Cloud with the Silver Lining — C. Everard Palmer

This is the story of a happy year. Milton and Timmy, two young Jamaican boys, keep their grandfather's smallholding going after he loses a leg. Tending the goats, feeding the hens, milking the cow, selling the produce - it's all good fun. Seeing how lonely his housebound grandfather is becoming, Milton decides to raise the money to buy a buggy to get him to church. The idea of a stall at the village Christmas fair turns out to be a real moneyspinner; now Milton has to try to persuade Pal Joe, the donkey, to pull the new buggy.

Warmth and colour fill this story of life in the Jamaican countryside before the days of electricity. The fair, the cricket match, the fife and drum music of the John Canoe dancers, and Grandpa's triumphant first ride in the buggy - all these are the highlights of that treasured year. Laszlo Ac's sensitive and lively drawings add to the pleasure of this book. The revised editions include new supplementary material including chapter summaries, an exploration of the book's major themes and post-reading comprehension activities.