Is

Joan Aiken (author)

Random House, UK; 240pp

ISBN: 9780099109211

Genres: adventure

Extension concepts, vocabulary

One of the last in the James III series, the main character here is Dido Twite's sister, Is(abella), who must go in search of the children of London.

Her cousin and even the king's son have also disappeared. She must find Prince Davie before the king dies of a broken heart. She catches the train to Playland, only to find that all is not as it has been promised. Where are all the children?

Although she forms some unlikely alliances with eccentric characters, in the end, Is, too, must venture into the mine to find those she seeks and to save the children enslaved to her unlikely uncle, Gold Kingy.

As always, Aiken's work contains elements of fantasy but also of historical fiction – Blastburn could be any coal mine in England before the Industrial Revolution brought, amongst other things, compulsory schooling for children. Again, there is difficult, dialectic vocabulary but gifted readers will enjoy the challenge, the exciting adventures and the quirky characters. The Twite girls (Dido and Is) are independent, strong-willed young children with a great passion for justice.