Click below to read an extract (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
Synopsis
Have they told you?" His voice was lowered now, he was speaking of secrets to be told. "Told me? What?" "Of the lost village..." As soon as she arrives in Wellow, Polly Flint knows there is magic in the place. And she should know because she is an unusual girl who can see things others can't. The story goes that if you put your ear to the ground on Sundays you could hear the church bells of the missing village of Grimstone. But Polly Flint seems to be able to call up the village that had disappeared from the face of the earth - and the people who lived in it, as they slip in and out of time. ‘Helen Cresswell is one of those rare souls who can write angelically well for the child in the child.’ — the Spectator A well loved children’s classic, re-issued for a new generation of children. Runner up for the Whitbread award. Helen Cresswell is best known for her book Lizzie Dripping, which was made into a BBC TV series. She also wrote Moondial, The Piemakers, The Night Watchmen and the Bagthorpe saga series. She was awarded a Lifetime BAFTA Award for her services to children’s writing. The Secret World of Polly Flint was televised by Central Television. The book is set in Nottinghamshire, where Helen lived.
It's an enjoyable read. It's not patronising, and links into themes of loneliness and independence to which we can all relate. It's a feelgood book as a resourceful and gifted child makes a place for herself wherever she does. That place could be in her imagination, with her Dad and the pigeons, Wellow, or back in time. We see her loneliness but she doesn't. She just needs a playmate and gets one, firstly a dog and then the Time Gypsies. She demonstrates that she's a good and brave friend; a survivor who is unafraid of anything, even the formidable Aunt Em; and someone with a good story to tell. The themes of place, loneliness and independence are ageless which stops the story dating.
Liz Coward - Inpress Reviewer
Have you read The Secret World of Polly Flint by Helen Creswell? - Add your own review
