Anthropomorphic delights abound in The Moon Seeker<\/b> by Dee Barragry (Walker, \u00a37.99, 8+), who won the inaugural Star\u00f3g prize \u2013 a prestigious publishing competition run by Walker Books to support Irish talent \u2013 with her middle-grade manuscript. <\/p>\n
There is a human lighthouse keeper at is heart \u2013 a young apprentice Lampwick \u2013 but the cast of characters who help him keep the lamps lit include Drumstick, the weathervane; Pongo, a pink elephant on foghorn duties; a black dragon called Charcoal, preserver of the flame; and Humphrey, a helpful sheepdog who is both sous chef and washerdog: Lampwick\u2019s right-paw pup. <\/p>\n
When the moon disappears one night, plunging the coast and the nearby village of Port Pintle into darkness, Lampwick thus has a whole team available to help him solve the mystery. Barragry builds a brilliantly vivid world, where quirky details of communication devices (melon launchers!) provide memorable moments of plot advancement. The Moon Seeker is a wildly original debut and a worthy prizewinner.<\/p>\n
The Nightmare Club<\/b> (Little Island, \u20ac7.19, 6+), a new series from the pseudonymous Annie Graves, is actually written by some of Ireland\u2019s most prolific authors of fiction for young people. The first two titles in the series come from Alan Nolan and Deirdre O\u2019Sullivan, providing a gentle scare to titillate the thrill-seeking early reader. <\/p>\n
The format follows a slumber-party storytelling session at Annie\u2019s house, with each narrator charged with scaring the socks off their friends. In McGann\u2019s The Wolfling\u2019s Bite, Jonas tells a sinister story of a stuffed wolf toy that comes to life, while in O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s Help! My Brother is a Zombie!, Jack\u2019s brother\u2019s teenage tendencies have terrifying consequences. The short sentences, and oversized and well-spaced text offer a good in-between option for newly independent readers graduating to chapter books, while also being dyslexia friendly. <\/p>\n
In Taking the Long Way Home <\/b>by Jake Hope, with illustrations by Brian Fitzgerald, (Scallywag Press,\u00a312.99, 2+) it is adventure rather than danger that delays two young travellers en route to their house after a long day at school. Zarah usually hates the journey, even with her dad\u2019s shortcuts. They are \u201cnever short enough for her, even though he is always in a hurry\u201d. <\/p>\n
When Uncle Jerome comes to pick her up for a change, then, and he suggest taking the long way round, Zarah struggles to be enthusiastic, but as her uncle identifies pterodactyls in the undergrowth of the roadside woods, crocodiles in the park pond and yeti footprints in the grass on the way up the hill, the journey turns into an unforgettable experience. <\/p>\n
Brian Fitzgerald\u2019s illustrations lean into the surprising elements of this unexpected escapade, and the story provides lots of ideas to inspire parents in play, as much as children.<\/p>\n