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Today is the final day of the Recommendations from Under the Radar event. Many thanks to Colleen Mondor from Chasing Ray for organizing this event. This week I've focused on Helen Dunmore's Ingo series. Today I'm reviewing the third volume of the series, The Deep. It was recently released in the U.K., Canada, and Australia. We in the States will have to wait a year or so until we can purchase

As this week has been devoted to Helen Dunmore's Ingo series, I thought I'd quote from Dunmore's poetry for Poetry Friday. Here is an excerpt from "Snow Queen," a poem written for children. You can find selections of Dunmore's poems for children here and poems for adults here. Snow Queen Long long I have looked for you, snowshoeing across the world across the wild white world with my heart

Welcome to Day 3 of my series of RADAR posts on the Ingo series. Today I have the great honor of interviewing Helen Dunmore--renowned novelist, poet, and children's writer--about the Ingo series. So, please, extend a warm welcome and promise you'll read the Ingo books.

KH: I think the Ingo series is one of the most innovative series I've read for young readers in recent years. When I read Amanda Craig's rave review in the Times, I knew I had to order the book from the U.K. Can you tell us what drew you to the oceans as a setting for the Ingo series?

Helen Dunmore: A love of the sea; knowledge of the Cornish coast; the excitement of the unknown.

KH: When Ingo was first published, marketing information mentioned that the Ingo series was to be a trilogy. Upon reading the third volume of the series, The Deep, it's clear that there is at least one more volume in store. How many volumes will comprise the Ingo series and what do we have to look forward to in number 4?

Helen Dunmore: You are right, there is a final book to come. Originally I thought that the INGO books would be a trilogy, but as I worked in THE DEEP it became clear that there would have to be a fourth book. The story needed to work itself out fully; the characters still had so much to experience. The more I wrote about Ingo, the more there was to discover. The final book, THE CROSSING OF INGO, will be published in May 2008 (UK date).

KH: Your hero, Sapphire, is strongly torn between the earth and the seas. She can swim with the Mer, converse with whales and other sea creatures, and live for days under the water. Can she also converse with creatures of the earth?

Helen Dunmore: Not in the same way. She understands her dog Sadie intuitively, but she cannot talk to Sadie in the same way as she can talk to the whale. Conor is different: for example, he can talk to the bees.

KH: Sapphire's brother Conor is more strongly connected to the earth than is Sapphire. Nonetheless, he can also swim with the Mer and is drawn quite strongly to a Mer girl, Elvira. I'm a little worried about Conor's attraction to Elvira--she seems dangerous. Should we be concerned, or are we seeing the world through Sapphire's eyes?

Helen Dunmore: Sapphire is very troubled by her brother's attraction to Elvira, as you say. Perhaps she feels that her brother is bewitched by Elvira...perhaps she is also a little jealous, because she and Conor are so close. However Conor, like his sister, has free will and must make his own choices.

KH: There is a genetic component to Sapphire, Conor, and their father's abilities to live in Ingo (the world of the Mer under the seas). Is this an extremely rare ability in your design, or are there other families like Sapphire's living amongst us?

Helen Dunmore: There are others--Gloria Fortune is one example of a person who has Mer blood without being fully aware of it. Some become aware, others never do.

KH: There is a strong environmental message to the Ingo series, one that emphasizes the connection between the land and the sea. When you began writing Ingo did you have environmental concerns in mind or did they just develop organically?

Helen Dunmore: I would say that these themes developed naturally. In part I am sure it comes from living on an island where nowhere is far from the sea. The sea's immense power can blind us to the fragility of a coral reef or a sustainable seal population. Humans do have a tendency to see the rest of the world in terms of resources, either tapped or untapped. But I don't think fiction is there to preach--it is there to bring worlds alive.

KH: Sapphire (or Sapphy) is one of the most realistic preteen heroes I've encountered in a long time. She's not overly precocious, is not always self-aware, and often acts on impulse. At the same time, she's brave, cares deeply for her brother, family, people of earth, and the Mer. Does Sapphy have a model, or is she entirely imagined?

Helen Dunmore: Sapphy is imagined, although I have drawn on certain characteristics which I've known in real people. It has been fascinating to get to know all the characters in depth, over a number of books, and also over a period of time. It is very important to me that Sapphire, Conor, Elvira, Faro and many other characters are growing up fast and changing all the time. Characters sometimes surprise the author, I find.

KH: Most children in the U.K. have a concrete idea about what Cornwall looks like. How would you tell children in the U.S. to imagine a place like Cornwall?

Helen Dunmore: You need to imagine a long, narrow peninsula of land jutting out into the deep Atlantic. About 250,000 people live in Cornwall. It is a Celtic country, with a Celtic language (Cornish). Although Cornish is not widely spoken now, place-names are Cornish. The coastline is wild and rocky, the sea is often stormy and unpredictable, especially in the part of Cornwall where the books are set. There are high cliffs, rocky coves, and wide sandy beaches for surfing. There are seals, dolphins, basking sharks and countless sea-birds. It is a coast where shipwrecks are common, and many lives are owed to the life-boat service. The sea around Cornwall is extraordinarily beautiful, dark green, blue and turquoise, but it demands respect. On land, the fields are small and in West Penwith are defined by granite hedges which have often been in place since the Bronze Age. Standing stones are evidence of pre-Christian worship, and there are many ruins of tin mines. Tin mining, fishing and farming were the main industries in Cornwall for thousands of years, but these days tourism dominates. Cornwall is busy in summer; but if you are prepared to walk and climb you can still find quiet coves like the ones in the Ingo books, where there might be a seal or two.

KH: As you write in so many genres for so many different audiences, how do you decide what to write when?

Helen Dunmore: I suspect that the poems or the story decide.

KH: What will the next volume in the Ingo series be called and when (oh, when!) will it be released?

Helen Dunmore: THE CROSSING OF INGO, May 2008.
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Recommendations from Under the Radar: Day 4

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: Friends for Life and Life Without Friends both by Ellen Emerson White

Shaken & Stirred: The Changeover and Catalogue of the Universe, both by Margaret Mahy

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Bildungsroman: Swollen by Melissa Lion

Finding Wonderland: Lucy the Giant by Sherry L. Smith

Miss Erin: A discussion of Erec Rex: The Dragon's Eye and an interview with author Kaza Kingsley

7 Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Billie Standish Was Here by Nancy Crocker

Fuse Number 8: The Noisy Counting Book by Susan Schade

Chasing Ray: Juniper, Genetian and Rosemary by Pamela Dean

lectitans: Who Pppplugged Roger Rabbit? by Gary K. Wolf

Writing and Ruminating: Hugging the Rock by Susan Taylor Brown

Semicolon: Christian fiction

MotherReader: It's Kind of a Funny Story

Welcome to the second day of my Recommendations Under the Radar: Ingo series. (Don't miss the entire RADAR schedule here. )

Today I'll be telling you about The Tide Knot--the second volume of the Ingo series. It will be published in February 2008 in the U.S. by HarperCollins. (It is currently available in the U.K., Canada, and Australia.)

As The Tide Knot opens, Sapphire and Connor are learning to cope since the disappearance of their father into the sea. Mum has moved the kids from their Cornwall cottage on the cove to the bigger town of St. Pirans. Mum and Connor thrive in their new environment, but Sapphire misses her cove and the world she discovered in Ingo--the world of the Mer.

Sappy learns more about the Mer and their ways as The Tide Knot progresses. She also discovers why she is drawn to this alien and beautiful life in the deep. A "chance" encounter with Granny Crane, an elderly woman knowledgeable in the ways of the Earth, tells her all she needs to know. Granny says:

• 'But I never knew any with the Mer blood and the human divided so equal as it is in you. Half and half you are. It must be the way the inheritance has come down to you. It weakens in one generation, and grows strong in the next.'

And Sapphire soon discovers that this time she is called to the sea for a purpose. Some of the Mer are restless and ready to take revenge against the humans for what they have done to the world of the seas. Revenge comes swiftly as devastating coastal flooding, and Sapphire has to work with the Mer to restore the tides and save her town and family. It’s a nail-biting race to the finish as Sapphire works with the Mer, whales, dolphins, and sharks to save not only the seas, but also the Earth and her home.

Over the course of The Tide Knot, Sapphy learns more about the Mer, some of the truth of her father’s disappearance and, most importantly, that she has a baby brother under the seas. Sapphy's devotion to her family on Earth is tested in ways she never thought possible, and her courage tried in her efforts to restore the balance between Earth and the Seas.

As in Ingo, Dunmore's taut, lyrical prose moves the story along, while also providing language to savor. Middle Grade readers will be drawn into the world of the Mer with Sapphy and consider the bond between the land and the seas. Just watch them closely when you go to the beach!

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Today's RADAR schedule:

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: The President's Daughter series by Ellen Emerson White

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Zilpha Keatley Snyder Green Sky trilogy

Bildungsroman: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 1

Chasing Ray: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 2

lectitans: Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn: A Discussion Part 3

Finding Wonderland: The House on Hound Hill by Maggie Prince

Miss Erin: The Reb & Redcoats and Enemy Brothers, both by Constance Savery

Bookshelves of Doom: Harry Sue by Sue Stauffacher

Interactive Reader: Shake Down the Stars by Frances Donnelly

Chicken Spaghetti: Pooja Makhijani guest blogs with Romina's Rangoli by Malathi Michelle Iyengar:

Writing & Ruminating: Dear Mr. Rosenwald by Carole Weatherford

Shaken & Stirred: Elizabeth Knox and the Dreamhunter Duet

Welcome to day two of the Recommendations from Under the Radar blog event and the first day of my four-day series on Helen Dunmore's Ingo series.

When Colleen Mondor described the RADAR event as "about books we all individually feel have been overlooked," I knew exactly which books I would discuss and why. And I should probably explain as you may well be saying, "I've heard of Ingo" or "Helen Dunmore is well known!" Indeed. Helen Dunmore is an acclaimed and prolific writer of fiction, poetry, and children's books. She won the very first Orange prize for A Spell of Winter. And, Dunmore's Ingo series has been met with critical praise and strong sales, especially in the U.K. But here's the thing: You know that "next Harry Potter" phrase plaguing the papers these days? I think it belongs to the Ingo series. Or, to avoid the superlative, the Ingo series is first-class fantasy and belongs in the hands of every middle grade reader.

Originally conceived as a trilogy, Helen Dunmore's Ingo series now contains four volumes: Ingo, The Tide Knot, The Deep, and the forthcoming The Crossing of Ingo. While clearly fantasy, they take place in today's contemporary Cornwall--both on land and under the seas. When Dunmore's hero, Sapphire Trewhella, finds she can live as a Merperson in the ocean, her world becomes divided. While she was born to earth and loves her family and home, the seas and the world of the Mer seduce her. In fact, one of the greatest strengths of Dunmore's series is Sapphire's characterization: as a preteen, Sapphy doesn't always make the best decisions. Instead, her decisions and emotions fluctuate like the tides.

Because the Ingo series concerns the border between the land and the seas, ethical and environmental issues come to the fore. These books belong to today's generation of readers who understand at a young age that caring for the environment is crucial to their survival.

Today I'll be introducing you to the first volume in Dunmore's series--Ingo. Tomorrow I'll review The Tide Knot. On Thursday, I'll feature an interview with Helen Dunmore. On Friday, I'll review The Deep, just released in the U.K.
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Ingo
by Helen Dunmore
(First reviewed in March 2006)

Sapphire (Sapphy) lives in Cornwall, on a hidden cove, with her older brother, Connor, and her parents. Sapphy's father is drawn to the sea and sings of Ingo to his children. Connor and Sapphy know the sea, their cove, and the tides like a suburban kid understands the rhythm of her own street. One day Sapphy's father disappears on his boat without a trace.

Matthew Trewhella's disappearance upsets daily life for Sapphy and her family. Mom takes employment out of town and Connor makes a new friend--a girl from the sea. When Connor-- ordinarily the best big brother you could ever have--abandons his sister to meet his new friend, Sapphy follows him into the ocean. There she meets Faro, a Merperson and brother of Connor's new friend, Elvira. Sapphy is drawn into the world of Mer, losing all sense of earth and earthly time.

Connor brings Sapphy out of the sea and she struggles with the impulse to return. It turns out that Sapphy and Connor have some Mer in them, each to varying degrees. Sapphy is ready to give up earth and to become one with the Mer, but Connor, more grounded in earth, holds her fast.

The beauty of Ingo is in Dunmore's lyrical prose and the atmosphere she creates. You can sense the pull of the tide and the song of the Mer when you read the novel. Sapphire's struggle to resist their pull is tangible and, as a reader, you hope she succeeds.
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Today's RADAR schedule:

A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy: A discussion of author Ellen Emerson White and why she is "under the radar"

Jen Robinson's Book Page: The Changeling and The Velvet Room both by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

Bildungsroman: Girl in a Box by Ouida Sebestyen

Finding Wonderland: A Door Near Here by Heather Quarles

Miss Erin: Girl With a Pen and Princess of Orange, both by Elisabeth Kyle

Fuse Number 8: The Winged Girl of Knossos by Erick Berry

Bookshelves of Doom: The Olivia Kidney series by Ellen Potter

Chicken Spaghetti: Natural History of Uncas Metcalf by Betsy Osborne

Writing and Ruminating: Jazz ABC by Wynton Marsalis

Semicolon: Today's topic is middle grade fiction.


The YA YA YAs: Massive by Julia Bell

Christopher Barzak at Chasing Ray