posted on 01 Jul 2024

The Magic Calaloo by Trish Cooke, illustrated by Sophie Bass

I am always delighted to receive review copies by Trish Cooke as she is one of my all time favourite authors of children’s books. Whether she is writing for younger children or older readers, her skill lies in the way in which she structures an engaging story with pattern and rhythm that is ideal for reading out loud.

I shared this one with my nine year old granddaughter Naomi, who is also a big fan. The story is loosely based on the traditional tale of ‘Rapunzel’ but with an interesting Caribbean twist. Mister and Missus live in a village that is lucky enough to have a magic calaloo plant that grants wishes when people eat a leaf. Their deepest desire is to have a child of their own to cherish and this wish is granted when they pick the last leaf on the plant. It is in such a sorry state, because a greedy wicked man who lives in the village has stolen the plant and has stuffed all the others for himself!

He now lives a luxurious and lazy life between Somewhere and Nowhere in his house that is surrounded by a barbed wire fence and guarded by the dragons and snakes that he wished for. It is only because a wise old woman reveals the whereabouts of the plant that Mister and Missus are able to make the hazardous journey, defeat all the obstructions and make their special wish.

A beautiful and kind daughter, Lou is born to the couple and she is brought up in the Good Place surrounded by love. As she grows bigger, her afro style hair becomes more and more abundant:

‘the more her parents loved and cared for her, the more her healthy, shiny coils and curls grew out and out and far and wide reaching to the sun.’

When she is older and learns that she is the happy result of her parents’ calaloo magic wish, she happily goes about singing in celebration of her fortune. Naomi commented that this was not a good idea as sure enough, the wicked man, who had been wondering about that last leaf for many years, was in earshot. He kidnaps her and takes her down a winding road and along many complicated paths to his house. Here he keeps her imprisoned for many years doing his cleaning, cooking and other chores. Like Rapunzel, Lou is very constrained, bored, frustrated, lonely and homesick but what can she do?

Once again, Naomi predicted that the wise old woman might be able to help. Sure enough, she sees Lou weeping outside the wicked man’s house and asks what is wrong. Although he is rather suspicious, she offers to plait Lou’s unruly hair and so cleverly creates a familiar map:

‘She made marks on Lou’s head and twisted Lou’s hair round her arthritic fingers, making neat, shiny plaited patterns. Every line was marked with tenderness, love and care.’

The impressive resulting hairstyle creation proves to be the solution to her problem and we smiled with relief when she finally made her escape and returned to her elderly parents.

What makes this well told story even more satisfying are the gorgeously detailed illustrations by Sophie Bass. Every turn of the page is jam packed with vibrant colour with so much to look at. I can see how these will inspire some fascinating artwork from children.

We strongly recommend this stunning new book which is now available from Walker Books. You will be able to get a copy from your local independent bookshop - who will, of course, be happy to order you a copy if they don’t have copies on the shelf.

 

Karen Argent

June 2024