Earlier this week I read The Secret Order of the Gumm Street Girls by Elise Primavera, a book which I added to my to-be-read pile last month.
This is one of those books that brought me right back to childhood, which was filled with the magic and fantasy of Roald Dahl, E. Nesbitt, Edward Eager, John Bellairs and so many others. It’s a particularly lovely read for those who enjoyed The Wizard of Oz, as its plot is intertwined with several Oz characters.
Here’s the blurb on the front page of the book, taken from the Preface (which starts with “Preface (which means the story hasn’t officially started but you ought to read this anyway)”):
Beware, faint of heart!
It could be that given how wonderful a place Sherbet was, and that four girls all lived on the same street and were all about the same age, you are now expecting a story about girls who are terrific friends, always “there” for one another, eager to help and support one another. Maybe you are expecting to read about their lighthearted adventures, like helping cats down from trees or solving the mystery of the missing hair extensions. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you may as well know right now there will be no lighthearted adventures. Even worse, the girls on Gumm Street didn’t like one another at all.
Luckily, Sherbet provided lots of entertaining things to occupy the girls of Gumm Street, and so they really didn’t need one another. It had always been that way, and everyone believed it always would be that way.
Well, everyone was wrong.
This is a wonderful story about friendship, magic and our unique talents. It’s a fun and delicious read, with lots of laugh-out-loud scenes (as you can probably tell from the excerpt above), and the line drawings accompanying the text, also by Primavera (who penned and illustrated Auntie Claus), are an absolutely perfect match to the story itself.
I’m hoping there will be a Gumm Street Girls sequel. I greatly enjoyed my time with Franny, Pru, Cat and Ivy, and the world of Sherbet and below that Primavera has created, and look forward to immersing myself back into the fun and wonder of it all.
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05/10/2008 at 10:09 pm Permalink
What a great recommendation! This sounds like a good read. I love children’s books that break away from the usual stories.
06/10/2008 at 1:11 pm Permalink
Okay, I adored Roald Dahl, E. Nesbitt, Edward Eager AND John Bellairs when I was a kid. Read EVERYTHING I could get my hands on. So, better give these a check, too. :p
(Have you tried Eva Ibbotson yet??? I have a feeling you would really like her! Oh, and Alice Hoffman, when you feel like being a little more grownup.. She wrote Practical Magic, and her books are like modern day fairytales..just amazing!)
06/10/2008 at 2:25 pm Permalink
I have Eva Ibbotson on my TBR pile! The Secret of Platform 13. I think I’d better move that to the “next to be read” pile!
Practical Magic sounds interesting. I’ve come across Alice Hoffman’s books, but haven’t picked one up yet. I’ll have to add Practical Magic. Thank you!
06/10/2008 at 8:35 pm Permalink
Hello! What a nice review — so glad that you enjoyed Gumm Street…it was my first novel and three years in the making — I think I’m still recovering!. I will be writing a sequel but I have other projects that I’ve been working on (another Auntie Claus for 2009, a picture book that Diane Goode will be illustrating called Louise the Big Cheese) so the next Gumm Street will be a few years off. Thanks again!
06/10/2008 at 8:41 pm Permalink
Thanks for dropping by, Elise. I am willing to wait a couple more years for the sequel if it means another Auntie Claus!