The Treasure Seekers

The year is 1918. The village has lost so many of its men to the war – sons, brothers, fathers. Now flu is raging through the community. No one is safe. Stanley is sure that this tragedy is because the village has lost the stained glass window from their church because the image at its centre is the young hero, David, triumphant, a powerful symbol for the villagers. Now it is hidden, taken by the local landowner. Stanley is determined to find the lost panes of glass. But for this he will need help from the landowner’s granddaughter. But they hate each other and what each stands for.

Faulkner takes the verse format for her novel making it attractively accessible for her readers. Sentences are short, description pared down. She shapes her verse to reflect moments in the narrative or the dialogue creating a pictorial effect with the words. The plot moves between the two characters each given their own voice, suitably differentiated, direct dialogue is shown in italics. There is a strong sense of place – a village in the north of England close to Whitby and both Stanley and Martha are entirely credible; each displaying the assumptions and prejudices that would have been the norm at this period. This is not a story about the heroics of war, rather it brings the effects of the war close to home. An interesting novel to be recommended to KS2 readers who enjoy a glimpse into a relatively recent history, meeting characters and a background they can imagine and recognise