lost to the sands of time? An adventure as big as the ocean and as warm as your heart. All aboard!

I do have to talk for a moment about pirate stories. Sadly, there are real pirates in our world we now call them people smugglers. A few of us have begun to re-think our picture books about pirates especially if members of your school community have come to Australia as refugees. Strangely I read another Australian middle grade novel with a pirate theme last month - Oceanforged my Amelia Mellior. The issue of pirates and of glorifying them in kids story books is one I need to ponder a little more deeply. This is not intended as a criticism of The Wondrous Tale of Lavender Wolfe it is just something to consider. 

Here is some further reading about this topic:

Sails and Souls: The Literary Evolution of Pirates from Simple Rogues to Morally Complex Heroes in Children’s Fiction

I am a huge fan of Karen Foxlee.  Take a look at these:

Lenny's Book of Everything

Dragon Skin (ages 11+)

A most magical girl

Ophelia and the marvelous boy

The Last Mapmaker by Christina Soontornvat

Exploits on the high seas and complex characters combine in a tale full of both excitement and heart. An engrossing adventure with the feeling of a whole world to be explored. Kirkus Star Review

Sai (full name Sodsai Arawan) is a girl living in a highly stratified society. She is on the bottom rung. Her father is a petty criminal and they live in squalid conditions. Sai, though, has worked hard and found herself a good job with the esteemed map maker. She has managed to find some clothes suitable for an apprentice and each day she travels into the city to work with Paiyoon. She has a firm goal to better herself and to do this she needs the all important status symbol of a lineal or chain. The more of these a citizen displays the higher their social standing. Sai is twelve. Lineals are given to children when they turn thirteen. They show your heritage.

The Kingdom of Mangkon is huge but the Queen wants more. She sets a challenge to the navy to sail to all corners of the globe to claim new lands in her name. 

Of course, these ships will need a map maker and Paiyoon is famous, but he is old now and unwell and his hands keep shaking. He does secure a place on a ship, but he will need Sai to travel with him to assist with the map making. Sai is very skilled with copying documents and maps. She is thrilled she can go on the voyage. Partly because this is a way to get away from her father and partly because there is a reward at the end of the voyage, and this will mean she can obtain a lineal and a better future.

On board the ship there is the crew of course, and one of them is very suspicious of Sai, but there is also the Captain who is the Queen's great niece, Mr Lark a naturalist, Dr Pinching the ship surgeon, Miss Rian Prasomsap - a former soldier, and Bo a stowaway with an interesting back story. The real dilemma for you as a reader comes when you try to work out who to trust. I was suspicious but also very wrong with my predictions. 

The voyage is long and filled with danger but the really interesting part of this book comes when we discover why the Queen wants to know about these distant lands and what she might do there. She has already almost destroyed some of the places they visit on the voyage and that is why I have added the label colonization to this post. 

"I had expected Falhin to be a green vibrant place like Pitaya Island but it couldn't have been more different. From what I could see, Fahlin was made of mud. The streets near the habour were slick and greasy, and the water was stained brown." Keep reading pages 180-181 to hear what Paiyoon thinks about the Queen and her desire to claim new territory.

Horn Book expand this idea: Class structure, imperial greed, and environmental ravages underpin the narrative arc of this fantastical adventure story, resonating with our own contemporary issues. At the same time, Soontornvat’s Thai-inspired culture and geography provide a vivid backdrop. With emphasis on an intricate plot and quick, accessible prose, Soontornvat provides plenty of excitement while bringing questions of expansionism and de-colonization to young readers.

Publisher blurb: As assistant to Mangkon’s most celebrated mapmaker, twelve-year-old Sai plays the part of a well-bred young lady with a glittering future. In reality, her father is a conman—and in a kingdom where the status of one’s ancestors dictates their social position, the truth could ruin her. Sai seizes the chance to join an expedition to chart the southern seas, but she isn’t the only one aboard with secrets. When Sai learns that the ship might be heading for the fabled Sunderlands—a land of dragons, dangers, and riches beyond imagining—she must weigh the cost of her dreams. Vivid, suspenseful, and thought-provoking, this tale of identity and integrity is as beautiful and intricate as the maps of old.

Watch the trailer from Candlewick. 

Reading it, it doesn’t feel like any other book out there. It grips you from the first page. You believe in these characters, in their wants and dreams and fears. You never doubt for a second their motivations, even when they surprise you with their choices. This may even be the kind of book that kids that usually eschew fantasy would actually like quite a lot. Though fantastical elements exist, there’s a strange reality to them. Consider this the kind of book that kids and their adult gatekeepers will love equally. In other words? Rare rare treasure. Betsy Bird SLJ

I have had this book on my list for a while. It was published in 2023. I saw the hardcover on sale in a bookstore but hesitated to buy it which was silly but anyway I now own the paperback.

Awards for The Last Mapmaker:

• 2023 Newbery Honor Book
• New York Times Best Children’s Book of the Year 
• New York Public Library Best Book of the Year
• Kirkus Best Book of the Year
• Walter Dean Myers Honor Book for Young Readers
• Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection 
• A Junior Library Guild Selection 
• A Common Sense Media Selection 
• Audiofile Best Audiobook of the Year
• Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
• YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
• ALSC Notable Children’s Book 2023

I previously talked about this book (five stars) by Christina Soontornvat.

A Wish in the Dark

Companion books:

Bartlett and the Ice Voyage

The Girl, the Cat and the Navigator

The Pearl in the Ice

Race to the end of the world

The Mapmakers' Race

The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator by Matilda Woods

Fortune teller Freydis Spits arrives in the village of Nordlor on the night Captain Britt's wife is due to give birth to their seventh child. Captain Britt has six daughters. He is desperate for a son. Fredyis listens to the sounds inside shells to tell fortunes and having extracted an appropriate and large payment from the Captain she declares:

"After the birth of six disappointing daughters, Captain Britt of the Plucky Leopard will finally become the proud father of a bold and brave son."

Later that night a baby is born but this baby is another girl. The baby is named Oona and over the coming years we read that she is utterly rejected not just by her father but also by her mother and her six sisters. Oona is left to her own devices. Luckily she is a resourceful girl. The women in her family cannot read but Oona hides in the rafters of the school house and listens in to the lessons given to the village boys. She has two books where she reads about legendary sea voyages and sea monsters. Oona longs to join her father on his ship. She is especially curious about one special creature - the nardoo. This amazing creature is purported to fly, to control the weather of the north and to orchestrate the spectacular Northern Lights.

"The nardoos were bigger than whales, brighter than the summer sun and kinder than the kindest man. They were gentle beasts that swam through the waters during the day and flew through the stars at night. It is said that when they cried, the nardoo's tears floated up into the sky and became clouds that came back as fain. It is said that wherever they flew they left tails of brilliant light behind."

Oona's mother decides her daughters need husbands so she packs everyone into a carriage and heads down south. Oona does not want to go south. She feels the pull of the north so late at night she stows away on her father's ship, The Plucky Leopard, observed only by an ancient cat called Barnacles. 

We have all the story elements ready for a brilliant tale - a girl on a mission, an angry father, the gentle navigator, a fortune teller who makes dangerous mistakes and a very resentful cat desperate to preserve his last life. 

I am a little confused about this book. Can I claim it as Australian? Matilda Woods is Australian but her publisher is in the UK (scholastic.co.uk) and her agent is also in UK. I guess all of this explains why I didn't know about this book (published in 2018) and also why it did not appear on our CBCA Notable list in 2019.

Things I enjoyed about The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator:

• The cover - it is perfect
• The illustrations are superbly done by Anuska Allepuz - I think her name should appear on the cover. The illustrations remind me the images in Varjak Paw.
• The wisdom, bravery and heroism of Oona - she is a mighty girl!
• The kindness of the navigator Haroyld
• The village buildings in Nordlor which are made from the timbers of shipwrecks
• The wild battle scene when the ship is attacked by a huge sea monster with eight tentacles
• The fairy tale elements especially through the story thread of the ugly sisters and their marriage to Prince Manfred of Turnip Town!

I highly recommend The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator for all readers aged 10+. I think this book would also be excellent as a family or class read aloud. Click here for more details about each character. Listen to an audio sample from the first chapter by Bolinda Audio.

This is definitely a book to be enjoyed curled up under a warm blanket, by flickering candlelight, with a warm drink. Magical! Library Girl and Book Boy

Lyrical storytelling, a bold, brave, independent girl and mythical creatures, both monstrous & magical, are spun together to create a breathtaking story that reads like the very best fairytales. Miss Cleveland is Reading

With a determined female main character who won’t take no for an answer, the story is complemented with illustrations on every page,enabling you to join Oona on her adventure of a lifetime. Book Trust

I am very keen to read another book by Matilda Woods:

If you read The Girl, The Cat and the Navigator (yes you should read this book!) then you might also enjoy The Pearl in the Ice.

The Pearl in the Ice by Cathryn Constable

Marina is about to be sent off to a school for young ladies. She has no desire to become a lady. She would much rather join her father, a naval Commander, on his ship the Neptune sailing off to Cadiz in Spain.

Before I continue with the plot just take a closer look at the names here - Marina - the place for a boat to dock. The ship is called the Neptune - he is the Roman god of the sea. If you look at my post labels you will see I have listed mermaids. Here are some descriptions of Marina's mother who disappeared some years ago:

"She called up a hazy vision of a pale face with large dark eyes. There was long dark hair, like trailing seaweed. Ropes of pearls that hung down over the stiff bodice of a green silk dress with lace ruffles, like white caps on waves. And two canes topped with mother-of-pearl leaning against her chair, which her mother used if she had to walk."

Speaking of descriptions here is another important one. On the day she is supposed to be heading to school, the day her father is supposed to be sailing to Spain, Marina jumps onto a different train - the one heading to Portsmouth. A strange woman joins Marina in the carriage. This lady, Miss Gaby Smith secretary to the First Sea Lord, seems to ask lots of questions and she even pays Marina's first class fare when the ticket collector arrives.

"A young woman in a neat blue-and-white striped suit with a white ruffled blouse had appeared in the corridor behind the guard. She wore a small straw hat perched on top of a pile of exuberant auburn hair. ... The woman clipped her consonants when she spoke. Where was she from? She was wearing very clean white crocheted gloves. Her skirt was so daringly short that it showed an inch of calf above the top of her neatly laced red boots."

Nothing sinister here? Perhaps. Just a tiny hint about her accent. But then Marina sees this mysterious woman again. She appears in Svengejar, the most northerly port in the Grand Duchy of Finnmark.  Before Marina can catch up to Miss Smith on the streets of this remote sea port, her father whisks her away back onto his ship, the Sea Witch. Marina's father was not travelling to Cadiz in Spain on the Neptune. Instead he tells Marina his mission is to repair a broken communications transmitter which is located in a remote inland part of Pechorin Island. The real purpose of this mission, however, will leave you breathless and the true identity of Miss Smith is sure to be a huge shock to all readers just as it is to Marina herself. What is going on here? And how is Marina's mother linked to this strange Northern Arctic military base? And what are we to make of the title - The Pearl in the Ice?

The Pearl in the Ice is a gripping story of heroism, betrayal and complex relationships. I often think about school libraries that like to use genre stickers. This book would need several - Adventure, Mystery, War, Spies, Thriller, Fantasy and Relationships.  

You can read the first ten pages on the Chicken House page. Click these quotes to read more plot details. 

Disturbing memories of her mute mother haunt Marina. Her mother has been gone for a long time, and she has been brought up by her father, the commander of a ship. Marina longs to be noticed by her father, but he has secrets of his own. Book Trust

I absolutely loved reading along with her journey and I loved that there was something going on underneath it all. You could feel that something wasn’t quite what it seemed but you couldn’t quite work out what it was … Daydreamers Thoughts

By basing her book half in reality and half not, Constable sets up some wonderful tension in her characters; the reader having to guess who is speaking the truth, and who not. Minerva Reads

It’s a story to make young readers believe anything is possible, and all the better for that. Books for Keeps

I would pair this book with The Seven Professors of the far North.

You might also enjoy Monster Odyssey - The eye of Neptune.

Pirate Boy of Sydney Town by Jackie French

Jackie French writes the best historical stories because she is able to seamlessly blend huge amounts of research into her stories. Books like Tom Appleby Convict boy, for example, never feel like a history lesson and yet these books are packed full of so much history. If you love historical fiction I highly recommend books by Jackie French but these books are also perfect for anyone who is curious about our early Australian history.

Ebeneezer (Ben) Huntsmore lives a comfortable life on his English estate called Badger's Hill but his known world is turned upside down when his father unexpectedly arrives and declares Ben and his mother must now travel to the distant colony of NSW - specifically to Port Jackson. 

The voyage is terrible and Ben's mother, along with many others, succumbs to typhoid. His father has taken a human cargo of convicts on this voyage. It seems impossible that any of these poor wretches could possibly have survived.  Ben opens the hatch and one convict crawls out. Others have survived but his father closes the hatch before Ben can can free them. The convict who crawls out is called Higgins. He is a cunning survivor.

Mr Huntsmore is one of those men who is always looking for the next scam, the next 'easy' way to get rich quick. His latest plan is to attack Dutch ships off the coast of Western Australia and plunder them for gold.

Ben is not sure he wants to join his father but perhaps he has no choice.  Also on board their ship, called Golden Girl, is a native man called Guwara. These three, Ben, the convict now manservant Higgins and Guwara form an unlikely allegiance but later this develops into the strongest bonds of friendship after the sailors on the Golden Girl mutiny and Mr Huntsmore is killed.

This is a powerful adventure story. All your senses will be on high alert as you read about the smell of half dead convicts held below ship, the desperate thirst as Ben and his companions try to survive in the bush and you will experience the taste of strange foods such as hoppers (kangaroos) and even emu and emu eggs.

Here is a set of excellent thematic teaching ideas from the publisher Harper Collins. You can also read a chapter sample.

One interesting extra in Pirate Boy of Sydney Town is the way Jackie French includes references to previous books such as Nanberry and Tom Appleby.

Complex and confronting at times but with redeeming hopefulness, courage, unexpected friendship and loyalty and the perfect illustration that ‘class’ does not maketh the individual, this is a wonderful study of human nature at its best as well as its worst. Just so Stories

This is a scintillating read from Australia’s most prolific writer, Jackie French. The novel is fiction, based on real events. It is full of vivid scenes filled with swashbuckling action, tension and twists and turns, and laced with romantic innuendo. Kids' Book Review

Three Bears in a Boat by David Soman

Begin with the first words of this book:

Once there were three bears ...

Is this the familiar fairy tale? No of course not - these bears are called Dash, Charlie and Theo and they live beside the sea and love to play in the sand. On returning from their time at the beach the three bears take advantage of the fact that their mother is away from home. There is a glorious jar of honey on the mantle. Look at the title page - the three have been longing to grab this and now there is an opportunity. Struggling to reach the 'forbidden' jar they accidentally knock their mother's precious blue shell off the shelf. It is smashed in to small fragments.

"Afraid of their mother, who, after all was a bear, the three fled from their house down to the beach where they huddled behind their boat."

Look at the words here. Fled - they are terrified of the consequences. Huddled - you can feel these three youngsters trembling.

What will they do? Go home, face their mother and admit they were naughty or follow Dash's suggestion and try to find a replacement shell.  Here is another beautifully placed word:

"And so just like that, the sly bears slide their boat into the sea and set sail."

Sly- they know they have done the wrong thing but they think they can cover their tracks and mother will never know!

The three meet an old salty who advises them to head to a small island shaped like a hat. "If you look in the right place, I reckon you'll find it."  I love the idea that they sail "further than they had ever gone before."  This truly is an adventure. Maybe it will be even more scary than facing up to their mother!

Image source: https://bookriot.com/2015/01/09/one-look-favorite-picture-book-art-2014/

There is no shell on the island even though they explore everywhere including a scary cave. If you were using this book with an older group of children it would be interesting to draw a feelings graph because at this point in the story emotions spill over and the three start to apportion blame. They don't notice that a wild storm is approaching. Now they need to forgive and forget and work out how to survive.

Look at this line - it made me smile:

"They didn't care whose fault it was anymore, they were all in the same boat."

When you pick up this book take time to look at the end papers. They are perfect.

I've been collecting images of books I want to read and this was one in my file. I found it in a library yesterday but as usual I can't remember why or where it was listed.

Three Bears in a Boat was published in 2014. Watch this video where David Soman talks about his book - it will make you laugh.

There is so much more to this book which the wonderful Betsy Bird discovers and explains in her review for the School Library Journal. I would not have recognised references to Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick and I have no idea about the third boat which Betsy thinks keen children's literature fans will recognise from the checkerboard, lantern and toy sailing boat. I am not sure about Betsy's idea about the name of the boat - Ursula K - I think this refers to ursula meaning little bear. Although the placement of K does support her idea that it is a reference Ursula K LeGuin.

I love her idea of comparing Three Bears in a Boat with Where the Wild things are. Both are about journeys and adventures and explorations without parents but it is the words at the end of each that deserve special attention.

Where the Wild Things are: "and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot."
Three bears in a boat: "Then she bought them inside for a warm supper. But they didn't get any dessert."

I think you could have a wonderful discussion with older children about these endings. Talking about concepts like consequences, punishments, honesty, responsibility, truth and love.

I would pair this book with with Humphrey's Bear and Once upon a small Rhinoceros. You could also compare Three Bears in a Boat with the stories by Ursula Dubosarsky in Honey and Bear.

As I read this book I kept remembering a small book from my former school library which would be great to pair with Three Bears in a Boat. I looked in the online catalogue but could not locate it. I am sad now to discover this book has been removed from their collection along with many other special and important titles. I do hope I can find this one in another library. This is a truly special book that should be shared with young children.

There are page turns where you simply sit for a moment and linger, looking at the new vista before you until you are ready to read the words on the page. Waking Brain Cells


Humorous and intelligent—and with watercolor seascapes so luminous that readers will want to jump in—this is a book to be treasured for years to come. Kirkus Star Review

Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome audio read by Gareth Armstrong

"In the boathouse below the farm there was the Swallow, a sailing boat, a very little one ... If there had been no island, no sailing boat, and if the lake had not been so large, the children, no doubt, would have been happy enough to paddle about  ... But with a lake as big as a small sea, a fourteen-foot dinghy with a brown sail waiting in the boathouse, and the little wooded island waiting for explorers, nothing but a sailing voyage of discovery seemed worth thinking about."  

One of my treasured memories is of a family friend giving me the Puffin box set of the first four books from the Swallows and Amazons series. I remember reading them and marvelling at the way these kids knew so much about sailing. All that special terminology. Right from the first page where we meet Roger and see him tacking across a field pretending to be the tea clipper Cutty Sark. Then later when their father says the four can sail to their island the Master (John), Mate (Susan), Able-seaman (Titty) and ship boy Roger just seem to know exactly how to sail their little boat Swallow.

"Is there a cleat under the thwart where the mast is stepped?"
"Susan got the sail ready. On the yard there was a strop that hooked on one side of an iron ring called the traveller up to the top of the mast, through a sheave and then down again."

I had no idea what all of this meant as a young reader (and I still have no clue) but that did not take away from my enjoyment of this adventure story. Better still the setting is an island and I have long had a fascination with the idea of living on a small island. You can read the plot for yourself on this wikipedia entry.

This week I have been listening to the audio book of Swallows and Amazons and I found myself lingering in my car so I could continue with the story long after I should have moved on to other things. I had thought I remembered the plot but in reality most of my memory had faded with time. I was surprised by so many things and even laughed out loud several times. I enjoyed all the feasts, the lake and island exploration and the crime solving after Captain Flint is robbed but the aspect I enjoyed most was meeting Titty all over again. John is too busy being the perfect Captain, Susan is too busy (yes it is a stereotype) with cooking and caring, Roger is sweet little boy (perhaps a little too compliant) but Titty is the character I loved. There has been some debate about the name Titty and sadly this was changed for both movie adaptions. Putting that aside here are some words of wisdom from Titty:

"Instead, Titty took Robinson Crusoe. 'It tells you just what to do an an island.'

"It'll be best for him to walk the plank,' said Able-seaman Titty. 'Then we'll take his treasure and buy a big ship, and live in her for ever and ever and sail all over the world. .. We could discover new continents ... There must be lots that haven't been found yet."

Talking with mother about illness : "Of course we've had plague and yellow fever and Black Jack and all other illnesses belonging to desert islands ... But we cured them all at once."

"Abe-seaman Titty, as surgeon to the expedition, washed the knee, and tied it up with Roger's handkerchief. Roger tried to blow his nose in the corner of it that was left after the tying."

"There were two tents, and a shipwrecked mariner on a desert island ought only to have one. .. then she remembered that for part of the time she would not be a shipwrecked mariner, but would be in charge of an explorers' camp, while the main body had sailed away on a desperate expedition."

"Captain Nancy shook her by the hand and slapped her on the back. 'By thunder, Able-seaman,' said she, 'I wish you were in my crew. This morning when I saw that you'd done us all by yourself, I could have swallowed the anchor. You did just exactly what we had planned to do."

Food:
"Then there was a big rice pudding, which had been bought with them on the top of the things in one of the big biscuit tins. It too became a common dish, like the frying pan. Then there were four big slabs of seed cake. Then there were apples all round."

"Then there was cold chicken. Then there was a salad in a big pudding basin. Then there was an enormous gooseberry tart. Then there was a melon. Then there was a really huge bunch of bananas which the female native tied in a tree as if it was growing there."

"Look here,' said Susan, 'hadn't we better have dinner before all the lemonade has gone.' 'Jamaica rum,' said Titty with reproach. 'We've got a lot of sandwiches,' said Peggy. 'We've got pemmican,' said Susan, 'and sardines. We finished the meat pie and the next one doesn't come until tomorrow."

It is interesting to compare audio editions.  My copy was narrated by Gareth Armstrong. Here is a different one (audio sample) with Alison Larkin.

I have been thinking about why I loved Swallows and Amazons so much as a child. Partly it was the setting on an island (which I have mentioned), partly the delicious sounding food but I think the heart of the matter would have been my fascination with this family of four kids (five really but I am not counting their baby sister). I know this could be a criticism, but I did enjoy the way they all got along so well. No conflict, no arguments, no disputes. These kids are kind, but not in an overly sentimental way, to one another. They genuinely encourage each other and seem to accept that each of them have their own talents and strengths. Mother is pretty special too - happy to take on various roles, allowing the kids to have such freedom, arriving with cake and presents, organising the supply of fresh milk and other treats and best of all those amazing tents she made anticipating their expedition.

Here are several cover designs below.

BETTER DROWNED THAN DUFFERS IF NOT DUFFERS WON'T DROWN

Race to the end of the world - Mapmaker Chronicles Book 1 by A.L. Tait

I am not sure why it took me so long to pick up this book (the first in a series of four) but I am so glad I have finally read Race to the End of the World and yes I read it all in one sitting.   I am now quite desperate to pick up the second installment as by the end of book one our intrepid team are still facing great danger, they are possibly not even half way through their voyage and that all important map is not yet complete.

Why are they making a map. The King decides he needs one :
"He has decided Verdania will create the first map of the world.' Map of the world? Why did he want one of those? Besides, everyone knew that if you went too far in either direction, you'd fall of the end of the earth."

Ten boys are selected to enter a school and from there three will be chosen to travel on three ships in the race across the oceans to complete the first map of the world.  Quinn is the youngest son in a family of six boys.  His mother has taught him to read and he has the gift of a photographic memory.  He does not want to go on the voyage because he enjoys life on the farm even though his brothers often tease and taunt him but Zain (a slave of the king who wants the prize of freedom) selects Quinn to go on his ship the Libertas.  Quinn and the crew will face many dangers and so will his friend Ash who has stowed away on the voyage.  "I don't think it's fair that boys get to do all the fun stuff ... they didn't even consider trying out girls for the mapmakers' school."

Read about the whole series here.  Read this review by Jazzy at Children's Books Daily.  The Book Chook has detailed comments about each of the four books. Here is a set of teachers notes by the author. I would follow this book with Bartlett and the Ice Voyage by Odo Hirsch and The Eye of Neptune by Jon Mayhew.

Take a minute to watch this trailer from the US Publisher.  I am no longer working in my school library but if I was there I would not hesitate to recommend this book to my keen readers.

Mystery, monsters, murder and mayhem all feature in this action-packed adventure that will appeal to boys and girls alike.  Kids Book Review

Alison Tait shares her inspiration for this series :

Then the next night: “How did they map the world?”

“Well, they had to go out there and find out,” I answered, distractedly.

“They must have been brave,” he answered.

“They were,” I said. “They would have felt exactly as we feel looking out into space, not knowing how far it goes or what’s out there.”

And just like that, in my mind I saw a race to map the world, and a boy who really didn’t want to go.

Bartlett and the ice voyage by Odo Hirsch

I am a massive fan of Odo Hirsch and I often recommend his books to the students who visit my school library.  I am such a fan that when people talk about inviting six authors to an imaginary dinner party Odo Hirsch is always at the top of my list.  Read his book Hazel Green to see why I would bake Chocolate Dippers.

I bought home the audio book of Bartlett and the Ice Voyage which I first read in 1998. There have been times over the last weeks when I just could not get out of my car because I needed to listen to a little more of this engrossing story.  I can see why this book was short listed for the Blue Peter Award in 2001.

The Queen is given every treasure you can imagine for her birthday from every part of her extensive kingdom but the one thing she desires is a melidrop.  They grow in a far away land and spoil one day after picking.

"People sent melidrop seeds, but they failed to shoot. They sent melidrop trees, but their leaves curled up and died. Then the people tried sending melidrop fruit, but no matter how early they picked them, the fruit always spoiled in the box. The Queen would open the packing case to find a disgusting, smelly pile of darkened melidrop skins."

The Queen is desperate to taste this exotic fruit but she is unwilling to travel the vast distance needed. One of her advisers, Sutton Pufrock, introduces the queen to  Bartlett and his friend Jacques le Grand. Sir Hugh Lough is not impressed :

"this famous Bartlett was about as dashing a milkman. He had freckles on his face and his hair was obviously not very friendly with his comb. His fingers were knobbly. He came to see the queen in a plain shift, patched trousers and a pair of worn leather boots ... creased and creviced as a turtle's neck."

Bartlett does find a way to transport the precious melidrop.  You need to read the story for yourself but his method is quite inventive and perhaps surprising.

There is so much to discuss as you read this book.  How can Bartlett bring back a melidrop? Should he try to bring a large quantity?  Will the Queen even like the fruit and will this satisfy her desire for unusual gifts? Odo Hirsch is a master of description - so many parts of this book could be used as writing models for your class.

My favourite scenes involve food (as usual).  When Lord Roland of Tull visits the Queen each Thursday he enjoys eating her little butter cakes and sipping tea. After months of waiting Bartlett has not returned with the precious melidrop. The Queen is impatient and furious and she now shuns Lord Roland but one day he does come for tea. "He stared. There were lemon slices on the plate. Where were the butter cakes? What had the queen done with the butter cakes?"  You are sure to grimace as he is forced to do more than take a dainty bite of this bitter slice.

Here are my reviews of two other Odo Hirsch titles - Darius Bell and the Glitter Pool, Darius Bell and the crystal bees.

Our copy of Bartlett and the Ice Voyage is in very bad shape so once again I have searched a second hand seller and found a copy.  It is on the way.  Here is a five minute audio sample from page 10 onwards describing the giraffe which the Queen is given as one of her multiple gifts.  This book is also available from itunes.  Here is the Kirkus review.

I would pair this book with The Greatest Treasure of Charlemagne the King and The quiltmakers gift.