Stiks & Stoans
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Cover Story
This issue’s cover is from a stunning new picture book, Mary’s Secret by David McKee (Andersen Press, 0 86264 909 9, £9.99). An ecological fable about doing without cars, McKee’s story with its bright pictures full of well observed detail is set within Mary’s cheerful family and at her school. His bold, painterly illustrations use the page so confidently and dextrously that their quirky, decorative perspectives seem entirely natural. Thanks to Andersen Press for their help in producing this September cover.
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Stiks & Stoans
At the heart of this story is a diary written by a girl suffering from 'dys and glandular' who everybody regards as 'fat, ugly and stupid'. The diary is a harrowing chronicle of her feelings as a gang of local yobs inflict a regime of psychological torture upon her and her family. The linking narrative is told from the viewpoint of Liam, a new boy at Ella's school, who safeguards his own ego, damaged by the tribulation of his parents' divorce, by becoming one the persecutors. This is a very powerful and extremely well written story. All of the characters, including the 'villains', are all too believable in their vulnerability and entrappendness. The outcome of the story is optimistic, but you will notice disturbing parallels with a recent, real life case of persecution which ended in tragedy. Matthews's frank, direct description of the clinically callous strategising which underlies many relationships is particularly striking, and might help to motivate discussion of the issues confronted by this highly recommended book.
