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The Tin Snail by Cameron McAllister (view source)
Revision as of 08:46, 8 May 2014
, 08:46, 8 May 2014Created page with "{{infobox |title=The Tin Snail |sort=Tin Snail |author= Cameron McAllister |reviewer=Jill Murphy |genre=Confident Readers |summary=High-spirited story of the creation of one o..."
{{infobox
|title=The Tin Snail
|sort=Tin Snail
|author= Cameron McAllister
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=High-spirited story of the creation of one of the first "people's cars" - the CV2. Based on truth but with a sprinkle of magic, this is a fun story for every reader. We loved it.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=400
|publisher=Cape
|website=https://twitter.com/CameronMcazz
|date=May 2014
|isbn=0857551299
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857551299</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>B00HFAZ0X0</amazonus>
|video=
}}
It's France at the 1938 Paris Motor Show. A wonderful new car has been unveiled: the ''Deux Chevaux'' or 2CV for short. It looks a bit odd and is nicknamed ''Tin Snail'' but this is a car for the people: functional, reliable, affordable. And its inventor is just 13 years old! But WWII is about to break out and France is about to be occupied by the Germans. The Tin Snail must face a perilous journey - ''to carry a farmer and his wife, a flagon of wine and a tray of eggs, across a bumpy field in a sleepy French village without spilling a drop or cracking a shell'' - and then go into hiding...
... the Nazis must never find the prototypes or the designs - despite the best efforts of a German officer intent on discovery.
What follows is a madcap tale of adventure and magic.
Truly, I loved this delightful novel. It's intended for middle grade readers but people of all ages will love it. It's based on a true story but McAllister has changed a great deal, creating a book that will entertain and enthuse almost every reader I can think of. My press blurb says that it has ''a dash of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, a pinch of HUGO, and a sprinkling of DAD'S ARMY'' and I would say that's about right. It might be set in France but it feels rather British: full of pluck and bravado plus a little bit of slapstick.
The head of Citroen, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, really did order the destruction of all the 2CV prototypes when WWII broke out. And two designers really did hide three of them in a sleepy French village. Boulanger also did move the oil marks on dipsticks so that the cars he was forced to make for the occupying Germans broke down frequently. What a guy! And his is a true story that should be told to a wider audience. Even so, I defy you not to be entranced by McAllister's take on it. Imagine if the 2CV really had been invented by 13-year-old boy!
Recommended.
You might also enjoy [[Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale]], a super old-fashioned adventure story set in 1929, featuring murder, mayhem, scam adverts and medical malpractice.
{{amazontext|amazon=}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Teens]]
|title=The Tin Snail
|sort=Tin Snail
|author= Cameron McAllister
|reviewer=Jill Murphy
|genre=Confident Readers
|summary=High-spirited story of the creation of one of the first "people's cars" - the CV2. Based on truth but with a sprinkle of magic, this is a fun story for every reader. We loved it.
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=400
|publisher=Cape
|website=https://twitter.com/CameronMcazz
|date=May 2014
|isbn=0857551299
|amazonuk=<amazonuk>0857551299</amazonuk>
|amazonus=<amazonus>B00HFAZ0X0</amazonus>
|video=
}}
It's France at the 1938 Paris Motor Show. A wonderful new car has been unveiled: the ''Deux Chevaux'' or 2CV for short. It looks a bit odd and is nicknamed ''Tin Snail'' but this is a car for the people: functional, reliable, affordable. And its inventor is just 13 years old! But WWII is about to break out and France is about to be occupied by the Germans. The Tin Snail must face a perilous journey - ''to carry a farmer and his wife, a flagon of wine and a tray of eggs, across a bumpy field in a sleepy French village without spilling a drop or cracking a shell'' - and then go into hiding...
... the Nazis must never find the prototypes or the designs - despite the best efforts of a German officer intent on discovery.
What follows is a madcap tale of adventure and magic.
Truly, I loved this delightful novel. It's intended for middle grade readers but people of all ages will love it. It's based on a true story but McAllister has changed a great deal, creating a book that will entertain and enthuse almost every reader I can think of. My press blurb says that it has ''a dash of CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, a pinch of HUGO, and a sprinkling of DAD'S ARMY'' and I would say that's about right. It might be set in France but it feels rather British: full of pluck and bravado plus a little bit of slapstick.
The head of Citroen, Pierre-Jules Boulanger, really did order the destruction of all the 2CV prototypes when WWII broke out. And two designers really did hide three of them in a sleepy French village. Boulanger also did move the oil marks on dipsticks so that the cars he was forced to make for the occupying Germans broke down frequently. What a guy! And his is a true story that should be told to a wider audience. Even so, I defy you not to be entranced by McAllister's take on it. Imagine if the 2CV really had been invented by 13-year-old boy!
Recommended.
You might also enjoy [[Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale]], a super old-fashioned adventure story set in 1929, featuring murder, mayhem, scam adverts and medical malpractice.
{{amazontext|amazon=}} {{waterstonestext|waterstones=}}
{{commenthead}}
[[Category:Teens]]