YOUNG READERS

Press, Volume C, Issue 29680, 25 November 1961, Page 3

YOUNG READERS

THE LORRY THIEVES, by Maureen O'Donnell. 95 PP. JAMES AND THE SMUGGLERS, by Pauline Clarke. 96 pp. “The Lorry Thieves” and “James And The Smugglers” are, as might be expected from the titles, stories of junior detection. Miss O’Donnell’s story will fascinate all small boys who love lorries, and the writer treats them with the respect that Is due to them. There is a satisfying ending in which Jimmy receives a very handsome toy lorry of his own in appreciation for his part in tracking down the thieves. Pauline Clarke’s story about James. Tim and Andy, all amateur detectives, has a holiday setting in a seaside village with steep cobbled streets, a sailing estuary where three-day regattas are held. One night, the boys notice a mysterious flashing light from the church tower and next day, see that a gold cup, one of the regatta prizes, is missing from its usual display in a stop window. Something is very much amiss. The hoi’s’ blood is up and the hunt is on. A lot happens in a short time and young readers will find it all quite exciting. SUE’S CIRCUS HORSE, by Judith M. Berrisford (Hodder and Stoughton, 174 pp.) is a story about an Arab horse called Ballita which Sue Trent and her grandmother buy at a circus auction. Everyone predicts that Sue will have trouble with a performing animal and the predictions are all too correct Trouble begins almost from the moment that the horse arrives at her new home. The climax of the story is the amateur circus performance where Ballita steels the show with her impromptu tricks. The style is colloquial but the book is generally readable and lively. Giris of 10 and over would enjoy it Some members of the Secret Seven are in a contentious mood at the beginning of Enid Blyton’s latest volume, the thirteenth, in this series. SHOCK FOR THE SECRET SEVEN (Brockhampton Press 121 po.). introduces a new character, the French boy, Jean Baptiste Bonaparte, to whom all dogs, including Scamper, are irresistibly attracted. Unfortunately, however, since dogs are so important to the Secret Seven, there is a dog-thief in the village, and the climax comes when Scamper himself is spirited way. Needless to say the children prove to be excellent detectives.