On the Shelf

Growing Up With Blyton
The adventures of George and her Famous Five mates may not attract children as much as the happenings at Harry Potter8217;s Hogwarts these days. Pat and Isabel, the O8217;Sullivan twins at St Clare8217;s, may lose out in popularity contests to the Sweet Valley High twins, hot favourites with pre-teens. And even the Secret Seven may not draw little readers the way the perverse reversals suffered by Lemony Snicket8217;s characters do. But as far as adults are concerned, Enid Blyton is still the favourite 8212; and a poll in England showing as much is likely to be replicated across vast swathes of English-language readers. The age group covered in the survey is 25 to 54, so clearly the Blyton mania is nostalgia for uncomplicated storytelling.

Meet the Insider
S.E. Hinton, it seems, is seeking to tap that very nostalgia for the days that were by wooing her formerly teen readers with an adult novel. Three decades ago, Hinton, then barely out of her teens, shook up the world of children8217;s publishing with her novel The Outsiders, opening up the genre of teenage realism. Later books like Tex explored the world beyond fantastic fables and they-lived-happily-ever-after contemporary books. Many of her novels, in fact, became popular Hollywood films. Then, however, Hinton went into mystifying retirement.

Next month will see her first book in almost 20 years. Hawkes Harbor, if one goes by pre-publication material, seems to combine the horror and adventure genres in telling the story of a former gem smuggler.

Manjula8217;s Mice
Manjula Padmanabhan has already managed the reverse transition. Having penned an award-winning play and many volumes of short stories, she recounts the adventures of Arvee, 8220;a kind, intelligent, little mouse8221;. In Mouse Attack Macmillan, pound;9.99, rats are harassing the mice at Paradise Villa and Arvee, a former laboratory mouse, plays a catalytic role in fighting their cause. With illustrations by Padmanabhan, it is fun even for the occasional children8217;s books reader.