THE RABBITS’ REBELLION. By Ariel Dorfman. Illustrated by Chris Riddell. Doubleday pound;17.99. THE BOY WHO COULD FLY. By Sally Gardner. Orion Children’s Books pound;3.99. FRIDAY FOREVER. By Annie Dalton. Barrington Stoke pound;4.50. AUNT BELLA’S CAT. By Dee Shulman. Barrington Stoke pound;4.50. MEGAMOUSE. By Emma Laybourn. Andersen Press pound;4.99. SANDMARE. By Helen Cooper. Illustrated by Ted Dewan. Corgi pound;3.99. IGNORANCE IS BLISS. By Hazel Townson. Andersen Press pound;4.99. TITANIC. By Alan MacDonald. Scholastic Press pound;2.99. THE TRUE MYSTERY OF THE MARY CELESTE. By Rachel Wright. Scholastic Press pound;2.99.
The covers and format of many chapter books and short illustrated novels might suggest a key stage 1 reader, but such books are increasingly being targeted towards older pupils. The Rabbits’ Rebellion is an allegorical fable capable of being appreciated by a wide age range. Chris Riddell, a political cartoonist as well as a children’s books illustrator, was the perfect choice of artist for this story about an autocratic Wolf King who is seeking to deny the existence of rabbits.
Younger readers will enjoy the cheeky perseverance of the rabbits as they inveigle themselves into each of Monkey’s photographs. For older pupils, the unsavoury connotations of racial supremacy and ethnic cleansing will become apparent. The final sentence - “The world was full of rabbits” - ensures a happy resolution at whatever level the book is read.
In The Boy Who Could Fly, the third in Sally Gardner’s Magic Children series, Thomas Top is granted a wish by the Fat Fairy on his ninth birthday. The boy’s gift for flying brings him into conflict with several people, including teachers and friends, but the main antagonism is between Thomas and his father, a man who has become a miserable mediocrity, his youthful dreams locked away with his old motorbike and sidecar in the family garage. The poignancy of this chapter book would be lost on younger children.
Barrington Stoke’s junior fiction (it now also publishes short teenage fiction) is mainly aimed at the older end of the chapter-book market. In Annie Dalton’s Friday Forever we are in Groundhog Day country, with Lenny Brown seemingly trapped in endless repetitions of what, until now, has been his favourite day of the week. Dalton’s narrative tone is funkily conveyed in the first-person voice of Lenny (“funky” is one of his favourite words), and the moral of the story is covert enough to appeal to Years 5 and 6.
Aunt Bella’s Cat is a lighter tale. Kate spends the day with her Aunt Bella, a Hollywood film star, at a cat show to exhibit Bashir, a blue-grey Abyssinian. The pet appeal and crime climax of this story make it suitable for Years 3 and 4.
Not all short fiction is illustrated. Emma Laybourn’s Megamouse, a novel of 100 pages, has no pictures. The virtual world reality crossover element of this story, involving a computer mouse with in-built intelligence, can be enjoyed by any child fluent enough to read it. A sensitive subtext involves the main character’s relationship with his grandfather.
Helen Cooper’s Sandmare, illustrated by Ted Dewan, tells the story of a horse drawn in sand that comes to life. This is a sensitive story aimed at Years 1 to 4.
Hazel Townson’s Ignorance Is Bliss illustrates the dangers in assuming that all chapter-book fiction is for the younger child. This is an intelligent, witty book. The opening chapter sees Amy Bliss having her first kiss with teenager Luke North, who has been “smoking since he was 12 years old” and panicking because her friend Chloe tells her she might have Aids. This one’s for Years 5 to 7.
Fluent readers who prefer short books should also be directed to non-fiction, and Scholastic’s Speedy Reads series has started well. Told in a question-and-answer format, and subtitled “No more than you need to know”, these books will bring you up to speed on their subjects. Titanic cleared up several matters that had bothered me since seeing the film, and after reading the riveting The True Mystery of The Mary Celeste I confess that, until now, I have been one of those who mistakenly refer to the Marie Celeste.
Michael Thorn is deputy head of Hawkes Farm primary school, Hailsham, East Sussex
