Lucky button by Michael Morpurgo
Ill. by Michael Foreman. Walker Books, 2017. ISBN 9781406371680
(Age: 10+) Highly recommended. Themes: Orphans, Foundling Hospital
(London), Illness, Bullying, Friendship, Schools. When Jonah is
bullied he takes refuge in the chapel in his school, once a
Foundling Hospital in the country, used after the London premises
became overcrowded. Here he meets the spirit of a foundling, named
Nat Hogarth, who loves to play the organ, a noise sometimes heard by
the students, giving rise to the story of ghosts of the children who
once lived there. Nat relates his life story to Jonah, telling the
reader about this astonishing place.
He tells of his time with foster parents then returned to the
hospital for his education before being apprenticed at sixteen
revealing the lives of these children, many of whom died while in
care, education subservient to trying to deal with disease and
malnutrition. Nat is sent to a country house where he is treated
poorly, but at his second place he meets the Mozart children with
whom he develops a long standing relationship. Readers will be
thrilled reading about the place music comes to take within Nat's
life, and how it parallels Jonah's life, augmenting the link between
the two. This is a charming tale of lives lived two hundred years
apart, being pulled together through a love of music. Its beautiful
cover and pages of illustrations will ensure the book is read from
cover to cover.
The Foundling Museum in London's Brunswick Square is a most
arresting place to visit, with art treasures from famous people,
Handel and Hogarth for example, who supported the work of the
Foundling Hospital, and memorabilia from the unfortunate mothers who
left their babies there. Set up in 1739 by sea captain, Thomas
Coram, it was the first charitable trust developed to support
homeless children, because its founder could not ignore the vast
numbers of children left on the streets. To this end he set up the
hospital with the help of wealthy supporters who donated art works
creating an art gallery unlike any other. The work of the children's
trust continued until 1954, and today supports children in a variety
of ways. More can be found about this startling place at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundling_Hospital and
the museum at https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/
(Check 'About' to find information about the foundlings and what is
on display) The display of the tokens and mementoes left by the
relinquishing mothers will tear at your heart strings.
This museum, not well known on London's tourist trail is well worth
a visit and is near the Dickens' Museum. Dickens' portrayal of young
lives has parallels within the walls of the Foundling Hospital.
Fran Knight