Nannies and Grannies and Governesses, oh my!

A couple of months ago, I was watching Nanny McPhee,. I realised that while I knew the film was based on the Nurse Matilda stories of Christianna Brand I had never read them. I finally found a second hand copy of the collected tales, illustrated by her cousin Edward Ardizzone, and I read them with enormous enjoyment.

Of course, the film changes many of the details of the stories; Mr Brown is not a slightly hopeless, hardworking undertaker; instead there is an incredibly fecund Mr and Mrs Brown with an indeterminate number of incredibly naughty children. The Browns live in a large country house with a butler, cook and tweeny (Evangeline), and one of the most memorable pieces of naughtiness they get up to involves them going through the green baize door into the servants' domain, culminating in an almighty food fight in a pond, with Cook's wig as a major casualty. I particularly enjoyed the repetition of listing the naughtiness, and I can imagine children wriggling in vicarious delight. Some will be familiar to people who have watched the film (decapitating dolls, feigning measles, dressing animals in best clothes), although the outcome is quite different. The enigmatic Nurse Matilda, who arrives when children need but don't want her, but must go when they want but don't need her, is much the same, and it would be interesting to discuss with children whether she really does get less ugly as the children behave better, or do they grow to love her and therefore no longer see her blemishes?

Nurse Matilda is a great contrast to the original magical nanny, P. L. Travers' Mary Poppins. The Mary of the book is an altogether far more astringent character than Nurse Matilda (and bears little resemblence to the saccharine Disney version). Traver's Mary is vain, sharp tongued and clearly doesn't speak 1930's received pronunciation: "Strike me pink!" It's a hugely enjoyable re-read, and again, it would be an interesting subject of  discussion- it has been adapted numerous times, including similarities with Hindi film Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic, where Geeta, the female lead, is like a cross between Maria Von Trapp and Mary Poppins. Graphic novel fans may remember Mary Poppins being in the Blazing World sequences from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (definitely not recommended for children!)

Interestingly in both books the magical nannies have had to come to help out the families because the badly-behaved children have driven away the former nannies. Mrs Brown fails to see that her children do anything wrong and has absolutely no authority over them; Mrs Banks in the first book has only recently had the twins and is rarely mentioned. The fathers seem to have no involvement with the children at all.

With nannies being less and less common for middle class families, there remains a problem of obtaining suitable childcare where one parent staying at home is an impossible dream. Who, then, steps in to look after the children? In  Granny Nothing by Catherine McPhail there is Sue, the  mean, reality TV obsessed nanny of the McAllister children (Stephanie, Ewen and Baby Thomas), whose parents are too busy to see that they are miserable. Then in the middle of a dark and stormy night Granny Nothing arrives, the mysterious mother of narrator Stephanie's father.

Mr McAllister is ashamed of his eccentric, fat, untidy mother, and initially only Thomas sees the good in her. However, as she helps the children deal with such threats as scary dogs and bullies, she wins over Stephanie, Ewen and their school friends, and ultimately is the conduit for Nanny Sue's downfall. While perhaps not magical, she certainly has special powers and is incredibly strong. According to Strident Publishing, the book was reissued due to popular demand from teachers, librarians and children, and I can quite see why: I read it on a train journey, and it is lucky my train could go no further without going into the sea, as I was enjoying it so much I would certainly have missed my stop!

Imagine a cross between Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events and Jane Eyre, and that would give you an idea of how engrossing and enjoyable the first book in  Maryrose Wood's The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place series is. Miss Penelope Lumley is 15 years old, and having completed her studies at Agatha Swanburne's Academy for Poor Bright Females, she is summoned to an interview at Ashton Place, the home of Lord and Lady Ashton. She is expecting a rigorous interview, and is instead surprised to find Lady Constance begging her to stay. However, unline the young Browns or Banks, Alexander, Beowulf and Cassiopeia Incorrigible are not naughty; they were discovered in the forests surrounding Ashton Place, apparently raised by wolves and with an unfortunate fascination with squirrels. As many teachers have asked themselves, what does one do with a child who growls in public? Penelope does incredibly well until, at one of the most hilarious Christmas parties I have ever read about, events come to a head and the mystery is at least partially explained; of course, there is a sequel...

With the exception of The Incorrigibles, I would suggest that these books could be read with great pleasure to 6 years +, read alone from 7-8 years, depending on the child's confidence. I would read The Incorrigibles to 8 year olds, but I think the humour and sophistication would be best appreciated by 9 years + (and stolen by parents and older siblings!)

The Tenderness of Wolf

The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver were, I think, responsible for me missing my tube stop more than any other books that I read last year. Ghost Hunter, the final book in the series, won the Guardian Fiction Prize last year.

Wolf Brother, published 2004, is the first book in the series. 6000 years ago, in Scandinavia, twelve year old Torak is an outcast from Wolf Clan. In the first scene he is crouching next to his father, who has been attacked by a bear. Torak hopes to save his father, who knows he is dying and begs Torak to perform death rituals, and warns him that the bear is not an ordinary bear. It has been possessed by a demon. Fa begs Torak to head North, to the Mountain of the World Spirit, to enlist the World Spirit's help to destroy the bear before it destroys the clans and their forest. Torak agrees, and after taking his father's knife, tent and their remaining food, he leaves.

Heading North, he encounters more bear-kill, which looks strange. Bears will eat all the meat on a creature, and it's insides: this bear is not killing from hunger as it is taking no more than a bite from each animal. Scavengers and flies aren't feeding on them, and he realises that his father is right. Further up the valley, he reaches an area of flash flood. There is one survivor: a wolf cub. By this time, Torak is very hungry, but he can't bring himself to kill the cub for food. He realises that he is having visions of the death of the cub's family: in fact, he is experiencing what the cub has experienced.

Shortly after this, Torak is captured by a boy, girl and man from the Raven Clan. He is accused of stealing a roe deer from their clan territory, and taken to the clan leader, Fin-Kedinn, for judgement. After undergoing ordeal by combat with another boy, which he wins with Wolf's help, he learns that his father was once the Mage of Wolf Clan, but was killed by the bear due to his determination to destroy a group of rogue mages, known as the Soul Eaters. Fin-Kedinn and the Mage of Raven clan meet to decide whether Torak is the one that ancient prophesies say will save the clans from a great danger, or whether Fin-Kedinn should travel to the mountain. In the meantime, Renn, the girl who captured Torak, believes him and releases him. Together they continue to travel North, to the mountain, and Torak begins to realise not just his powers but also his inheritance and responsibilities.

Paver's achievement in writing the Chronicles is remarkable. Firstly, because the books are incredibly consistent in terms of the quality of her writing. Most series have a weak book or two; this one doesn't- witness the final book winning the prize.

Secondly, the plausibility of the world Paver has created. She researched all the aspects of her book thoroughly, spending time with wolves, snow shoe walking in Scandinavia and researching the lives and beliefs of nomadic peoples. However, the proceeds of the research do not overwhelm the storytelling, but instead lend authenticity to Torak's stone age world. The clan system, their beliefs in the integrity of the natural world (wasting nothing of a kill, displaying their gratitude to nature, the pantheistic belief system), the geography of Torak's world- all are enhanced by research, but not created by it.

Thirdly, by the characters of Torak, Renn and Wolf. Due to his outcast status, Torak is slightly removed from the clan system, which enables the reader to learn about it along with him. His relationship with Wolf, and the reason that he can communicate with him, is an integral part of the story, so I will not elaborate on it too much. The vocabulary that Paver has created for Wolf (the Fast Wet for river, the Bright-Beast-that-Bites-Hot for fire) and the description of his body language and the yips, howls and barks that he and Torak communicate in lend authenticity to Torak's ability to communicate with him. Renn's characterisation grows in other books; she herself has special abilities that mean she is more than the feisty girl sidekick that many children's fantasy writers create.

Finally, the thoroughly created stone age world and belief system that Paver has created means that the horror of the Soul Eaters' plans, being so contrary to the clans' ecological way of life, is truly shocking.

The Guardian's free download audiobook is available here.  Aurora by Bjork was my accompaniment to this book.