The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson, illustrated by James Brown @writereadtours @TinyTreeBooks @strangelymagic @jb_illustrates

Book blurb

In a strange little village called Witchetty Hollow, eleven-year-old Florizel is the first to run into the curious visitors who’ve come to open a brand new Daydream Delicatessen and sack-baby factory.  

At first, it seems the daydream confection and cheap sack children are the best things that could have happened to the poor folk of the Hollow – after all, who has the money to rent their child from Storkhouse Services these days?

But after a few weeks, Florizel starts to notice something odd happening to the adults of the town. First, they seem dreamy, then they lose all interest in their jobs and families.

Soon they’re trading all their worldly goods in the newly-opened Pawnshop for money to buy daydreams. With no money for rent payments, the children of Witchetty Hollow are being reclaimed by Storkhouse Services at an alarming rate. Florizel needs to act.

My thoughts

It’s my turn on The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams BlogTour. I think I agreed to be part of this in a mad moment as I don’t often read for review children or young people’s books but this sounded like a really good plot and I couldn’t resist.

Florizel lives in Witchetty Hollow with Grammer Oakenshaw on her small farm growing vegetables. Florizel is rented by Grammer Oakenshaw from Storkhouse Services. The amount paid in rent is determined by how well Florizel does at school. Grammer Oakenshaw can’t afford a big rent so Florizel, even though she is very bright, fails at school to ensure she stays in the place she loves. Recollection by Storkhouse Services would be awful.

On her return home from collecting some items for Grammer Oakenshaw Florizel encounters a scene in which the Gobbelino’s – Grendel, Griselda and Grimalkin – coach has broken down. She takes cover and overhears some of what they talk about. She also sees something escape from a box being pulled by the coach. She also sees a strange creature called Skudler who helps fix the coach and enables it to be on its way.

Worried about what she has heard but not wanting to bother Grammer Oakenshaw she goes home, has dinner and goes to bed. The next morning on her way to school Florizel meets a boy made of sack – Burble. It was Burble who escaped from the Gobbelino’s the previous evening. He takes a shine to Florizel and wants to go to school with her. Not quite sure if it will be alright but since Burble has attached himself to her, almost or indeed literally, Florizel sees no other option than to take him with her.

With what she overheard, what Burble tells her and what begins to happen in Witchetty Hollow. Florizel realises her concerns are justified. And as things get odder or, as Burble says the strangeness takes over she sees that something must be done!

Now with a sack baby factory, a delicatessen and a pawnshop the trio of Gobbelinos are taking over Witchetty Hollow. Children are being recollected, cheaper sack babies are becoming more popular, the adults are becoming addicted to the sweet treats of the daydream delicatessen and life in Witchetty Hollow is becoming increasingly grim. Burble explains that once sack children reach 10 years they are recycled. Adults are pawning their goods. Adults are going missing. Florizel feels she must act to prevent things getting worse.

Then Burble, who has become as family to Florizel and Grammer Oakenshaw, goes missing. There is nothing for it but that Florizel goes off to find him and then, hopefully together, bring down the Gobbelinos.

There are wonderfully descriptive scenes throughout the book in the school, the daydream delicatessen, the pawnshop and the factory from Victoria Williamson many of them brought to life by James Brown’s wonderful graphics all in black and white which go so well with the darker themes of the story. The level of tension, the darkness of the story is very well balanced for the target reader, middle grade students.

There is also humour to balance with the scarier parts. The book is well written, the characters are beautifully drawn both in words and pictures. Victoria Williamson has a very vivid imagination with which she brings an amazingly detailed and believable story to the reader who, regardless of age, will I believe be totally engrossed and engaged in this terrific story. With something of the traditional fairytale, more Grimms than Hans Anderson, and the more modernistic offerings from Tim Burton this is a truly magical storytelling that must surely be a hit with Middle grade audiences.

I was captivated by and very much enjoyed this book. I’m so glad that I said yes to this blog tour. It is a wonderful read for the entertainment value but it also brings up plenty of things that could spark discussion in a classroom or book club from things like ‘what is friendship?’ to how we behave, how we treat each other, from ‘what makes a family?’ to how we can help and support each other and so much more.

A book well worth having on school library, indeed all libraries and home bookshelves.

Thanks to Dave at TheWriteReads for the invite to the Ultimate Tour in association with Tiny Tree Books and for providing an eARC via NetGalley for the purposes of reading and reviewing.

BlogTour

Check out the rest of this magical BlogTour by following #TheWriteReads or #UltimateBlogTour on Twitter

Information

Published: Tiny Tree Children’s Books | May 11th 2023 | Age/Genre: Middle Grade / Fantasy | ISBN: 9781913230500

Buy: AmazonSmileUK (author page) | Waterstones | Floris Books (author page)| Hive | Amazon USA | bookshop.org (affiliate link) | your local library | your local independent bookshop

Author: A lifelong storyteller and daydreamer, Victoria Williamson is a children’s author and teacher who has lived and worked in Africa, China, America and the UK.

Victoria grew up in Kirkintilloch, north Glasgow, surrounded by hills on the edge of a forest estate where many of her early ghost stories and fantasy tales were born amid the magical trees and spooky old ruined buildings.

After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real life adventures, which included teaching Maths and Science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with special needs in the UK.

A qualified primary school teacher with a degree in Mandarin Chinese from Yunnan University and a Master’s degree in Special Needs Education, Victoria is passionate about creating inclusive worlds in her novels where all children can see a reflection of themselves in a heroic role.

Victoria’s experiences of teaching young children in a deprived area of Glasgow, many of whom were asylum seekers, inspired her debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, an uplifting tale of friendship between Glasgow girl Caylin and Syrian refugee Reema.

Victoria writes fantasy, adventure, science fiction and contemporary issue novels for Middle Grade (9-12), Teen, and Young Adult readers. Many of her books have been inspired by children she has met on her travels, both abroad and in the UK. She is currently working on a Middle Grade novel exploring the issues faced by a boy with ADHD who is struggling to fit in with his new step-family, and a spooky adventure novel for Teens, centred around a cast of characters with special needs including deafness, Down Syndrome and Cerebral Palsy.

Twenty percent of her author royalties for The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle are donated to the Scottish Refugee Council.

You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and upcoming events on her website: www.strangelymagical.com

Books

War of the Wind | The Boy with the Butterfly Mind | Hag Storm | The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle*| The Haunting Smell of Poppies (A Ghost Story)