The Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster; ill. Jules Feiffer (Epstein & Carroll, 1961)
A fantastical middle-grade adventure full of warped notions and pun-based distortions of reality. Juster’s young protagonist is disinterested in the rigours of real-world learning but comes, through outlandish experience, to appreciate words and numbers. Feiffer’s illustrations prevent the dreamscape from becoming overwhelming.
The Cybil War
by Betsy Byars (Viking Children’s, 1981)
A middle-grade story of first love, and of recognising and dealing with a toxic friendship. Byars grounds her writing with small details and the tragicomic ironies of real life. The result is downhearted yet somehow still easy to read, and ultimately cathartic.
The Mystery of the Invisible Thief
by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1950)
A high point of the series. In retrospect, the denouement is obvious—not least of all because Blyton has twisted a plot contrivance from the previous two books!—but the clues are cleverly seeded and remain overlooked amidst a resplendence of Goon-baiting.
Reality Forbidden
by Philip E. High (Robert Hale, 1967)
A sinister, mind-rattling concept explored by the wrong author. High’s ideas are laid down seemingly as and when they occurred to him, which, even coming from the era of pulp, fails to impress. Eric Frank Russell would have made this a masterpiece.
The Valley of Fear
by Arthur Conan Doyle (George H. Doran, 1915); audiobook read by Stephen Fry (ABC/Audible, 2018)
In essence, two largely unconnected novellas. The first sees Holmes in fine form, his aura only enhanced by Inspector MacDonald’s shining a lesser light of uncommon strength. The second is an engaging enough story of Freemason gang activity in lawless north-east America.
The Gods Must Be Crazy II
dir. Jamie Uys (1989)
Although lacking the surprise value and thematic elegance of the original, this sequel manages to be both faster and funnier, committing fully to its slapstick and the humorous situational comedy of non-natives adrift in the Kalahari. Cleverly filmed with many memorable scenes.
The Mystery of the Pantomime Cat
by Enid Blyton (Methuen, 1949)
One of the weaker Five Find-Outers books. Blyton recycles an earlier plot device and half-explored ethical point (the children manufacture false clues leading to and disrupting a real mystery investigation) while neglecting an obvious line of inquiry, which Bets belatedly tumbles to.
Tom’s Midnight Garden
by Philippa Pearce (Oxford University Press, 1958); audiobook read by Jan Francis (AudioGO, 2012)
Perhaps due to the time-slip nature of its story, Pearce’s Carnegie Medal–winning MG novel has aged well, unfolding simply and unhurriedly yet with lingering appeal. The wistful allure of Tom’s garden speaks to childhood wonder and the inevitability of growing up.
The Gods Must Be Crazy
dir. Jamie Uys (1980)
Though of questionable accuracy in depicting African peoples and race relations, this film is cleverly put together and contains masterful flourishes of physical comedy—particularly those sequences where events conspire to render biologist Andrew Steyn’s resourcefulness and bush know-how as hapless bumbling.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
by Joan Aiken (Jonathan Cape, 1962)
Set in an alternative, wolf-plagued 19th-Century England, this first book of Aiken’s Wolves Chronicles captures both the stark, chill beauty of the countryside and the wanton cruelties suffered by orphans of the time. A bleak—almost Dickensian!—yet happily ending quest fantasy.