Rundell, Katherine (2016). 'And I am re-begot': the textual afterlives of John Donne (Thesis). University of Oxford. I think it takes a certain kind of writer who can make the ordinary seem extraordinary with a few sentences and capture your imagination and encourage you, if only for a little while, to see the world in a slightly different way than you’d normally do. And Ms Rundell’s definitely that kind of writer. Presenter: Roger McGough; Producer: Sally Heaven (4 July 2015). "John Donne". Poetry Please. BBC. BBC Radio 4 . Retrieved 22 January 2017. Katherine Rundell's charmingly lyrical style is dotty in the way Charles is dotty. In the London section she seems interested mainly in conversations, which have a high quota of witticism (wearing a skirt, Sophie looks as if she's "mugged a librarian") and aphorisms (lawyers have all "the decency and courage of lavatory paper"). In general, her metaphors are determinedly original. Such verbal showiness, though entertaining, has the disadvantage of showing up the misses as well as the successes, and in the early stages the story has the contrived manner, but not the solidly exciting matter, of a fairytale. just a wonderful, magical, extraordinary book. the kind of classic-feeling book you can put in the hands of a little girl and feel confident that with it, she will grow into a wonderful, magical, extraordinary creature herself. it might work on boys, too, who knows? but right now i am speaking to the fathers i know with young daughters who are looking for that book that will leave an impression on them in a literary role-model kind of way: a strong and smart and brave little girl raised by an eccentric man who may not have taught her much about how to be conventional, but who has shared a love of language and adventure, and has raised her to be fierce and loyal and courageous and independent.

The prose may seem at times a little condescending toward kids and preachy, but I must point out again that its intended audience is 10 years old kids, and not fifty-somethings. Adjectives like 'bouncy' , 'twirling', 'skipping'. 'dancing' and 'singing' are a good indicator for a happy story, yet the author is skillful enough to introduce in the text powerful critical comments about the way we treat orphans and the way we stifle imagination in young children. There were a few missteps that pulled me out of the story several times, but they all can be dismissed as grown-up foibles, so I decided to put them in spoilers, and not to detract from the overall positive impression this short story left. Perhaps the pacing of the story was a conscious attempt by the author to mimic the theme of racing music. Cello music played double time is actually an important plot point in Rooftoppers. However, even if, interpreted in the most flattering light, the plot pacing was meant to replicate the musical theme, as a reader, I still found it to be unsatisfying. Drabble, Emily (3 April 2014). "Katherine Rundell wins the Waterstones children's book prize 2014". The Guardian. London . Retrieved 23 January 2017. a b "Katherine Rundell wins Waterstones Children's Book Prize". BBC News Online. BBC. 3 April 2014 . Retrieved 22 January 2017.Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards 2018 winners". Edward Stanford Travel Writing Awards. 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 August 2018 . Retrieved 11 August 2018.

They told me that she was dead, and I didn’t believe them. Why did she believe it? Why didn’t she keep looking?" Another of Rundell’s amazing novels is The Good Thieves. To support the learning of this story, we have created a booklet of The Good Thieves Teacher Notes. These include a range of engaging activities to develop children’s descriptive and creative writing skills. It's ideal to use with your KS2 class! Five Fun Facts about Katherine Rundell: The story ends abruptly with Sophie finding her mother, there was no mention of what would happen to Charles or the rooftoppers now.Hopeful, inspiring and thrilling in equal measure, this is a classic adventure story about pursuing your dreams and never ignoring a possible. I don’t really have that much to say about this book because I just really enjoyed it and it’s pretty much as simple as that. From the first line [ “On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel” ] I was tangled up in this gorgeous, unique and extremely heart-warming story about a girl with hair the colour of lightning who is searching for her mum after being rescued from a sinking ship by an eccentric man named Charles*. several times the claim is made that women rarely play the cello. I am not sure what the intended timeline of the story is, but I would like to point out that my favorite virtuoso on the instrument is Jacqueline du Pre.