The travelling bookshop : Mim and the baffling bully by Katrina Nannestad

Mim Cohen lives in a travelling Bookshop – a caravan with a magical quality where books choose their new homes based on the needs of the reader. Mim lives with her kind-hearted father and mischievous and fun-loving - and occasionally inappropriate - younger brother Nat who has decided that collecting the letter ‘O’, wherever he might find it, is a worthy pursuit. (Her mother travels the world, but sends gifts and words of love to be treasured.)  Mim’s home is filled with love and laughter, and so when she rescues the harried young Dutch girl Willemina from a friendless and bullied existence and welcomes her into the Caravan’s warmth, she is surprised that Willemina is less in need of the Bookshop’s charms than her bully, Gerda. Slowly the power of the Bookshop and its books weave their magic for the local residents and for Willemina and Gerda.

This is a charming story with all of Nannestad’s humour and compassion that will be enjoyed by readers aged 7-11. With short chapters and some amusing moments that will tickle younger readers’ fancies and funny bones, the life of Mim and Nat Cohen will resonate and be an instant winner. There are moments of wisdom shared about friendship and love within family that will make this a lovely book to share with parents as a ‘bedtime book’.

Themes: Bullying, Friendship, Books, Family.

Carolyn Hull