I just read The Various by Steve Augarde and I highly recommend it - original and delightful with great characters. He writes really well, too.

Thanks for the tip, Leila. I've just been on Amazon and its got great reviews and it sounds like a book I'd enjoy. I managed to get a copy for £3.74 inc postage and packing.

I love 1-click.

Oh and I also bagged a second hand copy of The way to write for children by Joan Aiken for £5.89 !!!

Loads of reading for me.

I sort of 'know' Steve Augarde from another writers' website I go to. I haven't read the book but it sounds interesting and he is a nice guy, if that counts for anything!

He wrote and illustrated and cardboard engineered a book that was my son Luke's favourite book of all time for quite a while. 'Here comes the lifeboat'. Luke's now moved on to Captain Underpants.

It's a very good book - I'm going to get the sequel out of the library.

I'm having a bit of trouble with it I'm afraid. It is a good book but the POV jumps about a bit. Not too much but it's in the middle of the action - not separated, if you know what I mean. I guess kids wouldn't spot it at all but it jars with me. At the beginning I thought it was Midge's story and I was settling into it nicely and the all of a sudden Uncle Brian "sees" her as a twelve year old kid, dumped on him... blah blah. It's a new paragraph and I'm probably hyper aware but I can help going - "you're not supposed to do that". It only happens a few times and rules are there to be broken but I can't help thinking most of the books I've read recently break at least one rule in the first few pages. I guess it goes to show we should do as we please and sometimes just stuff the rule-book!!!

Eve.

Yes, I remember that now you mention it. It did throw me a bit too. I think kids do pick up on this kind of thing - they're subconsciously aware it's "not right".
As I remember it, I don't think the book would have suffered from being only from Midge's viewpoint.

I've just read this thread after posting my own query about p.o.v in my own writing on the children's forum. Must say that this post puts my mind at rest about any jumping about I do in my book. I'm editing to try and make sure that I unify anything. But then I do like the 'rule' about breaking rules!!

I did try to read the Various but didn't finish it for some reason. I wonder now if that was because of the point of view fidgetting.

S