Fingers Crossed: Stories for Nine-Year-Olds

An excellent collection of 13 stories and 13 poems arranged in section - each with its own introduction - under headings such as 'Words' and 'Outsiders'. There is a wide range of material and writers which includes Ruskin, Larkin, Gene Kemp, Aesop and Rosen and a good multi-cultural mix: a tale from Pakistan, Jamila Gavin's story set in a Chinese restaurant and featuring a Chinese New Year dragon, Agnes Maxwell-Hall's poem 'Jamaica Market', as well as episodes from longer stories such as 'Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang' and 'The Phantom Tolbooth'. Some of the poetry, I feel, makes the greatest demands on the reader; this is no criticism though - it is good to see a poet like Philip Larkin included in an anthology for children of this age. Thoroughly recommended for individual browsing and not just for those around nine.