First Chapter: Books for younger readers
With ANNE CUNNINGHAM
Two books for younger readers are featured this week, one for sports fans (although it’s a good story for all children, including the non-sporty ones) and one about a mythical, shape-shifting purple wolf with special powers, who has already stolen kids’ hearts and imaginations in his previous books. For the adults there’s a comforting story of a lifelong friendship set across countries and decades, and there’s also a magical realist novel with feminist undertones, set against the backdrop of 19th century London.
Marjorie & Claudette - Elaine Somers
Conrad Press €15.00
The novel begins with Marjorie, an English and languages teacher, hoping to get five of her school pupils into Oxford, where she herself spent her student years. She’s teaching in an exclusive boarding school on the beautiful island of Jersey and life is sweet, but when WW II breaks out in 1939 she is relocated to the mainland and set to work for the Admiralty. She meets a charming Naval officer, they fall in love, marry in haste and their marriage is shortlived when his ship is attacked at sea.
Years later she is to meet Claudette, another languages teacher, from Rouen and their friendship takes them to various locations from Northern Ireland to Paris. Claudette is an extrovert, a complete antidote to Marjorie’s shyness and they make a complimentary pair of best friends. This novel explores their friendship over their lifetime and has lots to say about what really constitutes a family. A collection of people all sharing the same DNA seems to be a rather narrow definition, at least in the spirit of this novel.
It's quite a tome but makes for a relaxed and comforting fireside read during these chilly, windswept March evenings.
The Gifts - Liz Hyder
Manilla Press €16.99
Liz Hyder’s previous novel, titled Bearmouth, was written for the YA market and won three major literary prizes for older children’s fiction, which is quite a feat for a debut author. The Gifts is fixed firmly on the adult market, a historical novel set in Victorian London with more than a smattering of magical realism. If fantasy is your cup of tea, then Hyder’s novel is for you.
A woman falls into a Shropshire forest, half-dead with the effort of tearing off her huge wings. Word about her astounding story quickly travels to the gossip mills of London and more women seem to be falling to earth in a similar way, like ‘fallen angels’. A well-known London surgeon who likes to treat his amputation operations like a macabre circus, hears about these stricken creatures and his imagination is fired. He’s never done any surgery involving wings before, surely this could be the absolute pinnacle of his already outstanding career?
The grime and poverty, the bawdiness and drunkenness on the streets of Victorian London are all brought vividly to life and even if magical realism is not your thing, you’ll find The Gifts is a clever and evocative story about the plight of women, human and ethereal, in a brutal and unforgiving man’s world.
Wulfie: A Ghostly Tail - Lindsay J Sedwewick
Little Island €8.00
It’s hard to believe that Wulfie, the adorable purple wolf with mystical magical powers is on his fourth novel already! And poor Libby is still living with her insufferable stepmother Veronika and wicked stepbrother Rex. Her father is as distracted as ever with his new inventions and besides Wulfie, Libby’s only refuge is her friend Nazim and his dog Zodiac, who happens to be Wulfie’s biggest fan.
Veronika decides she wants to sell the old family home and at the same time poor Wulfie gets stuck in the house’s ancient plumbing. The racket Wulfie
makes in the pipes convinces Veronika that the house is haunted, and hungry for any publicity she can get, Veronika invites a TV crew into her ‘haunted’ home. Libby must ensure this crew don’t discover Wulfie. Another hilarious adventure for the 8+ market from the talented Lindsay Sedgewick and the equally talented illustrator Rosa Devine.
Declan Kirby GAA Star: Over the Bar Michael Egan
Gill €8.99
Young Declan Kirby is approached by his new 6th class schoolteacher, Mr O’Flaherty, to play hurling for the school. But Declan has never hurled. He’s a very talented football player and that’s what he loves playing. But Mr O’Flaherty isn’t the type of teacher you say ‘no’ to. Then an injury leaves Declan off the field for a while. He persuades his talented brother Daniel to take his place on the team. The problem is Daniel, as the result of an early childhood illness, is not allowed to take part in field sports. And there’s another problem; the hurling and football finals this year are happening on the same day…
Primary school teacher Michael Egan can really whip up the excitement in these excellent sports novels for the 9+ market. He makes the concepts of communal effort and team spirit immensely attractive to the young reader. And who doesn’t like a good GAA yarn? For the diehard young Kirby fans, you can look forward to the next Declan Kirby, titled ‘European Dreams’ being published on April 21st. Any local bookshop will accept a pre-order.
Footnotes
The Museum of Literature Ireland, known as MoLI, is again hosting the Edna O’Brien Young Writers Bursary this coming July for youngsters of between 15 and 17 years of age. This is a very special opportunity for some talented young
pens, but the closing date for submissions is very close, it’s March 14th. Full details are on the MoLI.ie website.
Photo Ireland Festival 2022 is happening this summer for all of July and August and they’re looking for exhibition production staff for prebuild, installation and deinstallation work. This is busy manual work and perfect for anyone interested in being part of such an interesting an ambitious project. Work commences offsite in May and full details on applications are on the website photoireland.org/news.
See more of Anne's columns in the Meath Chronicle every week or follow her on Twitter @anniecrecipes