Tilly and the Wild Goats

Nine-year-old Tilly Trotwood and her reflexologist mother are to be evicted from their home in a small village in the Scottish lowlands. Feisty, inventive Tilly teams up with her school-friend William to search for somewhere else to live, and in the process uncovers a plot to sell off local land for a new golf course to attract the tourists. The two children skilfully mobilise almost everyone in the area to campaign against the development, which would have the additional effect of driving out an endangered herd of goats who have roamed the moorland for generations. Add to the plot a dear old gent who owns the land but who is tricked into selling it by his housekeepers and a crooked lawyer, and you have this novel’s winning ingredients.

Lingard has long displayed a consummate command of narratives which pitch underdogs against powerful opponents. Her shaping of the children’s characters and actions draws readers in to identify with the worthy cause Tilly and William have embraced, while her descriptions of the adults who seek to thwart them leave little doubt as to where the author’s sympathies lie. There are several splendid scenes of confrontation in the novel, warmly illuminated by Warburton’s understated line drawings. This is a satisfying tale, told with humour and warmth, and one in which all loose ends are neatly tied together in the closing pages by an author with a gentle and assured touch for this age range.