Tag: the floods

The Floods 12: Bewitched by Colin Thompson

The Flood family are back. In this adventure, the family are worried that King Nerlin is going a bit doolally. All sorts of usual remedies have failed, so it’s time for drastic measures. He will have to visit the old crones, high in the hills. Old crones live far from people for many reasons, not all of them to do with their personal hygiene. But they know things, and lead Nerlin even higher in pursuit of his vanishing brain function. As in all the Flood adventures, things end well, with just enough loose ends to fuel further instalments. Footnotes explain, add to, and clarify the text. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout, illuminating this unique family and their world.

‘I can’t find my socks!’

It was the middle of the night and all through the castle not a creature was stirring, not even a rascal. Nothing, that was, except Nerlin, who was sitting bolt upright in the darkness in a confused panic.

‘I can’t find my socks and I’ve gone blind,’ he cried.

Mordonna, who had been fast asleep beside him, sat up. ‘Sweetheart,’ she said, turning on the light, ‘you haven’t gone blind. It’s the middle of the night.’

The Flood family are back. In this adventure, the family are worried that King Nerlin is going a bit doolally. All sorts of usual remedies have failed, so it’s time for drastic measures. He will have to visit the old crones, high in the hills. Old crones live far from people for many reasons, not all of them to do with their personal hygiene. But they know things, and lead Nerlin even higher in pursuit of his vanishing brain function. As in all the Flood adventures, things end well, with just enough loose ends to fuel further instalments. Footnotes explain, add to, and clarify the text. Black and white illustrations are scattered throughout, illuminating this unique family and their world.

Bewitched is jam-packed with the puns, jokes and popular culture references that fans will be familiar with from previous Floods adventures. They may appear unusual to others, but they are a cohesive family unit, beset by some well-known family challenges. It’s just that their solutions are not quite so common. As with any large multi-generational family the complications are many, and the complexity mind-boggling. As always, the Floods stories are a whole lot of nonsense. Bewitched takes the reader to places they could never have imagined, and generally brings them back to completely different ones. Chuckling, guffawing, and sniggering are mandatory. Recommended for mid-primary readers.

Bewitched: 12 (Floods)

The Floods 12: Bewitched, Colin Thompson Random House 2013 ISBN: 9781742755304

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author

www.clairesaxby.com

Available from good bookstores or online.

The Floods – Better Homes and Gardens

‘Are you dead?’
‘What?’ ‘I said, are you dead?’ asked the vulture. ‘Only we can’t eat you if you’re still alive.’ ‘That’s good to know.’ ‘Yes, because we are carrion eaters and that means dead stuff,’ said the vulture. ‘Not dying or nearly dead, can’t do that. We have to hang around until you’re completely dead, preferably a week or two after when you’re nice and rip and have that lovely sickly sweet smell that us vultures adore.’ ‘I am not dead,’ said Valla. ‘You sure?’ ‘Of course.’ ‘You look dead,’ said the vulture. ‘Well, it’s nice of you to say so, but no, I am not dead.’

Better Homes and Gardens is the eighth and final title in The Floods series from Colin Thompson. The first began in Transylvania Waters and now the reader is brought full circle as Mordonna, Nerlin and their family return home. Homecomings are often both better and worse than expected and so it is here. The old king and his new wife are not popular but have developed a style of leadership which brooks no resistance. The people of Transylvania Waters have been oppressed for so long and weakened by a diet of cabbage have little power to resist. But the appearance of the rightful royals sparks some life back into the population. Slowly life in the remote kingdom begins to change.

There is little that is predictable in this family adventure. It begins with a conversation with a vulture who is sure one of the Floods must be dead (and therefore menu-worthy) and becomes more absurd from there. And very funny…and punny. The text is interspersed with illustrations that extend the humour. Each member of the family has special skills and their moment ‘in the sun’ as they go about the business of reclaiming the throne (sometimes quite literally too as they clear the pollution that has shrouded the kingdom for years). The ‘baddies’ are very bad and the ‘goodies’ are frequently very odd. Footnotes sometimes provide explanations and sometimes are just asides from the author. For a reader, it is as if the author is sitting there reading along with them. Better Homes and Gardens is warm, absurd, punny and ridiculous. Recommended for mid- to upper-primary readers.

The Floods: Better Homes & Gardens, Colin Thompson
Random House 2009
ISBN: 9781741662559

 

review by Claire Saxby, Children’s Author www.clairesaxby.com