TITLE: Fablehouse
AUTHOR: E.L. Norry
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ISBN: 9781526649515
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
How do you find your home, when you keep being kicked out of it? Is it possible that you have a true quest in life when you are unwanted, abandoned, or alone? That is the question in the back of the minds of all of the children in Fablehouse, a foster home for the Brown Babies in Britain in the 1950s. The product of Black American GI’s fraternizing with women throughout Britain in WWII, the Brown Babies were often segregated and looked down upon due to the color of their skin.
E.L. Norry’s FABLEHOUSE (Bloomsbury, 2023) features a cast of these Brown Babies in the English countryside. Norry draws on her own experience growing up mixed-race, both Welsh and Jewish, and never quite feeling that she fit in anywhere. She brings her own history and experience and melds them with the Arthurian legend and folkloric tradition of Wales to create a compelling and deeply earnest plot for children as well as the young at heart.
Heather doesn’t believe that she’ll ever find a place she fits in. Ms. Isolde, and the children of Fablehouse, seek to prove her wrong. Everyone there has a story of the tragedy that brought them to the foster home. Lloyd’s grandfather lost custody of him after his dementia began to progress, Arlene still believes her mum will one day return from Hollywood to pick her up, and Nat thinks every man who visits might be his missing father. Maybe the other children aren’t that different to Heather - but it takes a bit of magic for her to realize that.
When a mysterious man shows up at the nearby cairn in the wilderness, there is a single question on all the kid’s minds. Is he, Pal, actually a black knight? The book of Arthurian legends that Heather has been reading certainly makes him seem familiar, but none of the illustrations look quite like him. Yet he talks about the threat that the fairies pose to Fablehouse, and the rest of the world. This ragtag group of children need to band together, with the help of their knight, and save themselves and the place that indeed is their home.
Fablehouse is an incredibly moving book. There’s a lot of power in being able to see yourself in characters, and a surprisingly small amount of children’s literature that deals with mixed-race orphans. The earnest sincerity of the storytelling, and the connection to Arthurian tradition gives the story a timeless feel that will enable it to remain relevant for ages to come. Fablehouse is well worth a read, and I eagerly await its sequel in 2024. Don’t miss this series!
AUTHOR: E.L. Norry
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Children's Books
ISBN: 9781526649515
PODCAST EPISODE: None
REVIEWER: Hilary Wilson
How do you find your home, when you keep being kicked out of it? Is it possible that you have a true quest in life when you are unwanted, abandoned, or alone? That is the question in the back of the minds of all of the children in Fablehouse, a foster home for the Brown Babies in Britain in the 1950s. The product of Black American GI’s fraternizing with women throughout Britain in WWII, the Brown Babies were often segregated and looked down upon due to the color of their skin.
E.L. Norry’s FABLEHOUSE (Bloomsbury, 2023) features a cast of these Brown Babies in the English countryside. Norry draws on her own experience growing up mixed-race, both Welsh and Jewish, and never quite feeling that she fit in anywhere. She brings her own history and experience and melds them with the Arthurian legend and folkloric tradition of Wales to create a compelling and deeply earnest plot for children as well as the young at heart.
Heather doesn’t believe that she’ll ever find a place she fits in. Ms. Isolde, and the children of Fablehouse, seek to prove her wrong. Everyone there has a story of the tragedy that brought them to the foster home. Lloyd’s grandfather lost custody of him after his dementia began to progress, Arlene still believes her mum will one day return from Hollywood to pick her up, and Nat thinks every man who visits might be his missing father. Maybe the other children aren’t that different to Heather - but it takes a bit of magic for her to realize that.
When a mysterious man shows up at the nearby cairn in the wilderness, there is a single question on all the kid’s minds. Is he, Pal, actually a black knight? The book of Arthurian legends that Heather has been reading certainly makes him seem familiar, but none of the illustrations look quite like him. Yet he talks about the threat that the fairies pose to Fablehouse, and the rest of the world. This ragtag group of children need to band together, with the help of their knight, and save themselves and the place that indeed is their home.
Fablehouse is an incredibly moving book. There’s a lot of power in being able to see yourself in characters, and a surprisingly small amount of children’s literature that deals with mixed-race orphans. The earnest sincerity of the storytelling, and the connection to Arthurian tradition gives the story a timeless feel that will enable it to remain relevant for ages to come. Fablehouse is well worth a read, and I eagerly await its sequel in 2024. Don’t miss this series!