Children’s books
Tim is pleased when his parents allow him to take Biscuits on holiday to Wales – though Mum worries that the latter’s big appetite will let the family down.
Tim and Biscuit are on the cusp between guy power and affection for their dog-eared soft toys, a fact that is picked up by two thugs, Prickle-Head and Pinch-Face, who make life miserable for them.
However, when Kelly and her lively family arrive in the nearby caravan park, the fun begins. Wilson manages to offset the ‘oil-and-water’ mix of Kelly’s working class family and Mum’s middle-class attitudes with skilful subtlety and humour. The ending is nicely rounded off in this summer read for age eight-plus.
Under the Hawthorn Tree by Marita Conlon-McKenna (O’Brien; €7.99), has been re-published together with the other books in the trilogy – Wildflower Girl and Fields of Home – with superb, atmospheric new covers by PJ Lynch. Eily, Michael and Peggy are distraught as their baby sister is buried under the eponymous hawthorn tree.
Famine is just beginning to manifest itself across the country. With their father working far away, the children are left alone when their despairing mother sets out to find him. Forced to join a group being escorted to the workhouse, they escape to make their way to a couple of aunts far away. The fear, hunger and crippling journey is almost tangible. This moving book will stir the hearts of a new generation of readers. Age 10-plus.
Perry’s 5 by Gareth P Jones (Barrington Stoke; €6.30) is set in a school where teenage Perry heads a bunch of friends – each with particular skills – to steal a GCSE maths paper. All goes well until the sadistic Mr Manners, ex-PE teacher who will be supervising, gets wind of what’s going on. And that’s when the plan begins to unravel.
