The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd

The London Eye Mystery is a great book for two reasons: the mystery is quite compelling and is solved in a very satisfying way, and the narrator, Ted, has Asperger's -- a milder form of autism. Ted and his sister Kat take their cousin, Salim, to ride on the London Eye (the giant Ferris wheel in the middle of London). They watch him enter a pod, which then rises into the air. Thirty minutes later, the pod comes back down, but Salim is not in it. With Ted and Kat feelng responsible, they must put their heads together to solve the mystery. Ted's head is "wired differently" so he thinks differently from others, and Kat is a little bit impatient, but they manage to come up with and test nine theories of what happened to Salim. In the end, it is Ted's method of thinking that allows him to crack the case and end up a hero.

I'm now reading another book by Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child. She is a very good writer; unfortunately, she died at the age of 47 in 2007 from cancer. She had published two books prior to her death and two afterwards.

This is a great book to introduce people to modern-day London but also to the inner workings of someone with Asperger's. Dowd makes Ted an engaging character who is often flummoxed by the expressions people use (he thinks that making small talk means using words with one syllable) and his fascination with the weather actually helps him to think about Salim's disappearance in a way that makes sense to him.

The London Eye Mystery, 2007, NY: Random House

Kit's Wilderness by David Almond

Another great book by British author David Almond, Kit's Wilderness is the story of Kit, whose family has just moved to the coal-mining town of Stoneygate to be with Kit's grandfather after the death of his wife. Kit meets John Askew, a boy in his school, who soon involves him in his game called Death. In death, kids take turns going into an old abandoned mining tunnel. Kit discovers that he and John Askew have a shared history in the mine. In the meantime, Kit's grandfather tells him stories about his days in the mine and about the families of Stoneygate; soon, Kit is seeing Silky, the little boy with blond hair who plays tricks on the miners in his grandfather's day, along with the spirits of other people from the mine.

Kit is writing a story within the story about a boy named Lak who lives in prehistoric times. Kit weaves Lak's story with John Askew's story, and through the power of storytelling he saves both his grandfather and John Askey.

I'm fascinated by David Almond's style; it is spare and lyrical, and he says a lot with very few words. This book has themes of family, generations, forgiveness, and living up to one's potential.

Author Emily Gravett

I just read several of Emily Gravett's picture books: Wolves, Orange Pear Apple Bear, Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears, and Meerkat Mail. Emily is an author/illustrator from Brighton, England. Her books are charming and very clever. My favorite is Wolves, in which a young rabbit borrows a book about wolves from the local library. While she is immersed in her book she doesn't realize that she is being followed by one herself.

Skellig by David Almond

Skellig is the first children's book by British author David Almond, who has gone on to write several more outstanding children's books. He was nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2008, which is given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) each year to outstanding authors and illustrators of children's books from around the world.
Skellig is a very simple, rather short story that packs a big wallop. Michael and his family have moved from town to a run-down house in the outskirts of town. Between the work that needs to be done on the house and the fact that his baby sister is sick, Michael's parents don't have much time to spend with him. When he explores the old shed in the back of the property, he finds a strange being who calls himself Skellig. The story follows Michael and his new friend, Mina, a different sort of girl who lives next door and is home schooled by her mom, as they try to help Skellig survive. Is Skellig an angel? A bird? A strange new --or old -- type of being? Whatever he is, he helps heal Michael's family in their grief.

I couldn't put this book down. David Almond's writing style is spare and clean, making the magical realism of the book completely believable. I like the development of Michael and Mina's friendship; she is a particularly well-developed character. Skellig himself remains a mystery, which allows the reader to decide for herself what he is. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of David Almond's books.

I'm going to start adding the publishers information about the books I read so you can look them up yourself!

London: Hodder Children's Books, 1998.