Volume I, Issue 1
February 2006
 main page :: middle grade   
Escapism
by Kelly Herold, Big A little a


Some of the best of middle-grade fiction offers escape from reality—escape from the daily routine, from the problems of family life, even from fantastic and unexpected villains. Two recent titles offer their heroes and, indeed, their readers respite from the humdrum and a ticket to adventure. Come along for the ride!

Dawn Undercover
by Anna Dale

Dawn Buckle is an ordinary girl living what can only be called a Dahlesque life at Number Eight, Windmill View, in the outskirts of London. Her ancient grandfather watches quiz shows at all hours of the day and night, her mother is a workaholic, and her father buries himself in the basement repairing and collecting clocks.

Dawn just wants someone to notice her: "Dawn was not an outgoing child. She was timid, bland and nondescript. Slightly on the dumpy side, with a round, pallid face, hair the colour of milky tea and a sprinkling of hairs in each eyebrow, it could not be said that Dawn was very striking to look at. She wore crumpled, baggy clothes and was never without a pair of mushroom-coloured knee socks and battered gym shoes. People always tended to look through her or over her head, but never directly at her."

Someone finally does notice Dawn--a representative of S.H.H., a top-secret government agency. Dawn's family offers very little resistance when Emma Cambridge of the S.H.H. whisks Dawn away to train for a secret mission in the quaint village of Cherry Bentley. Working for the P.S.S.T. Department, Dawn is employed to identify Murdo Meek, a criminal mastermind and arch nemesis of P.S.S.T., amongst twelve village residents.

Dawn Undercover is a gripping, hilarious read. Dale is an expert satirist who leaves no aspect of village life untouched. Dawn Undercover is a classic British mystery, one any young reader will enjoy.

The Kingdom Keepers
by Ridley Pearson

Ridley Pearson's The Kingdom Keepers took me right out of the cold and into the warmth of a deserted Disney World.

The novel's hero, Finn Whitman, is an Orlando teen who is hired to be a hologram projection that guides guests through the park. One of five such child guides, Finn begins waking up in the park as his hologram after dark. He is told he must track down the other four child actors in order to stop Evil Forces at work in the park. Who hasn't wondered what happens at Disney World, or Disneyland, after dark? The Kingdom Keepers takes you into the quiet, after-dark park and shows you the areas beyond the gaze of the public.

Finn Whitman is your average preteen boy, not yet comfortable with girls, yet a whiz at technology (Pearson's use of teen tech is especially savvy). Whitman involuntarily becomes involved in a battle against the worst of Disney villains, who employ the Pirates of the Caribbean as armed forces. Finn's fate was sealed long before, when he accepted the role as a hologram guide. Finn and his fellow guides race through the park in an attempt to stop the Disney bad guys in a series of chase scenes, the best of which takes place on "It's a Small World."

The Kingdom Keepers is escapism in its purest form. But, sometimes, escapism is just what a young reader needs.


Dawn Undercover, written by Anna Dale. Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, 2005. ISBN: 1-5823-4657-7.

The Kingdom Keepers, written by Ridley Pearson. Disney Editions, 2005. ISBN: 0-7868-5444-8.