The Boy Who Bounced and Other Magic Tales
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Cover Story
The illustrations on our cover are taken from Starting School by Janet and Allan Ahlberg, published by Viking Kestrel (0 670 81688 4, £6.95). We are grateful to Viking Kestrel for help in using these illustrations.
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The Boy Who Bounced and Other Magic Tales
Shirley Hughes
New Zealander Margaret Mahy has written an interesting collection of stories but the standard varies greatly. Some seemed rather banal but there were also gems like 'The Merry Go Round', 'The Witch Doctor' and the delightful 'Looking for a Ghost'. The stories are rooted in folk lore, with plenty of description and interesting twists at the end. Certainly juniors would enjoy them, though the simple tales would suit top infants better. Anomalies like flowering foxgloves at Christmas might be noticed, but the New Zealand link is not that obvious. Shirley Hughes' illustrations enhance the stories so on balance I would stock this.