The Sewer Sleuth; Convict!
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Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from the picture book adaptation of C S Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe illustrated by Christian Birmingham. Thanks to Collins Children’s Books for their help in producing this November cover.
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The Sewer Sleuth
Illustrated by Liz Minichiello
Convict!
Illustrated by Liz Minichiello
From the 'Sparks' History series, designed to support Key Stage 2 history, these two volumes consist of short informative novels, based on fact, illustrated throughout and very readable.
Convict is based on the true story of a young woman convicted of stealing and deported to Australia, focusing on conditions in Victorian prisons and on the ships used for transportation.
The Sewer Sleuth tells of the doctor who discovered the link between cholera and water supply, his 'detective' work described as he eliminates one theory after another to arrive at the truth.
Realistic in their detail and unsensationally including deaths due to the poor conditions, these stories contain much to inform the young reader, backed up by a short information section at the end of the book. The texts are illustrated in a cartoon style by Liz Minichiello: I felt that the drawings, while showing a certain amount of relevant detail, were on the whole of poor quality compared to the writing. Similarly, I was surprised to find a careless confusion over dates in the information section of Convict! - details such as these detract unnecessarily from what are essentially useful and accessible texts.
