Alfie Green and The Magical Gift
Alfie Green and The Magical Gift and Alfie Green and a Sink Full of Frogs are the first and the latest in the Alfie Green series by Joe O'Brien – a very welcome addition to the growing number of Irish-published books for the five-to-nine age group.
In the first book, Alfie Green and the Magical Gift, Alfie inherits a very special birthday present from his grandfather. It is the wise old plant that lives under the floor of the garden shed with its problem-solving magic book. First problem to be solved is to find the shining orchid plant, a journey that takes Alfie through fields and meadows.
In the second book, Alfie Green and a Sink Full of Frogs, Alfie acquires an old sink for his back garden and then has to cope with a huge invasion of frogs who have been told that the sink is a swimming pool. The results are hilarious and full of surprises, including a solution that takes its inspiration from the tale of the Pied Piper of Hamlin.
As you might expect from a writer who is also a prize winning gardener, the books are full of information about flowers and plants – but it is information that fits naturally into the text.
Delightfully detailed illustrations by Jean Texier.
Alfie Green and The Magical Gift and Alfie Green and a Sink Full of Frogs By Joe O'Brien from the O'Brien Press
Illustrated by Jean Texier Hardback €7.95, ages 5-9
Tony Hickey