Blog Tour: The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams by Victoria Williamson, illustrated by James Brown

Cover illustration by James Brown

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for the brilliant The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams

I do love a darker read – one that makes you shudder with delight as its plot unfolds and one which leaves you wondering just how the author has managed to come up with such twisted ideas. Here is one such title, created by Victoria Williamson whose book The Boy with the Butterfly Mind I absolutely adored when I read it after it was recommended to me by one of my Twitter besties. Crammed full of mystery and action with brilliantly-drawn characters, this is a wonderful story that will appeal hugely to those who enjoy creepy reads – a perfect tale for reading on darker evenings or under the bedclothes.

Night is closing in when we meet Florizel who is foraging for mushrooms to feed herself and her gammer. Becoming aware of something coming along the path towards her, she hides behind a tree trunk and spies a coach heading towards the village of Witchetty Hollow – a coach she believes has been sent by Storkhouse Services to reclaim a child. Wondering which of her classmates it is likely to be, Florizel remembers the feelings she experienced when she thought that Gammer Oakenshaw wouldn’t be able to afford to pay for her own rental and tries to decide whether to flee or remain hidden.

Choosing the latter option, Florizel watches as the coach halts beside her tree and two figures alight – Grendel and Griselda Gobbelino, a brother and sister who argue bitterly about their plans to bring a sack-baby factory to Witchetty Hollow. Fearing that the factory will not only bring its foul pollution to her home but will also impact on the security of the real children within the village, Florizel listens intently as the two adults bicker – not really understanding what is being said – and as they are about to leave notices a small figure creep out of a huge box on wheels being towed by the coach – a sack-baby who quickly disappears into the the trees.

Reencountering the sack-baby – who is called Burble – at school, Florizel curses her luck when it tries to befriend her – figuring it will do nothing to reduce her unpopularity – but is soon distracted when her teacher announces a treat for the class: a visit to the new Daydream Delicatessen. Unable to afford its delights, Florizel looks about the shop and wonders about the warning labels attached to some of the products before heading outside where she reads a notice announcing the imminent opening of a sack-baby factory. Telling Burble what she has read, the sack-baby tells her that that is how the strangeness always starts but refuses to elaborate. It is not long before Florizel starts to discover for herself, however, when the village’s adults start to trade their belongings in order to visit the delicatessen and can no longer afford to rent their children. Can Florizel and Burble put a stop to the strangeness before the entire village falls victim to the Gobbelinos’ nefarious plans?

Florizel and Burble are a wonderful pairing. She is bright, curious and acutely aware that she needs to hide her true intelligence from those around her if she is to remain at Gammer Oakenshaw’s. He, on the other hand, is not academic but is fully aware of the evils of the Gobbelinos’ business empire and holds the key to Florizel being able to bring about its downfall. As Florizel unpicks the evidence she uncovers, she grows to love the little sack-baby and realises that although not human, his life and happiness are just as important as her own.

The concept of children being available for rental is such a genius idea and the author makes good use of it by describing a system where the price of a child is dependent on factors such as their intelligence, making them more like commodities than much-loved offspring. For Florizel, the threat of – in effect – being repossessed constantly hangs over her and while it is clear to the reader that she is deeply loved, the question mark hanging over her classmates combined with the fiendish servants of the Gobbelinos, described in spine-chilling detail throughout, make this a thoroughly creepy and nightmarish read.

Ideal for those in Year 5 upwards, this is shorter read than many middle grade titles which together with James Brown’s wonderfully atmospheric illustrations will ensure this has a broad appeal. For teachers looking for a darker read to share around Hallowe’en, this would be absolutely perfect.

The pawnshop of Stolen Dreams is on sale now. As always, my enormous thanks go to both publisher Tiny Tree and TheWriteReads for my gifted review copy and inviting me to take part in this blog tour – don’t forget to check out the other stops.