One of our Books of the Year 2014 Best-loved for her classic Second World War title Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian brings the excitement of being part of a theatre company to life in this action-packed and rip-roaring adventure. Twelve year old Josie comes from a theatrical family so it is no surprise that she grabs a place at drama school or – more remarkably – finds herself stepping in as a substitute for a play at the last minute. But there’s something fishy going on behind the scenes and, in a case of mistaken identity, Josie is kidnapped! Set in the 1960s Michelle Magorian peppers the story with excellent period detail which adds greatly to the flavour of this fun-to-read story.
12-year old Josie attends a finishing-style stage school. She dreams of being on stage, but is firmly told she has no acting ability. Fortunately she finds herself cast as a boy in an American comedy – but she is mistaken for the star and kidnapped and imprisoned in a dockside warehouse. Managing to escape, she and a fellow runaway take refuge in the Theatre Royal in Stratford. They are offered work by the legendary Joan Littlewood, founder of the Theatre Workshop Company. Much to Josie’s surprise this leads to a role in a Saturday-morning film. However, the kidnappers haven’t given up yet and they are on Josie’s trail… Impossible! is a story that will keep readers enthralled chapter by chapter as the drama unfolds- rather like the film that Josie is in.
Michelle Magorian is undoubtedly one of the pre-eminent children’s writers of historical family drama and of books set around the Second World War. She may not be a household name but that’s purely because she doesn’t write as frequently as those more obvious bestselling novelists. Just Henry is her seventh novel. Unlike some authors Magorian writes when the time is right having first undertaken considerable research, followed by a lot of thinking time before actually putting pen to paper and then there’s always the very important rewrites to polish the story. Magorian loves the research and the writing in equal measure but particularly loves writing dialogue.
Interestingly, Magorian’s first love when she was younger was to be an actress but she also loved writing and day dreaming – the perfect combination for a successful novelist. Here at Lovereading4kids we urge parents and children to try out the wonderful writing, experience the roller-coaster of emotions you’ll get from reading a Michelle Magorian novel. We’re confident you’ll be swept up into a time and place that should never be forgotten.
Click here to read a Q&A with the author from top children's publisher Egmont.
