I have been reading lots of books by the strangely forgotten Rumer Godden recently. Her novels for adults are wonderful, but I’ll leave them for another day. Here I want to write about two of her children’s books: The Diddakoi and The Dark Horse.
The Diddakoi won the inaugural Whitbread Children’s Book Award in 1972 and it’s easy to see why. Like all Rumer Godden’s books, it is beautifully written. I won’t give too much away about the plot because there are several important twists, but I will say that it is a book that has strong characters and great messages, as well as a strong plot. In other words, it’s well worth reading!
Unusually in children’s fiction, The Diddakoi deals sympathetically with a child from a Roma family. This is important because some otherwise fine books have been marred by their stereotyping of the Roma. (I’m thinking here of I, Juan de Pereja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino and some of Mary Norton’s Borrowers series.) The Diddakoi is also a book which addresses bereavement in a sensitive way (but parents may want to be aware of this before giving their children the book.)
The Diddakoi would be suitable reading for 7-12 year olds, while The Dark Horse, which is set in India, is aimed at an older readership. Both teenagers and adults would enjoy this book, especially if they have an interest in horses. But this is not just another horsey book: it’s also a crime novel and an acute study of human behaviour. Once again the plotting and characterisation are strong and the writing is stunning.
So recommended author of the week is definitely Rumer Godden, but I’d also like to mention Frank Cottrell Boyce’s Cosmic which is the funniest children’s book I have ever read. According to the blurb,
Liam is too big for his boots. And his football strip. And his school blazer. But being super-sized height-wise has its advantages: he's the only eleven-year-old to ever ride the G-force-defying Cosmic rollercoaster – or to be offered the chance to drive a Porsche. Long-legged Liam makes a giant leap for boy-kind by competing with a group of adults for the chance to go into space. Is Liam the best boy for the job? Sometimes being big isn't all about being a grown-up.
It sounds ridiculous but it works. Virtually the only problem with this book is that it is genuinely laugh-out-loud funny, so be careful where you read it. We’ve been re-listening to the audio version, which is brilliantly read by Daniel Ryan. We’ve listened to it twice and we’d happily listen again, which, I guess, is all I need to say by way of recommendation. Apart from adding that Cosmic is also a book about fathers, which is a great subject for any book, I reckon.
I read a number of her books as a teenager. She has a charming Christmas story I’ve read a few times now to my own Children.
Such synchronicity: I just finished reading this myself. Rumer Godden has always been a special favorite, as a child and as an adult.