Barrington Stoke ISBN 9781781129319 £6.99
Sequin lives in a flat with her mother and her baby brother, Stitch. Her mother makes beautiful dresses but receives no real recognition for her work. The flat, though small, is filled with beautiful materials, sequins, buttons, beads and love. Sequin loves her family and her home life. She is, however, bullied at school, as the other girls do not believe Sequin when she tells them what her mother does, and as she cannot leave the flat (agoraphobia?) Sequin’s mother is labelled as weird by the other pupils.
Sequin’s mother is asked to make the wedding dress for a princess. It is all a big secret, and the princess is due to come and try on the dress when disaster happens. A fire breaks out in the block of flats. It is as Sequin and her mother escape that the truth about Stitch is revealed.
The story has a very happy ending. Sequin’s mother becomes seamstress to the princess and Sequin stands up to the bullies.
This is a novel shot through with love and light. The illustrations really add to the story, and the book has an attractive cover. Recommended!
Heather Bignold