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A Winter’s Tale
A new series of children’s books from Ireland have finally hit British bookstores. MARTINA EVANS looks at what’s on offer to fire the imagination during the long winter evenings.
Not so long ago, as a child growing up in rural Ireland, a trip to the local library opened up a world of adventure.
The two afternoons a week which the library was open meant we were able to borrow two or three books to get our noses into.
That library opened up our minds to adventure stories, science fiction, horror tales — and even romance. And it was a great source of inspiration long before the internet was invented.
Now one of Ireland’s leading publishers of children’s books is crossing the sea to Britain.
O’Brien Press is the original publisher of author Eoin Colfer — who went on to find international fame with Artemis Fowl.
For years, you could buy books from this family-run firm in Ireland in France and even Germany — but rarely in Britain.
But now, in a distribution deal struck with publishers Macmillan, the O’Brien catalogue is available in British High Street bookstores.
Their new collection was launched in London recently and here we present reviews of a selection of the best of their books for older children and young adults.
Benny and Omar by Eoin Colfer — £5.99.
Internationally-acclaimed author Eoin Colfer was first published by O’Brien Press in 1998. Benny and Omar was an immediate success and was voted Irish Book of the Year by Robert Dunbar on The Late Late show.
Eoin Colfer’s style is unmistakable — a very humorous voice with a real eye for description.
Benny Shaw is a bit of boyo, great at hurling, but not very sensitive to other people’s feelings. When Mr Shaw’s job moves the whole family to Africa, Benny is in for the shock of his life. Out of place at the local school, Benny wanders forlornly before befriending a local boy called Omar.
One of the funniest parts of the book is the way Omar and Benny communicate through the English that Omar has learned from television.
Benny and Omar get up to all kinds of mischief, much to disgust of the village guards, but when Omar’s sister is in trouble, Benny risks his life to save his friend.
Eoin Colfer brings the beauty of Tunisia startlingly alive on the page. As well as being hilarious, Benny and Omar is a deep and affecting story with well drawn characters.
Wings Over Delft, Book 1: The Louise Trilogy by Aubrey Flegg — £6.99
Aubrey Flegg is author of the acclaimed Katie’s War which won the Peter Pan Award in 2000 and now Wings Over Delft has been announced as the winner of the 2004 Bisto Award.
Set in 17th century Holland, this beautifully written book shimmers with light, rather like the Dutch art that forms one of the themes of this historical novel for young adults.
Daughter of a liberated and wealthy Dutch potter, Louise Eeden feels weighed down by the fact everyone seems to expect her to marry her childhood friend Reynier, who is heir to the wealthy DeVries family pottery business.
Louise’s old nurse makes it clear that the alliance between the two families would further her father’s business interests — which inhibits Louise from stating her reservations against marrying Reynier.
When her father sends her to be painted by Master Haitink, Louise is brought into closer contact with a world of art and science hitherto only shared with her father.
Fascinated by theories of art and astronomy and unaware of a mesh of intrigue unfolding around her, Louise navigates her way to the truth in this compelling sensitive story.
A Girl Called Blue by Marita Conlon-McKenna — £5.99
Marita Conlon McKenna is well known for her internationally-acclaimed Children of the Famine trilogy, which is also published by O’Brien Press.
That trilogy is a riveting account of one young family’s adventures during the famine and afterwards in America. A gifted storyteller, Conlon-McKenna has the reader gripped from the very first page.
The 12-year-old Blue has been brought up in a convent since she was a baby. The nuns have called her Bernadette, but the other children call her Blue because of her large beautiful blue eyes.
Blue is a resilient character who has survived appalling and loveless conditions at Larch Hill Convent and there are heart-rending accounts of the other children who have ended up in mental institutions.
But Blue is not about to be dissuaded from finding out who her real mother is, despite the fact that the terrifying and brutal Sister Regina keeps the files locked in her office.
However, as in life, things never turn out as expected. Blue is in for several shocks before the happy ending, which is achieved without sentimentality.
Just Joshua by Jan Michael — £4.99
Dutch author Jan Michael lives in Amsterdam. She grew up in the Seychelles and her writing is steeped in the sights, smells and sounds of Africa.
Set in an unidentified African country, the story is about a young boy called Joshua, who finds out that his father may be a mountain man from a tribe feared and hated by the people of the village. Up to then, Joshua had felt he was part of village life, but if his father is a mountain man what does it make him?
The Gods and Their Machines by Oisín McGann — £5.99
This original and thrilling fantasy novel is set in the country of Altima. The protagonist Chamus is attending a normal day at his flying school, when suddenly the walls of the hangar melt away and he finds himself in the middle of the street.
He hears the sound of airplanes and the whistle of bombs falling. From this dramatic beginning Chamus is flung into a dramatic series of adventures.
When he regains consciousness he realises that he is the only survivor and all his school friends are dead.
He swears revenge on Hadram Cassal — a group of suicidal assassins from Bartokhrin who have claimed responsibility for the attack.
On the other side of the border is Riadni. Unusually for a Bartokrian girl, she dresses like a boy and she can ride and fight. She supports the Hadran Cassal who are camping on her father’s land.
When Chamus’ plane crashes in Bartokhrin, Riadni and Chamus are thrown together, forced on the run and driven to fight together for their lives.
A compelling read which echoes the terrorist wars waged in our own times.
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