BY DAWN WOODS

 

"ON THE morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel" - so starts Katherine Rundell's second novel.

Rescued from the water by an academic, Charles Maxim, he determined to keep the baby. Disbelief is not entirely suspended as Miss Eliot, from the National Childcare Agency is sent regularly to check on the baby, now named Sophie.

Charles brings up Sophie in an unusual fashion, but love is at its heart and Sophie thrives.

Sophie wanted to wear trousers in an era when females wearing trousers was unusual - so unusual that there were no trousers in the shops that would fit her, only the grey shorts that boys wore- and, 'Good heavens! said Charles, 'you look like a maths lesson'.

The description in the book is wonderfully original. The quirkiness funny. The one serious issue Charles did address was the fact he had not hidden from Sophie her orphan state. Sophie however was convinced she could remember her Mother playing the cello.

On Sophie's 12th birthday a visit from Miss Eliot suggested that it was no longer deemed suitable that Sophie was looked after by a single male guardian. Sophie and Charles therefore decamped to Paris, following up Sophie's dream about her Mother. There followed night time chases over the Parisian rooftops with new friends.

No, it is not likely, but what a great story, and so well told. This book has already won the Blue Peter and Waterstones book awards and is on the prestigious Carnegie Award shortlist due to be announced in June. It's a strong contender because it is such a feel-good story and brilliantly written.

 

This book was published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers and is available to buy for £4.71. It can also be borrowed from The Hive as well as other Worcestershire libraries. Click here to check availability and check it out