Tag Ross Montgomery

Small Wonder

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Small Wonder
Ross Montgomery
Walker Books

Tick, who is ten and his younger brother Leaf, (fivish) were cared for by their grandfather in a cottage on the farthest edge of the forest until he died. Thus far their life had been peaceful but then a fleet of black-sailed ships appeared on the horizon – the Drene warships – and what Tick calls a Hunter is on the prowl: it’s time to leave, destination the King’s Keep.Grandfather had warned that this day might come and now they have just six moons to reach the mighty fortress built by the previous ruler, Good King Avery, before the drawbridge is pulled up.

Readers follow the boys’ journey on their trusty steed, a dapple grey mare, Pebble, as they flee from all they’ve known. A terrifying and testing journey it truly is, full of adventure and with only a rough idea of how to reach King’s Keep, they travel through forest, grassland and around mountains. There’s snow to contend with, bandits, strangers who may not be what they seem, and more; but all the while Tick has in mind that he must honour his Grandfather’s last words,”If you have one chance, then you have to make it count.”

Can they both reach their destination in time or will the Hunter or the snow get them first? Assuredly it will take all Tick’s determination and courage, but eventually arrive, they do, in no small measure thanks to Pebble. By the time they get to the Keep, Tick has learned more than he ever imagined possible and is ready to face whatever comes next.

With the twist at the end, this is a truly brilliant adventure story, Ross’s best yet in my book. Thoroughly recommended for older readers and it would make a terrific read aloud to share with an upper KS2 class.

Ant Party

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Ant Party
Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton
Walker Books

It’s Andy the ant’s birthday so he decides to throw a party – just a small affair to which only his neighbours are invited. But the neighbours haven’t any food to contribute so they invite the farmer ants. News of the party quickly spreads throughout the ant community to the worker ants, the soldier ants and the Queen. She takes it upon herself to invite residents of other ant hills nearby

and before long there are thousands of excited ants ready for a rave. Andy finishes his preparations just as there comes a knock on his door. He can’t believe what his sees right before his eyes. In they come and immediately begin partying madly but suddenly there’s a horrifying sound that makes Andy’s house shake. It’s a gatecrasher in the form of an anteater and the ants are trapped, and terrified.

All that is except Andy who is absolutely furious. At his behest, the other ants rally round, form a conga line and the anteater gets his cum uppance. This will surely get child audiences cheering.
Having bested the intruder the ants celebrate long into the night giving Andy a terrific party, the greatest ever, despite not being exactly what the birthday ant had imagined.

Ross’s telling is thoroughly engaging and young children will adore Andy (I love his leafy apron) and the other ants, each of which Sarah Warburton manages to make different with spectacles, eyebrows, moustaches etc. Every turn of the page invites readers to linger long and enjoy all that’s going on. I’m sure this is a party children will want to go to many times over.

The Thing at 52

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The Thing at 52
Ross Montgomery and Richard Johnson
Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

This tale is narrated by a little girl who makes friends with the large fluffy Thing that lives close to her home.

Deciding to take him a flower, she and her mother call on the creature and are invited in to what the girl thinks is a strange house with just a single chair, newspaper rugs and a fridge containing only jars of mustard – fifty of them. His response to her question about feeling lonely is answered thus, “All things are lonely sometimes.”

As their friendship blossoms, the two spend more and more time together, sometimes going on adventures,

and the child learns that there are hundreds more Things just like her friend.

The narrator organises a wonderful party for all the Things, but then suddenly the special Thing looks very old

and the worst happens: with a hug as they watch the sunrise, the Thing disappears. All that remains are his old photos and memories of the wonderful times the two had spent together.

This tale of friendship and loss is all the more powerful on account of its gentleness. Death is never mentioned though it can be inferred from the somewhat dreamlike story. Dreamlike too are Richard Johnson’s soft-focus illustrations that have a potency of their own and are a superb complement to Ross’s words.

Spellstone

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Spellstone
Ross Montgomery
Walker Books

Used to going unnoticed, even by her parents, an ordinary twelve year old, Evie, wakes from a weird dream of being in a theatre where it pours with rain and the audience sleeps, other than the five in the front row, an odd assortment of people who happen to be the last members of a secret magical organisation, the Order of the Stone. Its leader, Wainwright tells the others, that he has discovered a sorcerer who may be their last hope in defeating an evil magician intent on finding the Spellstone and unleashing the dark magic contained within and destroying the world. He then proceeds to introduce Evie.

After school that day, feeling even more unseen than ever and despairing that she’ll ever find her own people, Evie takes the route home along the canal towpath. Suddenly a cyclist comes too close causing her to fall over, but she’s helped by a man whom she recognises from her dream. He introduces himself as Wainwright and tells her about Emrys, the Spellstone, which he’s been tasked to keep hidden and an evil magician determined to find it. He hands Evie a rusty old piece of metal on a chain, saying it’s precious and she must keep it hidden until she’s ‘with the others’. Before she has time to ask who is the mysterious Alinora he’d mentioned, he dashes off hotly pursued by a number of men.

That evening there comes a scratching sound at her bedroom window and Evie discovers the cat from her dream, a cat that can talk. A cat that tells of smoke men coming and insists they leave right away. Evie follows her, eager for answers, and she’s led to a narrow boat, the hideout of the members of the Order – the people from her dream. “She’s here! I’ve got her! We’re safe! announces the cat.

Thus begins a breathtaking adventure in which an unsuspecting girl is plunged right into an ancient battle against a dangerously power-hungry magician intent on unleashing on an unsuspecting world the evil bound within the Spellstone. You’ll surely find your heart racing as Evie struggles to discover her magic power before it’s too late. She needs to find the hidden Spellstone and do to it what’s needed before it once more unleashes darkness upon the world. All this with an army of evil Vale’s smoke men always on the watch.

Again storyteller extraordinaire, Ross Montgomery, has created an amazing world: this fantastic tale will grip readers as a determined Evie and the other Members of the Order face danger after danger. It’s imperative that they work as a team if the mission has a chance of succeeding. Can good overcome evil and will Evie finally be reunited with her parents?

Penguin Huddle

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Penguin Huddle
Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton
Walker Books

Meet the penguin pack, a playful lot that spend their days having fun, then at sundown they come together under the starry skies and form a huddle. Thus they keep snug and warm throughout the nights; till one night a particularly fierce gale blows up and the following morning the penguins awake to discover they’re stuck fast together. No amount of pulling and puffing, shuffling and scuffling can unfreeze the ginormous ‘penguin ice pop’.

Acting on tiny Pipsqueak’s suggestion they call on their friends to help; but neither the heaving and hugging of the snow hares, nor the prising and puffing of the walruses made the slightest difference. Can Pipsqueak’s clever idea diffuse the panic that now besets those huddling, muddling penguins?


By means of various modes of transport the penguins journey over land and sea until they eventually reach a shining city, the streets of which are full of animals from all parts of the world.
Several of the creatures are ready to try defrosting the huddle but they meet with no success. Just when the other penguins are on the point of abandoning their search, Pipsqueak has another idea. Can they reach the establishment of Doctopus before the surgery closes? Happily their new friends are there to assist.

What happens when they reach their destination though …

This is a cracking tale of friendship, community and helping those in trouble that will surely melt the hearts of young audiences and the readers aloud who share it with them, be they huddled, cuddled or snuggled. Sarah’s portrayal of all those penguins is absolutely wonderful, especially Pipsqueak.

Ten Delicious Teachers

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Ten Delicious Teachers
Ross Montgomery and Sarah Warburton
Walker Books

In all my time as a teacher I’ve heard teachers called many thing but never ‘delicious’. Get hold of this yummy counting down rhyme though and you’ll immediately see the reason for the adjective.

Many youngsters have recently bid farewell to their teachers but here you’ll not see a single child for as the book begins what we have is those ten teachers, tired and weary coming out en masse only to discover that they’ve missed the last bus home: no cars parked in a car park- what a ‘green’ lot they are.

Maybe though, I should use green in another way, for following Mr Smith’s suggestion to take the shortcut, they head off into the Dark Forest wherein lurks a hungry horde of hirsute beasties of all shapes, sizes and hues, ready and waiting for that next tidbit.

One by one, the easily distracted teachers are gulped down by the waiting monsters

until just one, Miss Hunter the nursery teacher remains.

Then comes a brilliant twist to Ross’s jaunty rhyming tale: who will have the last laugh though? Surely that will be the youngsters who savour this number narrative so dramatically illustrated by Sarah Warburton whose mock-scary monsters are hilarious. I love all her witty details too.

The Midnight Guardians

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The Midnight Guardians
Ross Montgomery
Walker Books

I was totally gripped by this wintry tale set in WW2 right from the opening pages. Twelve-year-old Col who has recently lost his father, has been evacuated to his Aunt Claire’s. He feels totally alone, for his older sister has remained in blitz-ravaged London where she faces constant danger while helping with the war effort.

Col starts hearing voices calling to him – the same voices he heard as a younger child. They’re the voices of his imaginary (so he supposes) childhood friends – the Midnight Guardians. Step up gallant knight, King of the Rogues (small and fearless), Pendlebury, a tiger brave and noble, able to change size at will and, Mr Noakes, a gentle, scruffy old badger with a nose for finding food, who sports a waistcoat.

These three have come to help him in his quest to save his sister and telling him that he’s in mortal danger as darkness, in the form of The Midwinter King, is determined to take over the land. Thus begins a race to bomb-blitzed London, accompanied by Kindertransport refugee Ruth, a brave, strong-willed girl with her own reasons for going to the capital.

So, it’s a double battle: Col and his entourage on the side of The Green Man – against time and the forces of dark. Ross Montgomery has created a terrific cast of characters that, in addition to those already mentioned, includes bogeys, fairies and Gog and Magog(s) all of whom Col encounters in this compelling tale of hope and enchantment in a world where myth and legend, history and hardships are interwoven.

Ultimately, it’s a perfectly paced tale of strong friendship, courage and trust: hope and love versus hatred and fear.

The Building Boy / Here Comes Mr Postman

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The Building Boy
Ross Montgomery and David Lichfield
Faber Children’s Books
This is a powerfully moving story at the heart of which lies the relationship between a boy and his Grandma who had once been an award-winning architect. Before bedtime in the house they shared, the two would snuggle together and Grandma would show her grandson photographs of buildings she’d designed.

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That was all in the past but now, she had plans for a wonderful new house she’d build with his help – a home the two would share.
Grandma, all the while is growing ever more frail and one day when he returns home, the boy finds she has died. The lad is overcome with grief.
Such is his love for his gran however, the boy is driven to carry on building. He works on a huge robotic-looking structure somewhat akin to The Iron Woman,

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a seeming reincarnation of his Gran; and she has plans … plans for an amazing journey the two will undertake together …

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Where that journey ultimately leads is to a deeply affecting finale – a place wherein the spirit of his beloved Grandma will forever reside …

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David Lichfield, who demonstrated his artistic brilliance in The Bear and the Piano imbues this enigmatic tale of love, loss and finding your calling with a sense of awe and wonder. His use of dark and light transports readers to that dreamlike place where anything is possible and the unbelievable becomes believable …

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What an inspired partnering of author/artist this was and the result is a book that will linger long in the mind.

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Here Comes the Postman
Marianne Dubuc
Book Island
It’s Monday morning and with cart loaded, Mr Postmouse sets off on his rounds. We join him as he delivers letters and parcels to all manner of unlikely animal recipients. The story itself is a straightforward description of the various stopping places but the illustrations are absolutely crammed with quirky details as we look into each home visited. It’s no easy round for Mr P has to scale heights …

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and dive deep …

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to complete his round and every stop provides readers an opportunity to peep inside the huge variety of residences and see for instance Dad Rabbit busy preparing a meal, a Crocodile languishing in the bath and another enjoying a book (and a nibble),and some bats – errr – dangling.
After all the hard work, there’s one package left in Mr Postmouse’s cart and it’s a very special delivery he has to make – to his small son, Pipsqueak whose birthday it is.
This is definitely a book to share and to pore over: I can see a fair bit of time being spent over each and every location Mr P delivers to. Terrific fun.

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