erlanwheeler

In 1934, a young man named Vango on the cusp of taking priestly vows is suddenly made a fugitive. Accused of murder, pursued by police and mysterious others, Vango finds that proving his innocence involves uncovering secrets from his past, taking him from Parisian rooftops to Mediterranean islands to Scottish forests in a hyper-coloured spy-thriller with a backwards-and-forwards timeline. Part of the book’s charm involves historic figures turned into characters – like Hugo Eckener (commander of the Graf Zeppelin) who de Fombelle has written as a friend of Vango and as a quick-witted protester to Hitler’s increasing regime. Snippets of story are also told from the perspective of a young girl who turns out to be Stalin’s daughter. These historic guess-who’s never felt clunky. With a larger-than-life protagonist, Vango will appeal to lovers of daring escapades. The mystery to his identity unravels in the sequel, Vango, Book 2, A Prince Without A Kingdom, published in 2105. ew

Title: Vango: Between Sky and Earth
Author: Timothee de Fombelle
Publisher: Candlewick Press. Somerville, Massachusetts
Copyright: 2014
Original language: French
Translator: Sarah Ardizzone
Original title: Vango: Entre ciel et Terre
Original publisher: Gallimard Jeunesse
Original copyright: 2010
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7196-9
Paperback pages: 421
Age range: 12 up
Genre: Historical fiction
Book setting: France, Germany, Mediterranean Islands, Russia, Scotland
Author’s ethnicity: French
Author’s residence: Paris, France
Awards: Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Books of 2014, 2012 IBBY Honor List
Subjects: Adventure, Fugitives, Identity, Mystery, Nazi, Priests, Voyages, World War II, Zeppelin

Young schoolboy, Emil Tischbein (Tabletoe in this translation) is excited about his first train ride alone. Pinned into his pocket is the money that he is taking to his grandmother. While Emil is asleep on the train, a mysterious man in a bowler hat steals the money and disappears. With the help of a local boy named Gustav (Gus) and a gang of young detectives, Emil tracks the clever thief through Berlin. The robber is finally arrested and Emil receives a reward of 100 marks. When asked what the moral of the story is, Emil’s grandmother replies “Don’t send cash – use traveler’s checks!” Eighteen delightful black-and-white illustrations make this tale of loyalty, courage, and teamwork come alive. This is Kastner’s best-known work and it is the only one of his pre-1945 books to escape Nazi burning. It has been translated into 59 languages. This edition, the third English translation, provides modernized, colloquial American slang. The story has been filmed several times, including a 1964 Disney adaptation. mjw

Title: Emil and the Detectives: A Novel for Children
Author: Erich Kastner
Illustrator: Walter Trier
Introduction: Maurice Sendak
Publisher: The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer Publishers, New York
Copyright: 2014
Original Language: German
Translator: W. Martin
Original Title: Emil und die Detektive
Original Publisher: Williams and Co. Verlag, Berlin
Original Copyright: 1929
ISBN: 978-1-4683-0829-7
Paperback pages: 159
Age range: 8 up
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Book setting: Berlin
Author’s ethnicity: German
Author’s residence: Germany
Illustrator’s ethnicity: German
Illustrator’s residence: Germany
Translator’s residence: Chicago and Berlin
Awards: 1960 Hans Christian Andersen Award, 1968 Mildred L. Batchelder Award
Subjects: Berlin, Boys, Detectives, Germany, Mothers and sons, Mysteries, Robbers

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Vango: Between Sky and Earth

Emil and the Detectives