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Susan Geason

The Astrolabe by Susan Arnott & Our Enemy, My Friend by Jenny Blackman

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August 2005, no. 273
Katharine England reviews four children's books

Reading a handful of primary-school-age historical novels in swift succession underlines the commonality of stratagems for encouraging young readers to engage with the past. First, there is the need to find a credible child role to focus on. Then, since adventure in historical times fell largely to the lot of boys, a female interest has to be introduced, or, with some contrivance and loss of credibility, the main role handed over to a girl in disguise.

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Avon calling!

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December 2005–January 2006, no. 277
Ruth Starke reviews ‘The Reef’ by David Caddy, ‘Death of a Princess’ by Susan Geason, ‘The Legend of Big Red’ by James Roy, and ‘Catastrophe Cat’ by Mary Small

These titles are aimed at a primary school readership, yet there’s a wide gap in both ability and life experience between the emerging readers at one end and the almost-teenagers at the other. Some novels successfully bridge that gap, but I’m not sure The Reef (FACP, $14.95 pb, 128 pp) is one of them, despite the publisher’s classification that this is ‘for children aged 8–12 years’. It is certainly an exciting story of suspected murder and missing silver coins, but consider some elements of the plot: Tom, the young protagonist, is menaced and harassed by two nasty out-of-towners who threaten him with death and so terrify him that he has nightmares; while swimming, he’s pursued and threatened with a speargun; later, he’s assaulted and kidnapped, a sack is tied over his head, and he’s taken out to sea and thrown overboard in the expectation that he’ll be battered to death on the reef.

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