A BIT OF CONTEXT
There are two elephants in the room with this particular book that I should address before really getting into it.
Firstly, I know the author. Alex and I work together on Taskmaster Education. This has no doubt (consciously or otherwise) influenced how I feel about the book and I probably won’t be too cutting about it, although he does encourage me to, ‘be Frank’. I look forward to the day that he remembers my actual name.
The other thing is the, “Oh, great another celebrity having a go a writing a children’s book, just what we needed” issue. The market is already pretty saturated with this happening, and it doesn’t always lead to the best storytelling and can certainly reduce opportunities and exposure for children’s authors who don’t already have a sizeable platform but do have well-written, innovative, creative, important stories to tell.
This one is a little different though. For a start, it doesn’t have lazy racial tropes and that’s always a very good thing. Also, Alex Horne can write. This is his fourth book (if you don’t count all of the Taskmaster ones – which you really could) and the first 2 were written long before he enjoyed the profile afforded to him by the success of Taskmaster. This though, is his first foray into children’s fiction. (He has written a non-fiction book with his band which is great for teaching children about music).
THE ACTUAL REVIEW
The Last Pebble is set in the seaside town of Bognor Regis, “one of the only towns with a surname”, and centres around a boy called Trader and his family. His grandmother is in a care home and his grandfather spends much of his time scouring the beach looking for interesting things – particularly precious stones. One day, whilst on the beach with his grandad, Trader spots a stone that catches his eye. He picks it up, instantly knowing that’s it’s a significant find, and then shows his grandad who confirms that he has something special. Just how special the pebble is isn’t initially obvious to the reader, but as the mystery unravels and the secrets of the stone are revealed, so the story takes shape and Trader’s life is changed forever.
The Last Pebble is a heart-warming story with a few mysterious strands that tread together nicely at the end. This meant that it led to much discussion whist reading about where the narrative might be going, what might happen to the characters and what certain clues meant. As well as a plot that twists and turns its way to a pleasing conclusion there is also good bit of geology and themes such as bullying, self-esteem, family and friendship and even a bit of morality.
This book would work as a class read in KS2, especially if they are studying ‘Rocks’ as their science topic. There are plenty of opportunities to get creative with it as well: using it as a writing stimulus (message in a bottle or the journey of the pebble to name but two); or in art lessons, practising shading and sketching the different qualities of the different stones or a spot of reverse graffiti.
We loved that it was set in Bognor because we live nearby, but really it should encourage all of us to look at the treasures all around us with fresh eyes and inspiration. You never know what gifts are hiding in plain sight.
The character of Charlotte is particularly likeable and brilliant. She is also a keen artist and bus enthusiast. Due to this love of buses, I’m sure she would love visiting the Amberley Museum, which is just up the road from Bognor. I was a little disappointed that it never got a mention but maybe that’s one for the sequel. We might have a while to wait though, as the book took 7 years to write.
In his acknowledgements, Alex notes, ‘I’m truly grateful to everyone at Walker for supporting yet another comedian who thinks they’ve got a book in them.’ On this evidence, that support was well placed and that comedian was correct.
Tom, age 12, says: “I’ve enjoyed how the character’s personalities are really different but they fit together well like a jigsaw. I really enjoyed that there was a mystery about the pebble because it’s fun to try and work it out as we read the story. My favourite character is probably Charlotte because she always has a plan. My favourite part of the book is when trader first discovers the pebble because it sets the story up well. I’d recommend this book for 8-12 year olds who like mysterious, adventurous books.”
Bella, age 10, says: “My favourite character was Charlotte because she’s very clever and she likes art. I like the book because it’s funny, like when Trader said ‘I opened my window and stuck my nose out. I couldn’t smell rain. I couldn’t feel rain. I opened my mouth – I couldn’t taste rain. It wasn’t raining!’. I like this sort of silly humour.”
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