From Publishers Weekly
The British author rivals Dickens at creating wonderful tales of villainy set in England during the late 19th century. Garfield's prose is rich and colorful in this story of sneaks posing as patriots who steal and murder for the good of their country. Absalom Brown, a tiny chimney sweep, overhears London police inspector Creaker planning a crime, and the boy is marked for death. Fleeing down the streets, Absalom escapes, clinging to proof of the plotters' treachery with the tenacity that earns him the name "Barnacle." Taken on by a good man, Tom Gosling, who operates a barge, Barnacle finds the only friends he has ever known, including Mrs. McDripper and her snappy daughter Miranda. They are all in danger from Creaker's band, skulking around the docks when a foreign ship, The December Rose, arrives. The feverish action rises to the highest pitch as the vessel's secret is revealed, and Barnacle, with his brave companions, triumphs over evil. Adults and children alike will revel in Garfield's merry, scary, swift story with endearing people to cheer for and wicked types to boo. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9 Mystery and adventure abound as Barnacle, a young chimney sweep in Victorian London, falls from a chimney and is swept up in a conspiracy that involves murder, espionage, and political intrigue. The story was first written as a screenplay for television, and the setting and characters come as vividly to life as though one were watching in living color. Characters are imbued with their own humaness and peculiarities: Inspector Creaker, ordered to ``put a stop to the boy's birthdays''; Mrs. McDipper, a barge owner who is thus a ``woman of property''; her daughter Miranda, Barnacle's thorn, and yet the one who saves his life; and Tom Gosling, a simple and honorable man who gives Barnacle a home on his barge and who, in the end, has the most wisdom of all. While Garfield's latest offering is a thrilling adventure seasoned with wonderful touches of humor, it also has something to say, as readers watch Barnacle, a survivor and an observer, change from a boy with no sense of self importance to a young man with honor and self esteem. This is the type of book that must be read twiceonce breathlessly to find out what happens and again, slowly, to savor its richness. Trev Jones, ``School Library Journal''
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc.
