Horace

by Chris d'Lacey

Horace 012. That's what's written on the label attached to the old teddy bear Joel finds in a skip. When an antiques expert then visits his school, he discovers it's worth a small fortune! It's exactly what his cash-strapped family need - but how does Joel feel about the possible sudden wealth He's got enough to cope with already - what with dealing with his family and with his first-ever girlfriend-

169 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

About the author

He was born in Valetta, Malta, but as a child moved first to Leicester and then to Bolton. After gaining a degree in biology from the University of York, he returned to Leicester and got a job at the University of Leicester in their Pre-Clinical Sciences department.
Originally his writing was confined to songs and he didn't turn to fiction until he was 32. His first piece of work was a 250,000 word story about polar bears for his wife, Jay, to accompany a stuffed polar bear he had bought her as a Christmas present.
He didn't write another story for seven years, until he heard about a competition to write a story for young children with a prize of £2,000. The resulting book, A Hole at the Pole, also about polar bears, didn't win - but he sent it off to a publisher, who accepted it.
His first children's novel, Fly, Cherokee, Fly, was published in 1998 and subsequently shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal. It was inspired by the time he found an injured pigeon in Victoria Park and nursed it back to health at home. It became a family pet and lived for 14 years in a birdbox attached to the back of the house. All of its offspring were given the names of different Native American tribes, which is where the title of the book comes from.)
He has since written over twenty children's books, including Pawnee Warrior (a sequel to Fly, Cherokee, Fly), a collaborative novel with fellow children's author Linda Newbery (From E To You), and the best-selling, award-winning The Last Dragon Chronicles. His books often contain environmental themes, and events based on things that have happened to him.
In July 2002 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Leicester for his contributions to children's literature. Although writing is now his main source of income, he still works at the university as the operator of the confocal microscope.
His favourite children's books are the Paddington Bear series and The Hobbit, and his favourite children's authors are Allan Ahlberg and Roald Dahl. Chris D'Lacey has written many books like Ice Fire and Fire Star, but his most famous book was Dark Fire, the fifth book in The Last Dragon Chronicles.

Reviews

[Horrorchick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice quick read with a few little plot twists to keep things interesting.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

In under a year now I have read 12 books by Chris d’Lacey. I have now read from four different series and two standalone books. With each new book I read I am more impressed with Chris’s skill, talent and mastery of the art of storytelling. His books are written towards the middle grade and young adult audience but I have loved all of his books that I have read. My only real regret is so many of them are not available electronically, for as a dyslexic that is now my preferred method because of being able to change the font, and color of the pages to make them easier to read.

This story has a bit of everything, friendship, the beginning of relationships, police officers, a family struggling financially, and a stuffed bear that is much more than meets the eye. However the main element of the story is the bear Horace 012 a very old bear that young Joel wants to buy from a thrift store but because it has not certification tags they need to throw it out. Joel wants to bear to draw it, so he makes a donation to the thrift shop, and then waits for them to pitch it so he can get it. His younger sister falls in love with it. And the troubles really begin when he takes it to school to have it appraised. Soon one lie about where the bear came from leads to another and another until the police show up at Joel’s house. Joel’s best friend fancies Joel’s older sister, Joel’s younger sister fancies this friend. And Joel gets set up on a sort of kind of blind date. Joel’s date is a Sikh girl what a more traditional father. And we also have an attempted robbery.

It is a lot of action for such a short book. And the action in this story takes place over a few short weeks. At points the story is very touching and often moving; especially Joel’s concern about the bear, where it came from, its true value and where it really belongs. Also his concern for his family and the financial struggles they are having and also finding a way to help the family with them. Overall this was a very surprising read and I truly enjoyed it.

This is a great read. I look forward to reading it with my children as they get a little older. I wish my grandmother was alive still for she would have loved it also. It is an excellent read and I cannot emphasize enough what a good read it is.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More and reviews of other books by Chris d'Lacey.

[Willen P · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this for almost 20 years since I saw it at the library as a child but never borrowed.

It didn't disappoint me at all; some parts were a bit predictable but I would have loved to read this as a child.