There once was a boy called Tashi

Created by a mother and daughter partnership, Tashi, a small somewhat Hobbit-like boy with pointy curlicue hairstyle, who originated in an early reading series, now stars in picture book format.

When Gloomin the ogre appears in Tashi’s village all the people flee in terror, hiding in their homes as the sky grows grey: only Tashi dares face him. The fearsome, but mournful giant, takes up residence in one of the villager’s homes, darkness descends and there follow days of a seemingly eternal winter bleakness. Life of sorts must go on, but when Gloomin begins eyeing ‘people’ for his cooking pot Tashi knows it’s time for action, time to find the cause of Gloomin’s deep melancholy, time to resolve the situation for everyone.

Gamble’s atmospheric illustrations intrigued me. There are dark, twisting tree trunk forests, faintly Chinese willow pattern houses and fashions but with pointy hats and curly-toed boots abounding, rooting them firmly in the fairy tale tradition – so where do the bicycles come in?

The directness of the writing style with its sprinkling of word play character names makes for good reading aloud though individuals will want to take time to explore the wealth of detail in the illustrations.