The Ransom of Dond

Traditional folk story. Was OK

Drawing deep from the well of fairy tale but always with an eye (and an ear) to modern readers with relevant issues, The Ransom Of Dond is deceptively simple and powerfully effective storytelling.

Siabhan Dowd is the best writer for children of her generation! Unfortunately not with us now... but nevertheless. This is an absolutely brilliant short book.

This is a beautiful folk story, simple but profound and made particularly special by the stunning illustrations by Pam Smy. I am a fan of Siobhan Dowd's work, although I have to say that I prefer her teen/Ya books to this, however this is one for younger readers that might open a door to her other work and as such well worth reading. It's slightly old fashioned in terms of pacing and I feel it would work best as a book to share with an adult rather than a book a child would pick or enjoy independently. It takes a bit of discussion I think to unlock its treasure.

This is a great little book. Appeals to all ages, I got it for my daughter but by the end of Christmas Day everyone who had picked it to read the back ended up reading the whole thing! I want more beautifully presented short reads like this.

A short Irish fable with lots of evocative blue/black and white drawings illustrating it. Not sure if it is a true myth, but it's reminiscent of many other superstition and tradition tales where a sacrifice has to be made in order to appease the Gods.

This is pretty much a modern telling of an Irish folk tale. Set in a far-off time, the 13th child on her 13th birthday must be sacrificed for her village to earn 13 years of luck.It's very Irish and evocative in the telling, and is either a 30 minute read for an adult or a 2-3 session read with a child. The illustrations are lovely, distinctive and suited to the dark tale.There are fantasy elements to the story - talking animals, curses, mysteries. There are family ties, sacrifice and escape - all in less than 90 pages of story.I loved Bog Child and A Monster Calls and this tale reminds us that Siobhan Dowd had much more to give as a writer.A lovely little story worth sharing.