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The Letter With The Golden Stamp by Onjali Q Rauf

May22

Engaging & Heartfelt

The Letter With The Golden Stamp by Onjali Q Rauf is a powerful contemporary children’s novel. It is perfect for ages ten years and over. Whatever your age, this book will leave you full of admiration for the lead character nine year old Audrey.

The book is about a single parent family in Swansea. The mother is often bed-ridden with osteoarthritis, leaving Audrey to run the house, looking after her four year old twin siblings and mother who has more bad days than good. “Some days we used to have what Mam calls a Sunshine Day. That’s when her bones feel like there’s a strong bit of sun heating them all up, and she’s not in too much pain, and I can go to school without worrying.” Audrey continually worries that if the authorities know, then she and her siblings will be taken away. Audrey feels isolated as she cannot confide in anyone.

Just occasionally Audrey does ‘normal’ things. “I felt normal. Like I was doing something everyone else got to do every day but I never usually did.” Audrey worries, so her Mam doesn’t have to. “I have to make sure Mam doesn’t worry about things too much.”

Audrey searches for her Tad, believing that he could fix things for her. This search leads her to take drastic action.

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My Brother’s Secret by Dan Smith

May18

From Brainwashing To Eyes Wide Open

My Brother’s Secret by Dan Smith was a powerful, heartbreaking children’s novel that totally consumed me. It is perfect for ages twelve years and over. Whatever your age, this is a great read.

The novel is set in 1941 in Nazi Germany. We meet twelve year old Karl and his brother Stefan who is four years older. Karl is a member of the Hitler youth group. He wears his uniform proudly, blindly believing everything he is told – until one day that changes everything and Karl begins to have doubts – a dangerous mindset at the time. Karl begins to question everything including his beloved Fuhrer.

Stefan is the opposite to Karl. He hates the Fuhrer and everything he stands for. Stefan does what he can to disrupt the Nazis. He is brave, and seemingly reckless at times. He loves Germany but hates the people running it and those who follow blindly.

Even as a member of the Hitler youth group, Karl has a conscience and empathy but is too afraid to follow it. “No one could help him. We were all too afraid.” Karl watches acts of cruelty but stays silent. His lack of actions keep him awake at night.

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My Friend The Enemy by Dan Smith

May16

The Souvenir

My Friend The Enemy by Dan Smith is a powerful children’s historical novel that completely consumed me. It is perfect for ages ten years and over. Whatever your age, this is a great read.

The book is set in 1941 in a village in the north east of England. All the action is seen through the eyes of twelve year old Peter, and is written in the first person. The reader becomes intimately acquainted with him. For the duration of the novel, I ‘became’ Peter.

We see how hard war is for everyone. Peter’s father is away at war; his friend Kim’s brother is fighting; and a German plane crashes near the village. Plus, there are raids and rationing. War touches everyone.

Peter’s mother functions as a single parent whilst his father is away. We witness the difficulty of trying to feed herself and Peter, and of being both mother and father to him.

The air raids are vividly portrayed. Bombs fall on the village as German planes shed their loads before flying home. A plane crashing in a field causes panic amongst the locals as a parachutist was seen minutes before but is nowhere to be seen. Hunt the Nazi becomes the latest craze.

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I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak

May1

Enchanting

I, Cosmo by Carlie Sorosiak is a most delightful, contemporary children’s novel that is just perfect for ages eight years and over.

The story is about family. We see the bonds between parents, twelve year old Max, five year old Emmaline, Uncle Reggie and of course, Cosmo the dog. Family pull together, sharing events – but then Mum and Dad start arguing. We see the effect this has on the family. What Max fears most about a possible divorce, is being separated from Cosmo. He has heard of others where one parent has the kids and the other has the dog. Max clings to Cosmo and shares his fears. There is a beautiful bond between them as Cosmo is just one year older than Max. We learn how Cosmo loves “doggedly… it’s the way we love, with our whole hearts.”

The book is written in the first person from the point of view of Cosmo. As such, we know how deep his love for Max runs. Carlie Sorosiak has perfectly captured Cosmo. The reader really believes that it is him speaking.

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