I do like children's books. I enjoy classics, and my own childhood favourites, and I also enjoy a few authors whom I've only discovered since my sons were small. Helen Cresswell is the author of the very popular Bagthorpe saga - and I dip into them every so often for a bit of light humour.
'Ordinary Jack' is about an eleven-year-old boy with a fair amount of intelligence and common sense, who has three highly-gifted (and rather boastful) siblings: William, Tess and Rosie. The books are written in the third person, but almost entirely from Jack's perspective.
In this first book, Jack is rather fed up that he does not seem to have any gifts. This is because his little sister Rosie has just beaten him in swimming, and is determined to crow about it. Jack acknowledges that she has done well, but dislikes the way that the rest of the family make such a fuss about it.
Mr Bagthorpe, father of the four children, is a television scriptwriter with a rather bad temper and a way of saying exactly what he's feeling, irrelevant of who is listening. He complains a lot when anything goes wrong... but then again, with the things that happen in his household, it's pretty amazing that he has kept his sanity at all.
Mrs Bagthorpe is a professional agony aunt, and does her best to hold the family together with traditions (such as birthday parties) being very important to her. She tries to have a kind word for everyone, but is rather disorganised. She believes in encouraging meaningful conversation around the table at mealtimes, which is a great ideal; unfortunately it usually means everybody talking with their mouths full about their personal achievements.
Grandma and Grandpa, Mr Bagthorpe's parents, live with the family. Grandpa is a strong silent type, who is somewhat deaf (and often chooses to be selectively deafer than necessary) and prone to come out with incongruous statements, which sometimes appear to be deliberate although the rest of the family do not realise it.
Grandma is a highly opinionated old lady who loves to argue, and will beat down anybody who disagrees with her by sheer strength of character and determination. The book opens on the day of Grandma's 75th birthday. Her cake - complete with 75 candles - features rather dramatically.
This book is really designed to introduce us to the Bagthorpe family, so the plot is not all that significant. It hinges mainly around the bright idea that Jack should pretend to be a mystic, and thus attract the attention of his family, so that nobody would think him ordinary or boring again. There are, of course, problems which lead to amusing situations and an exciting climax to the story.
There is a low-key 'message' to the book, too, alongside the humour and chaotic household. Jack learns that it's not always so good to be the centre of attention, and that being 'ordinary' does not make him inferior to his talented siblings.
I very much like Helen Cresswell's writing, which appeals both to younger children, and to teenagers and adults, despite the lack of much action.
I would recommend this and its sequels to any child or young teenager wanting something light but enjoyable to read. 'Ordinary Jack' also makes an excellent book to read aloud to a child of any age, since the humour appeals at so many levels. My sons both enjoyed these books from the time they were about seven or eight, and I still read them myself from time to time.
'Ordinary Jack' is one of the few books which can make me chuckle out loud in one or two places - on re-reading it this evening, I enjoyed it as much as ever.
Definitely recommended.
I had never heard of Dick King-Smith until my older son was about six, and starting to borrow books from his school library. I was immediately captivated. Apparently King-Smith was a soldier, a farmer and a teacher before he became a writer. Reading his books, it's clear that all his previous careers have influenced his writing. Several of them take place on farms, with normal events taking place alongside the rather unlikely ones. The animals have characters and conversations, but they remain animals, with the inherent traits and behaviour of their species.
Wanting something completely different to read, I sat down with this for an hour this evening. 'The Fox busters' was Dick King Smith's first published novel for children. It is the story of a strategic battle between the Foxearth fowls and their deadly enemies the long-noses, otherwise known as foxes.
Unfortunately the local farmers have not always been as careful as they could have been, so over the years any weaker or less intelligent fowl have been caught and eaten by the foxes who live near by. Those who remain are not just a little stronger than average, however; the theory of evolution by survival of the fittest is taken to logical extremes in this story.
These hens have developed remarkable flying abilities, and are a great deal more intelligent than hens are in general. They think for themselves, and have even learned to read. Some of the youngsters in the flock are not only strong flyers, but confident and co-ordinated, able to give displays of aeronautic acrobatics.
Meanwhile, four particularly intelligent foxes have also evolved; these four long for a taste of chicken, and so come up with a terrible plan, which is initially successful. The climax of the book is exciting, but not unrealistic (within the parameters of the story) since some of the hens and one important character are lost in a dramatic battle.
This book is intended for children of about seven to ten. As it's full of action with some fighting, it would probably appeal more to boys than to girls. There is some overt violence which might upset a more sensitive child; nevertheless it reflects realistically the cruelty of nature, and is not over-gory or sentimental.
The ending is mostly encouraging, though bitter-sweet. By the time the book reaches the final, climactic battle I had lost all sympathy with the foxes, despite their cleverness, but I was sorry about one loss amongst the fowl. I would advise parents wanting to read this aloud to much younger children to check the first chapter and the last two beforehand.
For most children, however, this would be an enjoyable read. The language is straightforward without being condescending or 'easy'. My sons both read it when they were about eight or nine, and have re-read it since, when wanting something quick and mildly amusing (as have I!). The inherent humour in the idea of hens laying hard eggs as weapons will appeal to people of all ages, and there is also a lot of other subtle humour which appeals more to adults and older children than to little ones.
Definitely recommended.
The author Joan Aiken is probably best known for her children's book 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase'. She has also written several other books for older children, as well as some rather chilling ones for adults. I have read a couple of her books aloud to my teenage sons, and we decided that this one would be our next read-aloud.
'Go Saddle the Sea', which is told in the first person, is the first in a trilogy set in the early 19th century. It features Felix, an orphan who is twelve years old at the start of this book. He is strong-willed, rather arrogant, very lonely, having experienced little affection in his life.
He lives in a large house in Spain, with his grandparents and some great-aunts who dislike him. His mother died when he was born, his father in battle. He is taught at home by Father Tomas, his grandfather's chaplain; Father Tomas is a very strict teacher who beats Felix frequently.
In the past, Felix was given some care and companionship from Bob, who worked as a groom for his grandfather for many years, and who had some papers belonging to Felix's father. He is also fond of the cook. However most of his life seems to be spent in trying to avoid further beatings.
The opening chapter of the book sees the cook dying, and Felix in big trouble. She gives him his father's papers, which Bob had entrusted to her when he died. Unfortunately the writing on the papers is mostly illegible'. Felix decides that there is nothing worth staying for with Bernie dead, so without really considering the consequences he saddles a mule, and sets off to find his father's family in England.
He is quite unprepared for the many adventures he experiences in his journey, but he is both resourceful and intelligent, despite his naiveté. He gradually learns that he is inexperienced and ignorant, and that other people - and sometimes animals! - often know better than he does. Along the way he learns the value of friendship, and eventually develops some humility when in his stubbornness he leaps into danger, leading a friend to risk his own life to save him.
Although the actual adventures and escapes rely rather too much on coincidence and luck to be realistic, becoming more and more unlikely as the book progresses, there is a believable historical background to the book, making it educationally useful, in a low-key way, for anyone wanting to know about life in Europe in the 1800s from a young teenage perspective.
As an adult, I thought it a good book: it was fun to read aloud, with moments of humour and sufficient tension to keep me turning the pages. The plot itself was little more than a series of escapes, but there was a lot of underlying growth in the character of Felix. While part of the conclusion is predictable, there is one unexpected twist that was a surprise to us all; moreoever the very end of the book sees Felix having to make another big decision, which he does in his old impetuous way, and which leaves the way open for the sequel rather than giving a tidy end.
The language and structure of this book is more complex than that of 'The Wolves of Willoughby Chase', so I wouldn't expect children under the age of about eight or nine to read it for themselves, although it would make a good read-aloud for a child of any age who likes exciting stories. Having said that, I would not recommend it for a small child prone to nightmares, as there are one or two suspenseful and potentially scary sections, and some rather unpleasant descriptions later in the book.
Recommended for older children, younger teens, or adults wanting a break from their regular reading! Still in print in both the UK and USA. The sequels are called 'Bridle the Wind' and 'The Teeth of the Gale'. The three books together are sometimes sold as the 'Felix Trilogy'.
I'm having rather mixed feelings about Barbara Taylor Bradford's novels. I quite enjoyed the first two I read, but was much less impressed by the next ones. I thought I'd try one more.
'Angel' is the story of four high-powered friends. It's an exciting book, which has some surprises and a shocking climax, before a tidy, and happy ending. I like happy endings, so it's just as well that it did end that way.
Unfortunately there is rather a lot of padding in this book, with (in my view) far too much detail about the past lives of all the characters. I found this very boring and almost entirely unnecessary. I don't know if this was the sequel to another book or if it's supposed to stand alone. Either way, the flashbacks and lengthy detail didn't work.
On the other hand, I thought the characters were fairly well drawn and sympathetic. That's despite their being rich and famous, which would normally make them hard for me to relate to.
I don't know that I'd read this again, but I quite enjoyed it on the whole. I am still not sure whether or not I'll read any more by this author!
Not regularly in print, other than for the Kindle. But 'Angel' seems to be widely available second-hand, usually inexpensively.
I like re-reading Jane Austen's books occasionally. I read them first in my teenage years, and enjoyed them greatly. The language is old-fashioned, of course, but then Austen died in 1817. The themes are surprisingly up-to-date, and the characters very cleverly drawn. There's also a great deal of subtle ironic humour.
'Sense and Sensibility' is the story of two sisters. Elinor is quiet and sensible, rarely expressing her emotions, while Marianne is much more effusive: talkative, volatile, and easily hurt.
Both fall in love, and both experience hurt from the men they would like to marry.
Eventually 'sense' (in this instance) is shown to lead to greater happiness than 'sensibility'(ie emotionalism). But it's done without preaching or too much moralising, and works well.
There's rather a lot of detail, in the style of the times, some of which I found myself skimming as I read the book this time, but there's also some very dry humour which I enjoyed, and delightful irony that exposes some of the worst traits of the caricatured minor characters.
Still in print, in several editions, in both the USA and UK. Recommended. If you don't enjoy the flowery language of Austen's writing, you might still enjoy the excellent 1990s film version of Sense And Sensibility.
While I don't read Agatha Christie books all the time, I enjoy a light crime mystery every so often, and find her plotting extremely clever. I also find that they make very good books to read aloud to my teenage sons. It's interesting to see whether any of us can find 'whodunit' and figure out what the clues mean.
'Evil under the sun' is the latest one I read to them. It's another book that features the rather arrogant (but eminently lovable) Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.
In this story, Poirot is staying in a hotel in a beach resort, off the South coast of England. One of the guests is murdered - something that seems to happen wherever he goes - and he works with the police to try and discover who was responsible.
I thought this book had a nice balance of different types of people. It was an interesting mystery, with an unexpected ending which surprised us all.
Recommended.
