Narrowing down to my top ten middle-grade books is always the hardest of all! Some of these books are younger than others, as always, because age ranges are hard to define. A few of these would be borderline chapter books; a few would be borderline young adult.The Racehorse Who Wouldn't GallopWriter: Clare BaldingIllustrator: Tony RossPublisher: Penguin UKAs a child, I loved the Animal Ark series so much that I longed to be a vet. When I learned that studying medicine involved cutting things up, I balked. Yet, animals were special to me, and I would go as far as to say that they are special to most children.The Racehorse Who Wouldn't Gallop is a charming story of love for animals. It is a tale of friendship and grit: friendship among animals, people, and animals and people. Once more, it is a story that explores the idea that children can do … [Read more...]
The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare
I took a while to sink my teeth into The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare. I went slowly through the first few chapters: I found the narrative voice a little puzzling, and I could not figure out whether I liked the protagonist, Auden Dare.Once I got sucked into the book, though, it was a different story.The cover asks whether a friendship can save a world under threat - and the way Zillah Bethell deals with this idea is tender and moving, for the friendship is a most irregular one.A dystopian novel, The Extraordinary Colours of Auden Dare is set at a time when a war is being waged over the most precious commodity in the world - water. A country like the UK is slightly better off because it is surrounded by the sea, and though the water needs to be desalinated before being fit for consumption, there is access to it. … [Read more...]