Telling Tales — Christopher Gilmore

By divine magic we are told in Dilys, the Dewdrop - one of the dozen excellent stories in TELLING TALES - we can all turn into whatever we wish. Whether or not one believes in divine magic is another question, but the author certainly goes a long way towards convincing one that such a phenomenon is possible.

He is something of a latter-day Aesop, his tales operate on varying levels, and contain nuggets of wisdom the value of which is not always immediately apparent but tend to enrich one's thoughts in retrospect. The quiet insistence upon the strength of goodness that links these stories, the author's whole approach and his many references to friends, makes me suspect that he could be a member of the Society of Friends. He is certainly versatile - an actor, writer, teacher and dramatist, he has had more than 20 plays and musicals staged, including Telling Tales as a school musical adapted and directed by the author and pronounced in the Reading Chronicle as a show full of 'Magic Moments'!

Christopher uses his voice well in reading these tales, achieving a neat change of pace and effective characterization that always commands attention. With good sound effects, plus the music and songs of Jules Evans. He makes Dear Daft Darling Daffodil particularly appealing. The line illustrations by Audrey Nightingale Young invite the reader to try his or her hand as an artist and colour them in. All in all, this is an unusual, original and attractive package.

At once funny and fantastic, exciting and enchanting, from the adventures of a bat called Bert to a freaky teenage bramble called Bonny; from the Bluebird of Happiness that 'belongs to all'; to the Frog with an ingrowing toenail, who turned into a prince, these are uplifting stories filled with light and laughter.