Young children
Ten-year-old Florence dreams of meeting her estranged father. While her mother is in hospital, Florence stays with Grandpa Silas who reads her stories by the fire and when the old, grandfather clock strikes five, she loves to prepare his tea.
Florence’s magical journey, to meet her father and his other family, begins with a noise in the middle of the night and Jack-in-the-Green’s appearance, visible only to her. Florence’s father invites her to a family day out on a canal barge. But her excitement turns to confusion and feelings of disloyalty to her mother, and she hides the invitation. Reassured by her mother, she joins the family trip and recognises her stepsister, Laila, as the Indian girl she met at the playground. She also meets her half-brother, Krish and stepmother, Maryam.
Tidying the shop, Florence finds an old photo of a young girl being read to by an old man. Jack-in-the-Green is in the photo and Grandpa says Florence can put the picture in her room above the shop, near the old, coloured glass lamp. But will her magical friend stay, or will he return to his home in Ireland?
Here's what readers have to say about this book....
This book gives us a child's familiar world - a Grandpa with twinkly eyes, a shop where a 10 year old can be helpful, a picnic, a gymnastics club, a wellington boot that falls into a canal. However, this well-written and charmingly illustrated story doesn't shy away from difficult issues that can affect children, and deals with these issues in an honest and helpful way. I think children aged 7 to 9 (and adults perhaps reading alongside them) will enjoy the sprinkle of magic the author gives us.
