Gold Dust

Geraldine McCaughrean has the confidence of a gifted storyteller and has already shown how to take children's books well beyond the usual range. A sleepy Brazilian town has forgotten the thrill of the gold rushes until a large hole is dug in the main street. Why, we never discover, but the lure of the reason - it must be gold - unleashes a new gold rush which tragically and comically undermines the whole community. Inez and Maro suffer the invasion before helping to stop it in a wonderfully ingenious way. The book is part myth and part allegory, showing insights into human life which are witty and profound.