The Red Sledge by Mick Jackson – Book Review
The Red Sledge by Mick Jackson – Book Review
- Author – Mick Jackson
- Illustrator – Victoria Ball
- Publisher – Walker Books
- Release Date – 2nd November 2023
- Pages – 32
- ISBN 13 – 978-1529515237
- Format – Paperback, Hardcover
- Star Rating – 4
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Synopsis
Mabel Taylor has a new red sledge. Just look at it! It has a rope for pulling it round and a shiny bottom to make it go extra-fast…
When Mabel Taylor receives a shiny red sledge for Christmas, she can’t wait to try it out! But … oh. No snow. No snow at all. And there’s no snow the next day, either … or the next. So, instead, Mabel imagines herself on the most extraordinary of adventures, becoming a bobsleigh champion, a polar explorer, and even Father Christmas! And just when she’s stopped waiting and watching for the snow to fall, her world is transformed by a thick blanket of brilliant white…
Brimming over with the joy of imaginary and outdoor play, this is a timeless winter storybook penned by a Booker-shortlisted writer.
Review by Stacey
The Red Sledge is the tale of a young girl called Mabel who receives a red sledge as a present. She eagerly wants to use her sledge but there is no snow. Each morning she excitingly checks out the window to see if it has snowed but it hasn’t so she uses her imagination to come up with different uses for the sledge, such as being a polar explorer.
The story is very sweet and it is wonderful to see that although the sledge couldn’t initially be used for what it was bought for Mabel used her imagination to have fun with it anyway. Children have the best imaginations and I loved Mabel’s uses for her sledge. I also loved that she eventually got to use it for what it was purchased for.
The illustrations are colourful and have an old-fashioned look to them which is quite lovely to see these days. The plot was good fun and hopefully will show the reader that by using their imagination they too can have lots of fun.
Overall, The Red Sledge is a quick read that is perfect for these winter days.
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Mick Jackson
Mick Jackson is an author and director from Lancashire, who now lives in Brighton. He studied drama and was a singer in a band, before enrolling on the Creative Writing MA at the University of East Anglia.
His first novel, The Underground Man, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, the Whitbread First Novel Award and won the Royal Society of Authors’ First Novel Award. He has since written three more novels, a novella and a collection of stories. He is also the author of two picture books: While You’re Sleeping and Ella May Does It Her Way.
