Whether stuck in a traffic jam during the Bank Holiday when visiting one of those obscure tourist attraction your parents think is educational; or sitting waiting at an airport as the departure board flashes up ‘delayed’ for the umpteenth time, I always think that the summer holiday is the perfect time to sit back, relax and enjoy a good book. This summer I read three really excellent books, which were all completely different and wonderful in their own way.
The first book I would like to recommend is My Family and Other Animals, an autobiography written by Gerald Durrel. This book tells the tale of Gerald as a young boy, and his family’s temporary emigration to Corfu. Durrel subtlety blends beautifully detailed descriptions about the Island, with humorous anecdotes about the vast array of animals he encountered. A vicious albatross, two rascally thieving magpies, and an archaic terrapin with an apatite for goldfish, all play a part in describing the chaotic life of the Durrel family, which often borders on the farcical. Although I found the lengthy descriptions on occasions a little tedious this is generally a very good book for the more able readers amongst you, and you will often find yourself quietly chuckling away to yourself.
My next summer read was an intriguing book called I coriander. Written by Sally Gardner and winner of the prestigious Nestle Children’s book award, I was expecting great things from this book. Thankfully I was not disappointed. The story was captivating, and my eyes remained glued to the pages, so much so I managed to complete reading it in one day! The story is about a little girl called Coriander Hobie who lives with her parents in London. Set just after the English Civil War this book blends together historical fact, with a parallel spellbinding fairy tale involving castles, a wicked witch and a beautiful heroine. Yes it is completely unbelievable, but extraordinarily intriguing and captivating. For all those keen readers in year seven and eight this book makes the perfect read and contains the perfect blend of romance, history, magic and more!
Last but by no means least I finally got round to reading Cornelia Funke’s well known children’s novel Inkheart. My advice to the avid readers amongst you is to read this book now before Hollywood completely obliterate it in their soon to be released blockbuster movie. This book is full of tension, intrigue and mystery as well as a little magic. The ‘baddies’ are just that… malevolent and evil. Whilst the heroine of the novel, – a little girl called Meggie, is likeable without being annoying like so many of the stereotypical young heroines in children’s literature. She makes mistakes, has faults but still remains true to her role in the book. Also there is Meggies crotchety old aunt who is an avid book lover and collector. As a Librarian I expect I was supposed to identify with this character, but instead I found her amusing, entertaining and loveable. This book seems to carry you along in a tide of action and intrigue. Cleverly written and carefully thought through the only real problem with this book I felt was its size. I felt on occasions it could have been cut down, making it more accessible and helping it to flow more easily.
