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Children’s books round-up: Howling and hilarity in equal measure

January’s best new books help kids start the new year with laughter and emotional release

Howl by Kat Patrick

Sara Keating's face
Sara Keating
Thu Jan 14 2021 - 06:00

Why not start the new year with a howl? We have all had enough of 2020's bad news, right? Maggie certainly has. Kat Patrick's Howl (Scribble, 3+, £11.99) unfolds over one bad day when Maggie's "shoes would not go on properly... her socks were even worse" and even "the pyjamas were the wrong kind of pyjama". The best solution to the wolfish thoughts that are tickling her toes is to "HOOOOOOWWWLLLL".

This whimsical fable about feelings uses humour and wild imagination to push the boundaries of bad temper towards a catharsis. As Maggie’s mother joins in with Maggie’s emotional release, the resolution suggests acceptance as the best medicine for moving through difficult feelings. Evie Barrow’s hand-drawn pencil illustrations pulse with detail and while angry-faced Maggie, with her canine fangs, is a petulant delight.

Daniel, the protagonist of Daniel Nayeri's autobiographical debut Everything Sad Is Untrue (Levine Querido, 10+, £12.99), deals with difficult emotions by telling stories. An Iranian refugee in America, Daniel deals with his classmates' bullying by sharing elaborate narratives from his cultural and personal history. His classmates don't believe him, but there is as much truth in myth and legend as in our true experiences, Daniel tries to persuade them.

Plus, telling stories makes him feel better. His sister, for example, may insist that their estranged father, who calls from Iran to recite Persian poetry, is “probably drunk or on a drug”. Daniel prefers to believe he is “in a trance of a thousand-year-old verse”. Stories, says this beautifully produced testament to the power of the tales we tell each other and ourselves, sow the seeds of understanding and empathy.

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Empathy is a key theme in Break the Mould (Wren & Rook, 8+, £8.99), a manual for building self-esteem and resilience for young people. "Little person" Sinéad Burke uses her own experiences to build a narrative of compassion that celebrates difference in all its guises and encourages activism on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.

George talks in facts in an expressionless voice and can only eat a very limited number of foodstuffs. When his ear falls off, his mum just sticks it back on again

Burke also creates a new pantheon of heroes for children – “the people you are not taught about in school” – who have overcome significant obstacles to make an impact on the world, from New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern to British-Ghanian model Adwoa Aboah, who used her position to draw attention to the importance of mental health. “By sharing stories,” Burke emphasises in this vital confidence-building book, “people discover they are not alone.”

The eponymous Brand New Boy in David Almond's new novel (Walker Books, 8+, £10.99) is different – fact. Daniel, who thinks everything is weird, notices immediately. George talks in facts in an expressionless voice and can only eat a very limited number of foodstuffs. When his ear falls off, his mum – if that is who Miss Crystal really is – just sticks it back on again. But George is amazing at football, so Daniel is happy to embrace him into his small gang of two. After all, as Daniel comments, "We're the weird ones, aren't we? Coming into this place like zombies every day, trooping in and trooping out the same way every day."

It would be a pity to spoil the ending of Brand New Boy, particularly as Almond balances suspense and reveal so delicately in this page-turning laugh-aloud book. Still, a young reader paying close attention might just guess – and will congratulate themselves for their cleverness.

Everyday Magic, the debut children's novel from Jess Kidd (Canongate, 8+, £6.99), is unexpectedly hilarious. Its hero, nine-year-old Alfie Blackstack, is orphaned by his adventurous parents' carelessness. Their tragic death comes as something of a relief for Alfie, a "quivering scaredy jelly" of a boy, who could not cope with his fearless parents' refusal to behave responsibly.

Alfie is left in the care of his long-lost aunts in the (unfortunately) aptly named Switherbroom Hall in the village of Little Snoddington. And his life is not about to get any more ordinary: Aunt Gertie of the mad hair and Aunt Zita of the warts are witches. Yup, “bat-owning-cat-loving-cauldron-stirring-spell-casting-wart-growing witches”. Also, the circus has come to town, and where there are (unwanted) carnies, there is trouble.

Kidd balances immersive storytelling in scenes chock-full of absurd detail and incident, with authoritative narrative asides that puncture the suspense with comedy. Everyday Magic is an absolute treat of a book that will appeal to children who love magic, funny books or both.

Scared of pirates? What about pirates in party dresses playing dolls, her wise granny advises. Scared of vampires? What if they are sucking soothers?

The canine lead character of Patricia Forde's Fidget the Wonder Dog (Puffin, 3+, £6.99) is "an unusual dog, a one-of-a-kind dog, a no-one-else's dog" who embarks upon an unlikely adventure on the seven seas when he runs away from home. Alas, a little girl is anxiously awaiting his return, but a kindly sea captain ensures their reunion.

Forde’s narrative is full of wordplay and reads like a poem, and the narrative carries an energy that epitomises Fidget’s rough-and-tumble verve. Rachael Saunders’s pictures, full of warmth and chaos, are a brilliant complement to this book, which was chosen by Dolly Parton as part of her Imagination Library initiative.

There is a similar mix of humour and emotion in Forde's Imagine!, illustrated by Elina Braslina (Little Island, 3+, £7.99), an intergenerational tale that sees a granny talk a young girl out of her fears by appealing to her imagination. Scared of pirates? What about pirates in party dresses playing dolls, her wise granny advises. Scared of vampires? What if they are sucking soothers?

The girl’s greatest fear, it turns out, is losing her granny. But Grandma has comforting words, even when confronted with her own mortality.