This is a children's version of "Mao's Last Dancer" by Li Cunxin, beautifully illustrated by Anne Spudvilas.
Ironically as I was reading this true story in the new edition, my daughter chose the children's book from the library, so I was able to see both. My daughter loved the story and one is never too old for picture books with illustrations like these.
It is like a male version of the Cinderella story, except this success was achieved through hard work and an irrepressibly positive nature - not by marrying royalty. A good moral for all children to learn!
"Baker Street Boys" by Anthony Read
"The Case of the Stolen Sparklers"
No, Sherlock Holmes was not a real person - but if you visit London, you may be forgiven for thinking so. You can visit his home and buy memorabilia. The detective sprang to life from the fictional stories told by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and seemed more real than historical figures of his time.
The "Baker Street Boys" is a series of books written for children who are enjoying chapter books. The stories are told from the perspective of the young rag-tag, Cockney kids who helped Holmes solve crimes in the adult detective novels.
In the children's books it is the Victorian youngsters who are quick-witted, deft and dodgy, full of character and courage as they solve various crimes.
The stories are fun and also provide some background for the young readers into lives of children of the time - who were expected to be "skivvies" and work from dawn till dusk.
Take two Katie Ffordes and call me in the morning
There are some books that should be prescribed for certain conditions. If you are feeling grim and miserable, take two Katie Ffordes and boost your spirits with imperfect heroines and pure fun. If you need to be reminded of all you have, read "The Diary of Anne Frank" to see how simple the dreams of a young girl can be. And if you want to revel in the curiosities of life, read "In Arabian Nights" by Tahir Shah. Ah! the wonderful variety of life. Or as my father would say: "There's nowt so queer as folks". Figure that one out.
"Stuart Little 2: The Joke Book"
Will: Hey, George! Which hand do you write with?
George: Neither, I usually use a pencil.
George: What has a bottom at the top?
Will: I don't know. What?
George: Your legs!
If your kids are driving you mad with silly jokes, this is the book for them. They can crack themselves up with corny humour and practise the jokes on their friends - and possibly also family. These little books are fun and encourage children to read because the print is bold and simple and the children are just dying to get to the punchlines. So, here's another...
Knock knock
Who's there?
Don Juan.
Don Juan who?
Don Juan to go to school today.
From laughing over descriptions of Papa, the Popcorn Man or Bumpkin Emperor, I cried over accounts of the "cultural revolution" in China and the persecution of so many men, women and children from all walks of life.
But most of all, this is the story of friendship, loyalty and love that is heartrending in its simplicity. As a teenager living in China, Anchee Min was taught to denounce Nobel Prize winner, Pearl S. Buck as an American cultural imperialist.
But after reading Pearl's book, "The Good Earth", decided to write this novel, "Pearl of China". You will read the book in one sitting - as it is impossible to put down until you know the fate of such wonderfully appealing characters. They linger in the mind as you think, I know this person. I recognize this person. It is my mother, my sister, my friend.
OLD FILTH
"Old Filth" by Jane Gardam is a brilliant book, with a title and jacket that misleads one into thinking it will be about corrupt modern life.
If this fictional story seems appallingly too realistic in places, it may be due to the author's knowledge of Rudyard Kipling's Autobiography and friends who were Raj orphans or involved in wartime convoys.
The central character, Edward (aka "Teddy" or "Fevvers") endures and survives, not only World War II, but a childhood marked by abuse and neglect to become an esteemed judge. The title of the book is taken from Eddie's reference to himself as Failed in London, Try Hong Kong (Filth).
I picked up the book to read again as one of my favourites. Jumping into the narrative is like embracing an old friend. Despite the many painful memories of Old Filth, the writing is so beautiful, moving and humorous that the story is encouraging and uplifting. You want to meet Old Filth and in fact suspect that his character lies behind the faces of many elderly folk edging their way around horrendously hectic modern life.
Like the gentleman I saw today in black blazer and medals, collecting for the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (MOTH). As their Order states, their purpose is "to help fellow comrades in need, either financially or physically and to remember all servicemen who have answered the Sunset Call, both in war and peace time".
My daughter asked "What is that mom?" But she knows that her great-grandfather fought in the First and Second World Wars. Do generations forget so soon the freedoms bought at so high a price? Read "Old Filth" and remember.
What delights you? The word is very well chosen. Not what you love or like, but what gives you delight? This book is a selection of short pieces to describe what delights a variety of human beings - from actors and entertainers to writers, presenters and "national treasures" from the UK.
It is a delight to read because it celebrates everything from the simplest of pleasures to the most awe-inspiring that bring delight to people. You can dip into the book here and there - like choosing your favourite chocolates from an assortment - or devour it whole. And it will leave you feeling a wonderful sense of upliftment and recognition that being human does not only mean the drudgery of work and routine but is full of delightful moments.
One of my favourite pieces is titled, "Children dancing" by Roy Hudd. He begins: "I love to see little children dance. I don't mean the strait-jacketed, polite routines they learn at dancing school, but the strange steps they do when they're alone. When they think no one is watching. They will suddenly, for no reason at all, throw an arm into the air, try to look at their heels over their shoulders, and best of all, kick a leg out: backwards, forwards, sideways, upwards or downwards. They display steps no dance director could ever invent".
This is so true and so wonderfully delightful to see. That lack of inhibition fades all too quickly from childhood.
But there are so many delights described, including: "The perfect vodka tonic," "Ducklings", "My grandson", "When anything goes right", "Cycling downhill", "Beer at midday" and who would deny delighting in "The last roast potato"?
This little book is great fun. Published by Waterstones, all proceeds from sales go to Dyslexia Action and the London Library. It will leaving you thinking about all the things you delight in, but too seldom acknowledge. Lots of warm, fuzzy feelings, lots of laughs, lots of "Mmm, I'd forgotten that!"
A Disobedient Girl by Ru Freeman
The cover review on this novel by Margaret Foster says "I read it at a gallop desperate to discover what had happened" and this is inevitable when you pick up this novel focusing on relationships between women set in Sri Lanka.
Although the main focus is on an employer and her employee, the parallel narrative of a mother and her children compels the reader forward. As this family travels by train, the reader chugs, speeds and grinds along with them, feeling every step of their precarious journey.
It is also interesting that while the novel may be interpreted as a critique of the relationship that exists between mistress and servant, it is also a commentary on so many different levels of relationships between women - including friends, mothers and daughters, wives and mistresses, caregivers and those within their care.
And it is a heartbreaking reminder of how very important such little things can be to those who have absolutely nothing; a stick of chewing gum, an offered seat, a kind smile, a pair of sandals. What kind of a difference people are making in each others' lives every day - contributing tragedy or salvation.
This is a wonderfully thought-provoking read.
Blackberry Wine and Seventh Heaven
Enjoying a glass of blackberry wine with Joanne Harris or entering Seventh Heaven with Alice Hoffman is experiencing a little practical magic. Everyday things become special and magical in the hands of these writers. But sometimes this kind of approach or style of writing seems to go horribly wrong.
I just re-read "Five quarters of the orange" by Joanne Harris and for the first time read "Diamond Star Halo" by Tiffany Murray. They are both narrated by women remembering girlhood days and raw emotional havoc all around them. But where Harris creates something that is tragic and believable, Murray's world is tragic and unbelievable. Possibly the latter is more factual then, as they always say fact is stranger than fiction? But some books have the bare appearance of reality when others seem to be the writer's over-indulgence, veering into the worlds of cartoon or caricature.
Perhaps sometimes authors are too much in their own created worlds? I find it very frustrating when some writers persist in creating their flawed heroes in their own images. In this way, the little nerdy guy with glasses who was always bullied at school gets to defeat all his tormentors with a terrible vengeance in the pages of his own book, but it is predictable and just not imaginative.
I don't like the world of rock 'n roll, and possibly this is why I didn't like "Diamond Star Halo" at all, feeling the shallowness of eating all icing and no cake.
By complete contrast, "Thirty-Three Teeth" by Colin Cotterill is brilliant. It is the deceptively simple, gripping tale of coroner Dr Siri Paiboun set in Laos.
Perhaps the appeal also lies in the author's own sense of humour. The more subtle, the better. Not Peter Pan's crowing, "Oh the cleverness of me!"
"Soul Survivor"
A very interesting book is "Soul Survivor" by Philip Yancey - about how his faith as a Christian "survived" the church.
He refers to the Victorian journalist GK Chesterton and says:
"By the age of nine he (Chesterton) could barely read and his parents consulted with a brain specialist about his mental capacity. He dropped out of art school and skipped university entirely. As it turned out however, he had a memory so prodigious that late in life he could recite the plots of all 10 000 novels he had read and reviewed. He wrote five novels of his own as well as 200 short stories...etc"
C.S. Lewis looked to Chesterton as his "spiritual father".
The book is a wonderful and encouraging spiritual journey.
"MAO'S LAST DANCER" by Li Cunxin
If there was ever a man able to see the silver lining in every cloud, Li Cunxin must be that man. His memoir of a childhood spent in poverty in Mao's China, growing up to become a world renowned ballet soloist sold over 400 000 copies. It has now been made into a major feature film and the novel released in a new edition with three extra chapters.
It is a life story that readers will not want to put down because combined with the desperate poverty, are the hopes and dreams of a child that will not be extinguished. Ironically, one of the main reasons for never having enough food - that of having a large family and six other brothers - is the source of Li Cunxin's strength. He recalls his family passing a piece of food around from plate to plate - each one trying to feed it to the other. He also recounts a tale of boys chasing a rat and burrowing into its hole to steal its hidden store of peanuts.
From a family of peasants, Li Cunxin is recruited to be a member of the Bejing Dance Academy. He withstands great suffering and hardship to progress in his ballet and his studies, but his outlook is always so positive and hopeful that he always seems to be looking beyond the immediate, stark reality and delighting in the smallest of pleasures.
One example is his delight in birds and crickets. As a child he could not have had a pet. No one in his community had a pet cat or dog. As he states, they were so hungry, they would have eaten these. Instead he and his brothers find the bravest of crickets as pets. And he tries to keep birds.
He is given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in America and is overwhelmed by the prosperity and freedoms he experiences. This, together with a newfound romance, convinces him to defect from communist China - a decision that puts his life in jeopardy.
From meetings with President Bush to the incredible Barishnykov, this life story is full of surprises. Perhaps none more than the peasant who gets to perform the role of prince.
This is a wonderfully uplifting story that shows how a man can meet with constant adversity, yet rise above it with great determination and humanity.
"A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
Those who were amazed by "The Kite Runner" or who saw the movie based on the book, will probably already have read this book by the same author.
But it is the depth of the writing and perception into character that is what is stunning in the novels.
"The Kite Runner" focused on the lives of two boys, growing into manhood, but "A Thousand Splendid Suns" focuses on two little girls becoming women in one of the most difficult times in Afghanistan's history.
First the city of Kabul is invaded by the Russians. Then when the Russians retreat, it is re-invaded by its own "heroic" freedom fighters - the Mujahideen. The people who suffer most are the ordinary folk of town and country, especially the vulnerable women and children.
Hosseini's insight into characters of all ages, sexes and backgrounds is incredible. To read the book is to become the character; living the life of Mariam or Laila; feeling the brick and concrete and hearing the sounds of shells and bombs hitting the city; enduring it all with quiet desperation, tenacity and yet with complete determination to triumph.
This book is like a carpet, woven with multicoloured threads, yielding a masterpiece.
"July" by Karen Roberts
In Sri-Lanka, two families live side-by-side - not only neighbours, but also the best of friends -while their children are born and grow up and their nation changes.
Priyanthi Silva is Sinhalese, but Nirinjan, the boy that she falls in love with is Tamil. Their own, personal journey is complicated by the diverse nature of their community.
This is not just a love story, it is a story about the nature of friendship, family, love, duty and mostly about what it means to be human and how this can rise above political and religious hatreds or be destroyed by it.
"The Amethyst Child" by Sarah Singleton
Bored, lonely and feeling very "not special", Amber is delighted when she is able to make friends with the spontaneous and vivacious Dowdie.
The author shows very clearly and honestly the relationship between teenagers and their friends and family dynamics. The temptation for Amber to reject her "normal" family for the exciting and different group of people that Dowdie lives with overwhelms her.
In a simple story, Sarah Singleton has shown how easy it is for cults to appeal to youngsters who are desperately looking for a way to fit in or to feel extraordinary. She also shows the consequences of this.
An interesting and thought-provoking read, obviously based on New Age theories of "indigo" children, reputed to have "special powers".
Book Review
"From Baghdad with Love"
by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth
It is against the rules for a soldier serving abroad to keep a pet - but when the US marines storm a compound in Iraq, they find a puppy and not one of them has the heart to destroy it or abandon it.
This is the story of a dog called "Lava" and how he became one of the most important and difficult missions for Lieutenant Kopelman.
Why? Kopelman says, "I liked that he forgave me for scaring him. I liked not caring about getting home or staying alive or feeling warped as a human being - just him wiggling around in my hands, wiping all the grime off my face".
Lt Kopelman is not the first soldier to have tried to rescue an animal in a war zone. Many have heart-rendingly tragic endings. But this is a story of hope. And what makes it compelling is the courage shown by ordinary people - wartime journalists, hardened marines and endangered Iraqi citizens.
"A heartwarming story of devotion".
