Monday 29 August 2016

A Hole at the Pole - Chris d'Lacey

A Hole at the Pole
Chris d'Lacey
Joanna Carey (Illustrator)
A Banana Book
Heinemann
ISBN 9780434968015



Over the past year I have become a huge fan of Chris d'Lacey's, having read 13 books of his over the past 10 months. My children love his stories that we have shared, and I have loved some of the ones that they are a little young for. I tracked down this book even though it is out of print because it was the first book written by Chris. I am very glad I did. My three children and I read this book together the day it arrived. My children ages 10, 8 and 5 all loved the story. And the younger two were captivated by its message. 

This is the story of Billy Cockcroft, his father told him about the hole in the ozone at the North Pole, but also told him a tall tale about how he could fix it. When Billy is asked in class what he wants to do, his reply is simple, trek to the north pole and mend the hole. His is given a project to teach the class about:
The Arctic
Polar Bears
Global Warming
And what we can do about it. There is a very late snow storm and Billy makes a snow polar bear and that night he dreams and meets a polar bear who is the teller of stories. Soon Billy has his whole class excited and they decided to do something about Global warming.



This book was a wonderful read; and though I keep very few physical books these days, personally preferring eBooks. I have a feeling I will need to track down another copy of this so that both my youngest can have one on their shelves. 

The illustrations by Joanna Carey are wonderful. My children love going over them again and again. Bright beautiful pictures that really enhance the story.



Reading this book having read many of d'Lacey's other books was really fun. We see forerunners of other characters, and reoccurring themes and motifs. It is interesting to see where his writing has come to, and see this most excellent first offering. I highly recommend going through the effort to track this down, especially for fans of d'Lacey's other works or for anyone who loves great books to read with the kids in their lives. 





Books by Chris d'Lacey:
Dragons of Wayward Crescent
Gruffen (2009)
Gauge (2008)
Glade (2009)
Grabber (2010)

The Erth Dragons
The Wearle (2015)
2. Dark Wyng (2016)
3. The New Age (2018)

The Last Dragon Chronicles with David Rain
The Fire Within (2001)
Icefire (2003)
3 Fire Star (2005)
4 The Fire Eternal (2007)
5 Dark Fire (2009)
6 Fire World (2011)
7 The Fire Ascending (2012)
Rain and Fire: A Guide to the Last Dragon Chronicles (2010)

The Unicorne Files
1 A Dark Inheritance (2014)
2 Alexander's Army (2015)
3 A Crown of Dragons (2016)

Fly, Cherokee Fly Series
Fly, Cherokee Fly
Pawnee Warrior

Other Books
Henry Spaloosh! 
Horace
Shrinking Ralph Perfect
The Snail Patrol
The Table Football League
Riverside United
Lofty
From E to You
Scupper Hargreaves, Football Genie
The Salt Pirates of Skegness
Falling for Mandy
The Prompter

Picture Books:
A Hole at the Pole
Juggling with Jeremy
A Break in the Chain
Read With Bubble and Float
Dexter's Journey
Frankin's Bear

Contributed to:
On Me ‘ead, Santa
Nice One, Santa
The Usborne Book of Christmas Stories
Heroes and Villains
In the Frame
Midnight Feast

Author Profile and Interview with Chris d'Lacey.





No comments: