Starboard - Nicola Skinner

I am a big fan of Bloom and Storm, so the thought of a third book from Nicola Skinner filled me with joy.  Then I was invited to review the book, which meant that I got my hands on an early copy and also got the opportunity to host Nicola, who has written a special piece for me about the SS Great Britain!  How lucky am I?!

So, here's my review, followed by Nicola's piece on the inspiration for Starboard.

Kirsten Brambles is an eleven year old pupil at Brimmerton Primary School in Bristol; she also happens to be the star of a popular reality TV show, where she is looking for true love for her adopted dad.  A school trip takes Kirsten and her class to visit the SS Great Britain, a once magnificent ship built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel; however, things don't go quite as Kirsten or her ex-best friend Olive had expected, and the pair find themselves thrown back together on the ship as it comes to life and sails out of dry dock and straight out to sea.  With the ship talking to Kirsten, mannequins coming to life and a map writing messages about where they are heading, it's up to the girls to discover why this is all happening.

Starboard is a book that will sweep you away from the very beginning with its imaginative and unusual plot.  From Bristol to the Falkland Islands via New York, this is a voyage with a difference as, along with Kirsten and Olive, the main characters are actually inanimate objects.  Having typed that, I actually feel quite bad using those words as you very quickly forget their status and see them as the living, breathing beings that they are.  By the end of the book, I felt that I really knew them as people and, in fact, can safely say that they stole the show!  Flatty is the most magical map (with just the right amount of attitude) and I have to give a nod to the captain's chair (is it wrong that I want to hug it?!)  But the real star (apologies to Kirsten!) is the ship herself, the SS Great Britain - majestic and wise but with so many hidden depths (and a few secrets), she'll make you dare to hope, she'll make you cry but, most of all, she'll make you fall in love with her. 

With a nod to the illustrations by Flavia Sorrentino, Starboard is a wonderful adventure of hope, friendship and finding yourself when you think you are lost at sea, and I'm sending thought telegrams to you all to tell you to go out and buy a copy, and a special thought telegram to Nicola to say thank-you for writing yet another brilliant book.

Now, find out exactly why Nicola was inspired to write about the SS Great Britain...

When I first clapped eyes on the most beautiful ship known to humanity (not hyperbole, FACT) and decided to write a children’s book about her, did I have any idea she’d be a perfect icon of survival for these troubled times?

No.

Yet was it inevitable she’d inspire me, every day, to keep going, given how clearly amazing she is?

Yes.

Can I stop asking myself theoretical questions and get to the point, given I only have a few hundred words for this post?

I can try.

When the SS Great Britain was designed in the mid 19^th century, Isambard Kingdom Brunel created her to be the most perfect ship of all time.

And she was – for a bit.

But the world doesn’t always know how to treat its superstars, and it didn’t take long for her to be mismanaged, grow shabbier. After serving her country for forty years, she was damaged in a storm and dragged to the Falkland Islands where – (wobbly lip) – she was not repaired. She was mutilated.

This is where I start to cry, look away now.

She was stripped of anything that might turn a profit – sails, wood, fittings – then dragged to a lonely cove, scuttled, and left to rot.

She did not rot.

She held on; wrecked, damaged, neglected – but she endured. Partly, I think, because she had been built and designed with so much love. It was impossible for her to fully collapse. But also because I think some mysterious power kept her intact; like the universe knew her time wasn’t quite up.

In 1967, a group of people came together and decided, with a fierce and admirable conviction, to join forces and bring her back to Bristol, the city where she had been built.  With funding from philanthropist Jack Hayward and the concerted efforts of salvage experts, her wreck was lifted from the sand and carefully taken the 8,000 miles back to the city of Bristol, her home.

Here she was restored entirely. Now she is as beautiful as the day she was launched – if not more so, because she looks like such a survivor.  

              I find it astonishing that a ship should make me feel so emotional but in 2021, her story is the one I cling to for hope. I think about her eighty years of decline out in the Falklands and the people who believed she deserved to be rescued, and how this belief spread, and made the impossible finally possible.

As we emerge, limping, from the strangest twelve months, it’s easy to feel wrecked and washed up too. Covid has crowbarred some pretty gaping holes into all our lives. But I am confident we can repair our world and what matters.  One day, we will be restored. The SS Great Britain did not break, and neither will we. 

Starboard is published in hardback on the 1st April.

My huge thanks go to Jessica Dean at Harper Collins for this opportunity.

Digger and Me - Ros Roberts

 

James is trying to navigate a world where his parents are divorced and have new partners and in school, his class are on their third teacher of the year.  Digger, his dog, is the one thing he can rely on and is his best friend.  However, when he finds a lump on Digger's leg, things become very different. James becomes terrified that Digger will end up dying like his Uncle. 

James lives with his Mum but struggles with her partner Dave, who seems to have moved in and doesn't seem to like Digger as much - he's no longer allowed to sit under the table during dinner and James really resents that.  He knows that things are strained between his parents and, much as he wants to spend time with his dad, he knows that his mum finds it difficult; add to that that his Dad's new partner, Kathy, doesn't seem to want to spend much time with him, and he has much to navigate.  Digger is a much needed constant in his life so finding the lump is a terrible blow to him.  He is terrified.

At school, the class are getting used to yet another new teacher; however, it quickly becomes apparent that Mr Froggatt is different from their previous teachers, using poetry as a way to get to know the children, to allow them to think about themselves more, and his 'no pressure to share' means that the children don't feel any pressure. The use of poetry throughout the book is lovely and the whole idea of the poetry book homework is one I particularly like and one I may try with my class!  He has a relaxed manner with the class but they know exactly where they are with him - he is a great character!

Digger and Me covers a host of topics that will be relevant to many children: parental divorce, changing teachers, grief, illness of a pet, and is perfect for fans of Carlie Sorosiak.

Released on 13th May, I can't wait to share this with my class (it will go in to school on Monday and I know it will be snapped up as soon as it leaves the necessary quarantine period!

Twitch - M.G. Leonard

 

Twitch, as his name suggests, is a keen bird watcher, which doesn't make him overly popular at school.  In fact, he counts his pet pigeons and chickens as his friends, and plans to spend his summer holidays at his makeshift hide in Aves Wood, spotting kingfishers and other local birds. His plans don't start well though when he finds Jack and a group of boys from school threatening to kill a pigeon. Unable to walk past, Twitch steps in but suffers the consequences and is about to be force-fed a worm when Billy steps in. A burly man who has come from nowhere, he rescues Twitch and the pair get talking about bird watching - what luck that Billy also likes to watch birds and just happens to be looking for somewhere quiet to stay. The following day, Twitch heads to Aves Woods but his bird-watching plans are scuppered as Robber Ryan has escaped from prison and is reportedly hiding out in the woods.  Consequently, the police are swarming all over the place, scaring off the birds. Far from being scared off, Twitch decides that his bird-watching skills could be useful in more ways than one in helping the police to catch Ryan, but will he be successful and who are the girls he keeps seeing?

This is a wonderful book for so many reasons: it's written by M.G. Leonard and I've loved all of her books so far (in fact O wrote a review for Beetle Boy that appeared in the window of Watertsones Newcastle for a month so we have a real soft spot for all Maya's books!); it has a main character that you are going to just love and the ending ... oh, just wait till you get to the ending!!!  It's Enid Blyton meets Bugsy Malone and you'll not want it to finish!!!

Twitch (Corvus Featerstone), as a main character, is somebody you are going to warm to! His love of birds is his passion and he isn't afraid to be himself. Despite being bullied, he won't walk away when the bullies are in trouble; he is trusting and just seems to want to see the best in people; but above all else, he cares about people and animals. He's the sort of person you want to get to know and you'll be sad to say goodbye to at the end of the book.

As well as a celebration of nature, this book is a wonderful adventure that will keep you guessing as to what is behind characters' actions - are people hiding things?  Is that little voice at the back of Twitch's head right? And what on earth will happen in the end?  The book will leave you wondering but I have to say that the ending is truly superb! You'll want to jump into the pages and join in!

From a teacher's point of view, I can see this book being a wonderful class reader: be it simply as a book to read for pleasure to your class, or one to use as a basis of a unit of work - there are so many possibilities and I found myself thinking about different writing opportunities and discussion points right the way through.

UPDATE: Since writing this blog in March, Twitch has become quite the talked about book in school!  The proof copy has been read by a few of my book group and feedback meant that my class chose it as their current book I read to them for pleasure.  When they heard I was taking part in this blog tour, they were very keen to give their opinions and many of them decided to pretend they were writing a quote for the front of the book!  Here's what they had to say:

'Twitch is an exciting book filled with mountains of surprises.'

'Twitch is a different book with an amazing storyline.  If you like birds, mysteries and laughs, this is the book for you.'

'I like all the different birds in Twitch.'

'I love this book!  It's full of nature, action and love, showing how people can get along, no matter what.'

'I like how, in the book, it doesn't go straight to the action and provides a bit of backstory.'

'I like Twitch because the storyline is very creative and it comes with a strong meaning.'

'Twitch is inspiring people to help life and save the animals.'

'I love how you can try and figure out who Robber Ryan is without reaching the end.'

'I like Twitch because the author gives each bird a personality and also puts in a bit of mystery with Robber Ryan being on the loose.'

'I love the tension in this book.'

'I really like the book Twitch because it is very adventurous and is just a really good book.'

'I am enjoying Twitch because of the suspense of the girls, Robber Ryan and the 5 million pounds.'

'I enjoy Twitch because it's an adventure with a twist of mystery.'

'Twitch is filled with excitement and bird facts and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in birds and adventure!'

'I am enjoying this book because they are making friends and looking for 5 million pounds.'

'I am really enjoying this books as it is quite suspenseful.' 

And finally, from me, their teacher: 'In short, this is another master-piece from the wonder that is MG Leonard.'

Harley Hitch and the Iron Forest - Vashti Hardy

 I'm a big Vashti Hardy fan so news of a book for slightly younger readers caused me much excitement; especially when an early copy arrived at home (many, many thanks to Harriett at Scholastic for that!).

Harley Hitch lives in Forgetown, which is part of the city of Inventia where mechanics, robots and inventing are part of daily life.  Harley is full of good intentions, so when the first lesson of the new school year involves designing and building miniature working models of a new watermill for Rusty River, she is determined to do the best she can - after all, she is desperate to be awarded the prestigious honour of being Pupil of the Term. She reluctantly teams up with new student Cosmo and their design looks to be one of the best until it explodes and Harley realises that her classmate, Fenelda ( who was last term's Pupil of the Term, ad is desperate to repeat the honour) hands Harley liquid fire instead of  liquid light.  As a result, Harley and Cosmo are forced to spend after school in detention, in the Iron Forest, collecting cogs, and it's here that they discover what appears to be a new fungus growing on one of the trees.  Excited, they rush home to tell Harley's two grandpas, who suggest they tell their teacher the following day.  This results in a trip to the Iron Forest where the class discover that the fungus has grown quite alarmingly over night, and if the forest is in danger then the mechanical parts that everyone needs are also in danger.  Whilst their teacher reports the issue to the Horticultural Society of Forgetown, Harley decides that this is the perfect opportunity to prove her worth as Pupil of the Term and sets about trying to rid the forest of the fungus herself. But will her efforts succeed or will she just end up in more trouble?

Harley really is a rather wonderful character: from the second we meet her, you see that she is well-meaning, trying desperately to make it to school without being late; however things seem to always conspire against her.  Combine that with her individual dress style (who wouldn't want to adapt your outfits so you can carry useful tools?) and you have a brilliant character. I also like her imperfections though: she makes mistakes, she's often impulsive and she definitely gets things wrong!  She realises, sometimes, when she needs to ask for help and when she needs to apologise.  In short, she's human and readers will warm to her immediately - I know I did!  Cosmo; however, is rather the opposite: very neat, rather quiet (probably shy on his first day), determined to make a good impression and keen not to upset his mum.  Together, they make a great pair, even when they aren't speaking to each other!

The world that Vashti has created here is simply wonderful!  (although I shouldn't be surprised having read her previous books!). The entire place is based upon technology and the robots are rather wonderful. Harley's pet, Sprocket, is just a delight and has his own huge personality, so much so that you may forget he's a robot! I particularly love the modifications that allow him to bring Harley a cupcake at the end of the day!  And, please, if I ask nicely and promise to be polite to it, can I have my own tidy-bot, please?! The STEM theme that runs through the book, as well as the female characters taking the lead in technological creations, is bound to inspire young, female readers, and I love that!

Ooh, and I have to mention the illustrations by George Ermos, which are just a joy to find dotted throughout the book.  And please ... that map at the beginning ... I love it!

With messages about friendship, learning from your mistakes and not giving up, this is a great adventure that will introduce younger readers to the wonderful writing of Vashti Hardy and I can't wait to see what Harley, Cosmo and Sprocket get up to next!