Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
January 5, 2018/in Fiction 10-14 Middle/Secondary /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 228 January 2018
Reviewer: Sue Roe
ISBN: 978-1782691549
Price: £12.99
Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 10-14 Middle/Secondary
Length: 240pp
  • Translated by: Laura Watkinson
Buy the Book

Tortot, the Cold Fish Who Lost His World and Found His Heart

Author: Benny LindelaufIllustrator: Ludwig Volbeda

This powerful fable about the madness and absurdities of war is written by a multi award-winning Dutch children’s book author.  It tells the tale of Tortot, a field chef cooking wonderful food for whichever army is currently winning the interminable Great Wars between unspecified European empires.  Tortot prides himself on being detached and unemotional and on always being able to switch sides at just the right moment.  But one day Tortot finds a surprise hidden in a barrel of gherkins, a boy soldier who has lost his brothers and his legs in battle.  Tortot nicknames the boy Half-George and, gradually, his cold heart begins to thaw as affection grows and memories of his own childhood return, leading him to use his wit and culinary skill to bring the never-ending war to a close.

This is an unusual book, difficult to categorise and place in any particular age range.  It is at once grim and moving, blackly humorous and harshly violent, a timeless fable and a sharp skewering of the absurdity and vanity of power struggles.  It should appeal to thoughtful readers from older juniors, through teens to adults.  It will particularly appeal to those readers who love to pore over minutely detailed illustrations as the production of the book is stunning, from its distinctive oblong shape to the complex, intricate illustrations and diagrams that surround and expand the text.  The sheer achievement of Dutch illustrator Ludwig Volbeda, here illustrating his first children’s book, is remarkable and the combination of witty, bleak, fantastical and meandering text with world-creating illustrations should fascinate readers and compel thought and attention.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2018-01-05 13:38:002021-06-08 11:30:37Tortot, the Cold Fish Who Lost His World and Found His Heart

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue BfK 255 July 2022
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Sarah Hagger-Holt wins the 2022 Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction 2022

July 21, 2022

Maisie Chan and her editor Georgia Murray of Piccadilly Press win the 2022 Branford Boase Award

July 14, 2022

Valerie Bloom wins the CLiPPA 2022

July 8, 2022

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2022 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Three Cheers for Women! I’m Just No Good at Rhyming and Other Nonsense Verse for Mischievous Kids...
Scroll to top