posted on 28 May 2024

One Extra Sparkle by Tricia Seabolt, illustrated by Lucy Rogers

I pride myself on being a very kind and attentive big sister to my sibling who was eight years younger than me. For many years we loved spending time together but, from the age of seven, I was beginning to find her a bit of an interruption to my important teenage interests. This enjoyable novel explores changes to a similar close relationship between ten-year-old Ellie and fifteen-year-old Ben who comes across as being very kind and sensitive. All the characters are well described and made more vivid by the detailed black and white illustrations that are peppered throughout. 

Ellie is an engaging young girl first introduced on the book cover standing beside her best friend, Ling. We learn that she has great parents who encourage her many interests that include wearing sparkly clothes and jewellery and drawing animals. She also treasures spending time with Ben, who used to take her on regular adventures in the nearby woodland. But her happy life is changing because Ben is becoming conscious of his looks and seems to be increasingly preoccupied with Sara, the lip-gloss wearing girl who lives across the street. She is friendly and clearly wants to spend time getting to know Ellie, but Ellie is not impressed at the way she is invading the precious brother / sister relationship.

When she confides her concerns to Ling they panic that the teenage couple are rapidly moving towards marriage! Ling has put together a list of illustrated ‘steps’ in response to her own big sister’s obsession with a boyfriend - they are about to get engaged. To Ellie’s horror, the two friends realise that Ben and Sara are already on step number three because they have been spotted holding hands! The two friends make it their mission to stop another impending wedding before Ben is lost forever.

This involves a complex plot to scare Sara away with a ghost because Ellie knows that she is spooked by the idea of the haunted treehouse in the weeping willow tree at the bottom of the garden. The ballerina ghost has been seen by Ling a long time ago, and Ellie is terrified that she is real. The plan involves lots of physical strength training plus practising ghostly voices if it is going to work.

Alongside all this anxiety, Ellie is also upset because, for the first time ever, Ling is unable to come with her to the annual Ability Centre dance. Her life has been predictable, safe and mostly good fun so far, but now everything seems to be going wrong. The story explores how, like most ten- year- olds on the cusp of adolescence, Ellie learns to cope with difficult changes, overcomes her fears and finds ways to use her love of nature to keep calm. Along the way she ends up by putting her beloved tree in danger and risks losing everything that she cares about most. You will of course need to read it for yourself to see how all this plays out. 

I really liked the way in which the author includes some necessary information about Down’s Syndrome, which is only one aspect of Ellie’s strong and likeable character. She is an able young girl who sometimes struggles with physical skills described as ‘the spaghetti feeling’ in her muscles. She also has difficulties with her speech, especially when she is overwhelmed or emotional:

‘Her words ran together like alphabet soup’

None of this interferes with the compelling plot, but it is useful for the reader to understand her background and why she feels particularly worried about changes and challenges. There is further information about Down’s Syndrome provided at the end of the book which is both interesting and helpful. 

I strongly recommend this book as an excellent inclusive and engaging story. It is published by Lantana and should be available from your local independent bookshop – who will be happy to order it for you if they don’t have it on their shelves.

Karen Argent

May 2024