The Boy With the Lightning Feet

Like many of Gardner’s ‘Magical Children’, Timmy has been abandoned by his parents and lives with his grandpa, whose solace in widowerhood is to bake. Rotund Timmy is not cut out for the football he loves, and despite his abilities is the laughing stock of the team. How he discovers his ‘lightning feet’, gets fit and is spotted by an Arsenal scout makes for an affirming, if hopelessly romantic, tale. Timmy’s befriending of both bully and bullied and his understanding of how their situations have arisen makes a useful addition, in an unforced way, to the story and is particularly welcome for this age-group. Corry’s pen and ink drawings add their own flavour; I will certainly be adding books from this series to my collection for new readers in this age group.