The Child Thief - Brom

The cover of this book is arresting enough, never mind the premise ... a side of Peter Pan that exposes a much darker character than H.M Barrie ever dared put to paper. Here is a Peter Pan tale that brings a more sinister and dangerous intent to his spiriting away of children to Neverland. And Neverland is not what we remember either! Yes, there is a pirate-like figure a la Captain Hook, fairy sprites that are full of mischief, dangerous beasts with fangs and slimy skins, but their danger and intent are magnified a hundred-fold. Gone are the strictly good and strictly evil characters of Barrie's story; they are replaced with like characters that are ... complicated, complex, more balanced with light and dark.

Ghost Knight - Cornelia Funke

Another fantasy from Cornelia Funke ... I love her fun and fanciful approach to children's literature. She places her stories in a setting that will lend itself to educating kids without overwhelming them with the minutiae of history or detail. In the Inkheart series, it was all about allusion to and quotes from classic literature. In The Thief Lord, it was the geography of Venice, Italy. In Reckless, it was the vast collections of fairy tales and folklore, that was the stage for the drama of the story. Here in Ghost Knight, readers will have fun learning a bit about Medieval English history as they follow the adventures of Jon Whitcroft and his new friend, Ella Littlejohn, as they enter the haunted world of Salisbury, England and help to squelch an age-old curse that has befallen Jon's ancestors and dragged him into the haunted world of medieval knights and ne'er-do-wells.

This book moves fast and has not got the depth that Funke's Inkheart series has. It will, though, appeal to young boys and any child that is enthralled with a good ghost story.  I am always pleased to see a good solid story that appeals to young boys, as I often feel that their reading interests get short shrift in the kid's literature field. The quality of some of the stuff aimed at boys is ludicrous, at best (Can anyone say Captain Underpants or Diary of a Wimp ? ... sorry, if I offend.) Finding a story that has adventure, a bit of 'naughtiness', kids with real feelings, and a bit of history makes my old teacher heart beat a little faster and steadier.

So... keep on writing,Cornelia Funke ! There's room in this world for a few more of your stories !