The Travelling Restaurant

Barbara Else (author)

Gecko Press, NZ: April 2011; 295pp

ISBN: 9781877467776 

Genres: adventure, fantasy

Issues: choices, family, friendship, identity, responsibility

Jasper Ludlow is twelve. So why do his parents keep insisting to the Provisional Monarch that he's only ten? Left behind when his family tries to escape the dangerous attention of the ambitious Lady Gall and her spy ring, Jasper joins the Travelling Restaurant, a truly remarkable boat.

With the irritable Polly and the strange Captain Rocket, Jasper finds himself lurching from one adventure to another as he strives to find and protect his baby sister. If magic (which mustn't be mentioned) died out with the Great Accident, why is Jasper so sure that something very special indeed is present in one of the anchor wells of the Travelling Restaurant? Is Jasper destined to save his world from the cruel rule of Lady Gall? If so, why do all his choices seem to end in disaster?

Barbara Else is an award-winning playwright and novelist and has already written several books for children. The Travelling Restaurant is the work of an experienced writer who enjoys keeping her reader off-balance with a twisting, turning plot and unpredictable characters. Else builds complex personalities who make very human mistakes. Else avoids the black and white simplifications that are all too common in children's literature and Jasper (and therefore the reader) realises that humans don't fall into 'good' and 'bad' categories. Good people can appear dishonest, bad people can appear honest; the adult world is a confusing place for children. Interesting characters, some imaginative ideas and fluent writing mean that The Travelling Restaurant has an action-packed narrative that will appeal to younger readers and is great fun to read aloud.