Jasper and the Green Marvel by Deirdre Madden
| Jasper and the Green Marvel by Deirdre Madden | |
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| Category: Confident Readers | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Revisiting the villain from Snakes' Elbows this is another funny story focusing more on the animals involved than the humans. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 208 | Date: January 2012 |
| Publisher: Faber and Faber | |
| ISBN: 978-0571260072 | |
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Have you read Snakes' Elbows yet? If not, you really should. And although you can follow this story without having read the first one it's much nicer to know all about everyone really, isn't it? So, let's carry on as if you have read Snakes' Elbows so you know all about the little town of Woodford and a certain millionaire who lives there called Jasper Jellit. He's a rather nasty piece of work, and it was with great relief at the end of the first book that we saw him get locked up in prison. However, he's served his time and he's just been released back into the community, which can only mean more trouble for Woodford...
Jasper has grown himself a large black beard whilst in prison, so he manages to come back to Woodford without revealing who he actually is. He's accompanied by two little friends he made on the inside - Rags and Bags the rats! In need of money, and a place to live, he blags a job at Haverford-Snuffley Hall working as a gardener but his real reason for working there is because of the rumour that lost somewhere within the hall there's an amazing emerald necklace that's worth a fortune and Jasper is determined to find it somehow.
I thoroughly enjoyed Snakes' Elbows and I must admit I was a little disappointed as I read this book to find that it was the villain from that story who was taking centre stage and not my preferred character, Barney. However, the story still works well as a lot of the focus is on the two rats, Rags and Bags, and their developing relationship with a bat who lives in the hall as well as a ghost. The style of writing is once again very accessible and full of humour and has a similar feel, I think, to David Walliams. Rags and Bags swiftly become rather endearing rats, and the story has lots of action as the search for the lost necklace becomes a race with the animals trying to find it before Jasper does.
Jasper is as villainous as ever, but this time he is facing trouble with Mrs Knutmegg the cook who knows from the start that something isn't quite right with the new gardener. I really loved the moment when she sends him out to pick some carrots for her and Jasper spends quite some time looking for a carrot bush before Mrs Knutmegg comes along and calmly pulls a carrot out of the ground!
I didn't find the book as emotionally moving as the first one, and I wasn't really drawn into the ghostly love story, but it is still an excellent read and recommended for boys and girls aged around 8 or older.
The first in this series by Deidre Madden is Snakes' Elbows by Deirdre Madden but you might also enjoy reading one of David Walliams' stories like Billionaire Boy by David Walliams
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