Tag Rachael Dean

The Seaside Sleepover

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The Seaside Sleepover
Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Rachael Dean
Puffin

This latest addition to the Sleepover series takes place during the summer holidays. (For those who haven’t read the previous ones, Daisy’s elder sister Lily is a wheelchair user and uses Makaton to communicate.) Daisy wonders what she’ll find to do with her best friend, Emily having gone on a seaside holiday in a caravan.

Next door to Daisy’s family lives old Mr Norman and his dog, Scruff. She’s very fond of the dog but Mr Norman is standoffish and proud so resents interference from other people. However when he takes a tumble and has to go to hospital there’s really nobody else to take care of Scruff and reluctantly Mum agrees that the dog can stay with them. This makes the school holiday a rather more exciting prospect. Then Daisy starts wishing they could take Scruff to the seaside; she’s sure he’d enjoy that as much as she would.

That evening Daisy’s Uncle Gary face-times them and is very excited: he’s putting on a family friendly comedy show at the seaside. He’s staying in a posh hotel that has additional holiday homes including one he thinks would suit them. At last Daisy’s parents agree and on the Saturday, they’re off, accompanied by Scruff and Lily’s friend, Natalie who uses a support for walking.

What an eventful time they have especially being in the front row for Uncle Gary’s performance when he cross-dresses and becomes Gloriette; but there are surprises, new friends

and some difficult situations to deal with too.

There are few authors who both understand children so well and portray them so credibly in stories as Jacqueline Wilson. Rachael Dean’s light-hearted illustrations further enliven the drama.

KS2 readers will devour this and I throughly recommend it for classroom collections and home bookshelves.

Star of the Show

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I have a guest reviewer today: my relation Emmanuelle, an 11 year old, avid reader. Here’s what she had to say:

Star of the Show
Jacqueline Wilson, illustrated by Rachael Dean
Puffin Books

Jaqueline Wilson’s latest book is an amazing tale of family and hardship. Tess, from whose viewpoint the story is told, and her family live in Victorian England. Sadly their Ma has just died and their Pa has walked out on the children. The five siblings, Maggie, Connor, Tess, Tommy and baby Ada do their best to support one another, the older brother and sister doing all they can to earn some money. Tess though dreams of being a dancer. but she has to attend The Ragged School where she looks after little Ada.
One day she learns of a pantomime that is to be performed at The Grand Theatre and she determines to audition for a role dancing in Cinderella … Can she possibly fulfil her wish?

I really loved reading this story, especially the way in which you are introduced to the characters and gradually learn more about them all as the narrative unfolds. It’s great to see how, from such a bad situation at the start, things get progressively better for every one of them.
One thing I found surprising was that readers only truly understand the title in the second part of the book.

A wonderful story and one I would definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys stories set in bygone days or wants to pursue a dream.

Clifftoppers: The Frost Castle Adventure / A Christmas in Time

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Here are two gripping wintry stories from Nosy Crow Publishers:

Clifftoppers: The Frost Castle Adventure
Fleur Hitchcock

This is the fourth of the adventure series featuring Aiden, Chloe, Ava and Josh, who spend holidays at their grandparents’place. It’s coming up to New Year and as the story opens the cousins are trudging through the snow towards Frost Castle when a passing car spins out of control crashing into a snow drift. The children manage to extricate the driver, a young woman wrapped in several scarves, wearing a gold pendant and claiming to be cursed. It turns out that she’s a well-known actress who’s to play the lead in Frost Castle’s winter play – a murder mystery – and she also mentions an attempted break-in at her flat before she’d set off for the Castle.

Before long the four children are asked to help with the play. Despite talk of ghosts, they think they should stay and very soon that pendant goes missing. There must be a villain lurking in their midst.
Can the cousins use their skills and courage to discover what is really going on?

With her terrific storytelling skill, Fleur Hitchcock snares readers’ attention from the outset and keeps them involved and intrigued throughout. Whether or not they’re familiar with the previous books, children will thoroughly enjoy this one.

A Christmas in Time
Sally Nicholls, illustrated by Rachael Dean

This is the latest in Sally Nicholls’ time-slip series wherein Ruby and Alex fall through the mirror in their aunt’s house to discover they’re in a different historical period and have to undertake a task before returning to the present.

Now Aunt Joanna has broken her leg and the siblings are anticipating a Christmas doing chores when suddenly having gone through the mirror, they’re back in 1872 about to experience a Victorian Christmas instead.

As a result they meet Edith (8) who with no mother and a father soon to return to India, is about to be sent off to a horrible-sounding boarding school. Then Alex and Ruby realise that she’s being sent to the very place where in February 1873 a terrible cholera epidemic killed off two thirds of the children. Can they persuade her father – the far from pleasant Uncle Elijah – to send her elsewhere.

By all accounts it’s not going to be easy, but can they work some seasonal magic and turn things around for Edith? Or maybe she’ll decide to take matters into her own hands …

With plenty of action, a very interesting cast of characters (some rather eccentric), and details of a Victorian Christmas with singing,

parlour games, ice-skating and candles this is a smashing read, be it in the run-up to Christmas or at any time. I love Rachael Dean’s illustrations and Isabelle Follath’s cover art too.