I do not always agreee with Waterstones' choice for their Children's Book of the Month, however this November it is a real joy to see Jenny Nimmo's modern fantasy classic being promoted in this way, marking the 30th anniversary of its original publication.
In the 1960s Alan Garner developed a style of British children's fantasy that was very much rooted in particular landscape and drew richly on its deep heritage of myth and legend. Often its characters and worlds, experienced just below the surface of our reality, were used both as a canvas for external 'adventure' and as a metaphor for some young protagonist's inner journey.
This tradition continued to be exploited and developed by some quite exceptional children's writers over the next twenty or thirty years. Jenny Nimmo was one such when she opened what was to become known as her Magician Trilogy with The Snow Spider in 1986. It is a close 'relative' of Susan Cooper's equally wonderful The Dark is Rising sequence. The Snow Spider is a powerful evocation of Welsh landscape and of its potent heritage of story. It is also a beautiful tale of a boy coming to terms with very real loss, and ultimately with his own integrity and worth. It has rich, warm characters, beautifully drawn, and is altogether truly enchanting.
Whilst, perhaps, in a sense gentler than much of today's children's fantasy fiction, it captures a potency of magic that exists in many ancient places and indeed in the very souls of children themselves. Protagonist Gwyn explores what it means to be a magician long before HP does, and in very different ways. It was a firm favourite of my own children in the late 80s, enhanced, as it was, by an excellent TV adaptation that was around at the time. As a book, it remains both hugely accessible and deeply relevant. It would be a fine thing to see more of today's young readers discovering it.
The sequels in the trilogy, Emlyn's Moon and The Chestnut Soldier, become rather darker, and are also well worth exploring by any children (or like-minded adults) who have not yet done so. They will make a refreshing and rewarding change from contemporary fare. This is a somewhat different side of Jenny Nimmo from the entertaining romps of Charlie Bone, and not to be overlooked.
