Dave Shelton

[Note: this is a children's book, but I wouldn't let that put you off]

Loved this book - an existential comedy, for inquisitive, imaginative kids. A very simple concept - which is summed up exactly by the title. The plot is fairly (deliberately) slight, but through the tribulations he and the bear suffer, it you see the boy maturing and learning to appreciate the important things. I thought Shelton judged this just beautifully - sometimes I thought things would work out a bit too conveniently, but he subverted my expectations well.

Also, this is a beautiful - and beautifully understated - edition of the book. The cover is lovely, like a solid, well-loved, travelling notebook. The corners have been artfully distressed, to give it just the right degree of batteredness. The binding and dimensions make it a lovely, tactile object. Also Shelton's illustrations are very nicely done - fun and evocative, with a very nicely restrained pallet, which helps just make the book feel like a beautifully realised, singular whole.

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There was a bit of St Trinians lurking in this story of Daphne, who after an "unfortunate" incident is offered a place in St Rita's School for Spirited Girls which has a reputation, there she is offered a chance to be an Assistant Assistant Librarian and between a bank robbery and a break-in in the school there's a lot to deal with.
Yes, this school was way OTT and there is NO WAY it could be real, but in the grand tradition of St Trinians and Billy Bunter etc it doesn't take itself seriously and was a blast to read.… (mehr)

This is one of the slowest, least interesting, most boring kids' books I've read. Those attributes are even more pronounced and disappointing because the cover leads one to expect an exciting adventure. The illustrations are excellent, and I would love to read a picture book by Shelton, but I don't think I'll be recommending his novel to anyone. It felt much like a text you'd be required to read for a college philosophy class, not like a novel aimed at middle schoolers... and it held my attention about as well as my college philosophy texts did, which is to say not very well. As for the ending, or lack thereof -- while I myself prefer happy endings, I know some stories can't end happily. However, I think every story should at least have a resolution of SOME kind, especially a story for kids.

I appreciate that Shelton experimented with something outside the norm in this, but this type of book would probably work better for adult fiction, or even YA, than for the middle-school demographic.… (mehr)

A book about a boy who wanders into a house said to be haunted. He finds what is essentially an AA meeting, but for ghosts, and decides to join in to hear the stories they each tell in turn. What follows is a series of 12 short stories, each told by a different ghost. Some are about the ghost themselves, others are more ambiguous, some 'happened to a friend of a friend', but all are engaging in their own way. The reason I gave the book 4 stars is, I didn't like the ending. I don't like ambiguous endings, I want to know what happened in no uncertain terms, but I think that's just me.… (mehr)