Julie Phillips
Carole strikes gold dust again, This is the third book I have read by Carole Ann Carr and once again she does not disappoint. Candle Dark takes us through the life of a young child Josh in the Industrial Revolution. We follow his struggle to survive in the desperate poverty and treacherous working conditions of the time. Through Carol's clever writing we see her fiction bring her characters and this time period to life.You feel as though you are down the pit with Josh and his beloved pit pony, Drummer. You feel Josh's fear as he tries to escape the cruel and dangerous pit manager Issac Whitlock. You feel his anxiety for his father.You crawl with anguish for Josh's dilemma - the choice between running away from it all or staying to protect and provide for his family. Candle Dark is an enjoyable book which will inform and educate as well as entertain.
R. Healy – “fernhill gardener” (United Kingdom)
If this doesn’t get your son reading, nothing will! This is a rollicking, fast paced, action adventure with a believable young protagonist set in Anglo-Saxon Britain. Full of dramatic incident, every chapter ends on a cliff-hanger which keeps you turning the pages…. This reminded me of adventure books I read as a child; the sort that kept me awake and reading with a torch under the covers. Although ideal as a work to encourage a child to become reading-mad, it is completely absorbing for adults. (I am 57). I liked the sympathetic, though never sentimental, treatment of animals and children throughout the story. The author’s familiarity with the era, and confidence in depicting it, shines through. The events interwoven into the story seem credible without being invasive, although I am no expert in the period. I enjoyed the north-east English setting. There is a magical smattering of the supernatural which lifts the story out of the pragmatically historical and into a bewitching mythical world which is still recognisably our own. The baddie is horrid and there is enough nastiness for lads to get into. But there is a very beguiling, resourceful female character whom I am sure I would have loved when I was a girl. It leaves you wanting more, which is why I think it would be excellent to encourage independent reading in the target age group.
Sharif – Amazon Reviewer
5 out of 5 stars vivid, lyrical. Carole Anne Carr’s poetry is truly amazing. She strings words together in a vivid, lyrical manner. The words jump off the pages, as they are spellbinding and compelling. I hope another poetry collection is in the works from this author.
Ann Carbine Best – Amazon Reviewer
5 out of 5 stars If you love great poetry, I’m confident you’ll love this collection. Other reviewers have summarised the intriguing evocations of childhood and then the adult persona who has become, in a way, a child again as she thinks about her experiences of a lifetime in England and Africa, places that in themselves resonate with me emotionally, not because I have ever lived in either of these places, or even been there, but because of the history associated with them. Those poems are fascinating as are all of the others especially because of the sensory images Ms. Carr uses to draw us emotionally into each poem. Only a poet as skilled as Ms. Carr could write poems that capture times and places in such a way that they become universal. Skilled in associational movement and concrete imagery, she draws me into the poem in such a way that I feel as if I’m, for example, the “teenager, consumed by a religious fervour” or the “princess, dazzling, beautiful / where the hot bellied dragon / gazes in awe at the sight of her.” These are only two of the poems where Ms. Carr exhibits her skill with free verse. I was also impressed with her rhyming skills that reminded me of the great poets Robert Frost and Richard Wilbur. The rhymed poem I especially like is the delightful “Writers’ Weekend,” with its apt Dickensian allusion. For example, the following stanza: “Huddled by the fire we shut the door the fuel in the bucket’s growing less. Oliver like, I dare to ask for more but, sad to say, with just as much success.” I especially smiled at the last line, which ends in surprise, a surprise enhanced by the fact that it stands alone and doesn’t rhyme with anything before it. Form enhancing meaning. I’m still smiling. EVERY poem in this collection begins in delight and ends in surprise, as every great poem does. Great poems are also those you can read again and again and experience something new each time. There is so much to enjoy and ponder from the narrative flow, the vivid imagery, the wry humour, and the interesting characters that include the poet as she shares with us a lifetime of wisdom and discovery. I’m very glad I have a print copy of Kaleidoscope, as well as a copy for my Kindle. I encourage anyone who loves poetry to get this in any form. I hope Ms. Carr will write more poems, but if not, there are her children’s books. I especially want to read Candle Dark. Such an intriguing title.
Alex S – Amazon Reviewer.
If only more people knew about it! I first heard about this book when the author visited a bookshop, and I was lucky enough to get it signed... and it's brilliant. Really absorbing, extremely gripping and basically a must read.
Patricia (Paddy) Kennington – TSSFPh.D., LPC, NCC, Certified EMDR Therapist.
The life changes that we all face as we grow into our mature selves, often bring the pain of loss before the joy of understanding, and Alice’s journey in the story In the Snake-Dragon's Claws, with her many friends and helpers, and her meeting with the Green Man of All-Knowing, are growth experiences that are both fearful and welcome. As parents know, the stages of a child’s development can be fraught with tensions and testing behaviours, but they are necessary to enable the child to grow into an adult. Human effort and angst, leading to adult maturity, are accompanied by vulnerability and inner reflection: who will help me and why is this happening to me! Such developmental milestones are described in mythology, fiction, poetry, and endless, ‘if-only I had done so and so’, tales, and in Alice’s quest to find the seeds that will bring life back to the world. The author has captured human yearning in the real life struggles of Alice, as she comes to understand the confusion that has up-ended her world. The loss of her mother, and her gradual acceptance of her father’s marriage to a new ‘mother’, leads to a healing process that brings about her progress and reflection. These life changes, though sometimes unpleasant, are part of the family’s shared experience. As Alice and her friends grapple with the Snake-Dragon in the Cave of Mists, she also comes to embrace her new family who help her grow into the young adult she is becoming. Surrounded by a circle of both human and spiritual helpers, Alice reaches out to embrace divine intervention at ‘thin time’, and in doing so is able to take steps towards becoming what she is intended to be.
Sophie Bignall
Ludlow author Carole Anne Car truly understands children. Her fourth book, In the Snake-Dragon's Claws, previously published as Thin Time, makes it quite clear as she explores relationships between step-families, and emotions such as honesty, truth, courage and love. She certainly knows how to tell a great tale. Thin Time, which is set in the famous Shropshire village church of Tong near Shifnal, with its life sized effigies of knights in armour, is no exception. In her latest publication, she weaves a fantastic adventure incorporating enchantment, fantasy, local history and Norse mythology.Alice may seem like an unlikely heroine, for she is rebellious and does not want to accept the task the four hundred year old dog Fymm has given her, but she is a child that youngsters can truly identify with. Passing through the Tree of Life with her small step-brother Thomas, Fymm the grumpy dog, Ratatosk the squirrel that can’t be trusted, and Bridd the cockerel from the church tower, she must face Niddhogg the snake-dragon armed only with a stone and a gargoyle’s shield. Inspired by her years as a primary school teacher, Carole is a master storyteller and her fans, old and young, will be looking forward to the sequel when once again Alice must set off on her quest. And both children and parents will enjoy visiting Tong church and searching for the four hundred year old dog Fymm!
Paddy Kennington – Ph.D., LPC, NCC, EMDR Level II.
In a world and time more like our own than we would admit, Carole Anne Carr creates a story woven with child-understanding, Anglo-Saxon history, and mythical allusions. While full of adventure, action, and mystery, this hero-tale is anchored in a young boy’s rite of passage that involves the killing of his first wolf and his survival in the destructive adult world in which he lives. More evident in our early history, than in our present time of science and technology, are the boy’s otherworldly helpers who are everywhere around him, and central to this story is Toland’s dedication to fulfilling his promise to the monks of Lindisfarne, despite the threats to his life that this single-minded focus brings. From the beginning, the story holds readers both young and old and does not fail to surprise throughout. Left wanting more of this boy-man’s life, I would pose that readers will not let Carole rest until she returns to this period of history. Attempting to describe the lives of those who lived in Northumbria in the Dark Ages presents her with many difficulties, but in our return to the 8th century we are given glimpses of beliefs that have been passed down to us through the ages and that we still hold more deeply than we ever recognise.
Goodreads critic
Brave Little Boy Good-For-Nothing must go to the rain-keeper’s hut to bring back the rain-cloud and save his village from drought. Fierce crocodiles guard the rain-cloud, but with the help of his friend the Shongololo, the lion and the moon-moths, he rescues the animals that go bump in the night, sets free the moon, and becomes Little Boy Good-For-Something. This short story for 5 to 7 year olds, has charming and colourful illustrations by the author and the children of an Infants School with whom she worked. The atmosphere and characters of the African village are captured in the bright colours of the illustrations. The story is one of the triumph of a small child over seemingly insurmountable odds, with the help of the animals who could have been his enemies, but rewarded his kindness and good nature. From being thought worthless by most, he has earned his proper place and respect in his village – the place his granny always knew he deserved. In this tale children can become acquainted with the flora and fauna and social norms of an African village and the children who drew the pictures have also shown imagination and accuracy in their depiction of the many animals Dakarai encounters.
Sue Horder-Mason – Amazon Reviewer.
5 out of 5 stars Wonderful book! I don't often read 'childrens' fiction but this book grabbed me from the start. Carole Anne Carr takes you on an adventure, the book is fast moving and you can feel your heart beating as fast as the characters. Her description of life in by gone days in the Ironbridge Gorge is amazing, you can really see it as it was and how life was like for people in those days. I can't recommend this book enough for both young and not so young.