Nicola Davies is an award-winning author whose books for children include Animal Surprises, Into the Blue, and The Word Bird. She graduated in zoology, studied whales and bats and then worked for the BBC Natural History Unit. Her book The Promise was declared one of the best picture books of the year by the New York Times. Fran Shum is an illustrator.
Key Stage: KS2
Subject area: Health and Wellbeing
Key themes: Living in cold climates, living off-grid,
parenthood
*Publisher: Graffeg*
“One in a series of tales that explore the deeper, darker side of
our connection with the natural world. Be ready to feel a little
bit of magic, and perhaps a few shivers down the spine,” the back
cover promises its readers.
This is a story about the power of the sea. Two of the fishermen
brothers are found in the opening pages eating and drinking in ‘old
Mother Cary’s place, The Butter Knife’. This might well spell
trouble, for as every well-read sailor knows, Mother Carey (or
Cary) is a supernatural figure who personifies the cruel and
dangerous sea, upon which his livelihood depends.
And trouble there is – for out of the night appears a swanky car
‘with paint as pale and neat as a scallop shell’, and out of this
low-slung car appears a tall ancient man,‘with eyes ‘blue-green,
like a backlit wave’. He brings a warning, and advice to Keenan,
the third and youngest brother in this tale with its traditional
twists.
For here we have a quest motif. Here we meet three brothers, so
often found in fairy tales (the youngest being the most sensible,
as always). Here we find, not exactly three wishes, but certainly
three objects to take on the seafaring quest, objects which we know
must be useful, or necessary for the drama to unfold. The theft of
the butter-knife from Mother Carey’s pub, to equate with the silver
sword needed, heightens the tension, and sets the dangerous journey
moving. What happens subsequently the reader must find out by
reading – but it’s unexpected, unpredictable as the sea itself,
with an unusual twist of young romance – a strange
happily-ever-after ending.
The haunting illustrations, in a restricted palette of sea-green
watercolour, do in this instance work well. The endpages in
particular, which betray the mood of the story in the faces of the
three brothers, will capture the imagination, and the frequent
double-spreads should prove great talking points for young readers
sharing the book with others. The cover itself is somewhat
confusing, however – the face doesn’t match the story, which brings
to mind that old adage, that you can’t judge a book by its
cover!
*Chris Stevens @ www.gwales.com*
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