Countdown

by Anne Fine

Hugo desperately wants a gerbil but Dad thinks it's cruel to keep animals in cages. They strike a deal: if Hugo can spend seven hours alone in his empty, newly-painted bedroom, then Dad will buy him the gerbil he wants. Can he stand it, or will he crack? For ages 7-10: Yellow Bananas are chapter books for newly fluent readers.

44 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Though readers often find themselves inadvertently laughing aloud as they read Anne Fine's novels, as she herself admits, "a lot of my work, even for fairly young readers, raises serious social issues. Growing up is a long and confusing business. I try to show that the battle through the chaos is worthwhile and can, at times, be seen as very funny." In 1994, this unique combination of humour and realism inspired the hit movie MRS. DOUBTFIRE, based on Anne's novel MADAME DOUBTFIRE and starring the late comedic genius Robin Williams.

Anne is best known in her home country, England, as a writer principally for children, but over the years she has also written eight novels for adult readers. Seven of these she describes as black - or sour - comedies, and the first, THE KILLJOY, simply as "dead black". These novels have proved great favourites with reading groups, causing readers to squirm with mingled horror and delight as she peels away the layers in all too familiar family relationships, exposing the tangled threads and conflicts beneath. (It's perhaps not surprising that Anne has openly expressed astonishment at the fact that murder in the domestic setting is not even more common.)

Anne has written more than sixty books for children and young people. Amongst numerous other awards, she is twice winner of both the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most prestigious children's book award, and the Whitbread Award. Twice chosen as Children's Author of the Year in the British Book Awards, Anne Fine was also the first novelist to be honoured as Children's Laureate in the United Kingdom. In 2003, Anne became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded an OBE. Her work has been translated into forty five languages.

Anne Fine lives in the north of England and has two grown up daughters.

Reviews

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a good description of boredom. I question whether animals like gerbils have the same experience of boredom that humans have. I don't think cages with toys/activities are that boring to them!

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for 2nd graders. It helps introduce kids to the concept of time, counting, and imagination.

[Deb]

Päivä Häkissä. Keltainen banaani.

[David Mensah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book would be great for introducing children to the concept of using their imagination. Children, as we know, are generally naturally imaginative but may not be aware of this facet of their makeup. This book wonderfully explores and presents this aspect of children’s character and personality. The author takes a simple idea and expands it right through to its limit to create what becomes an entertaining adventure story.
The setting for the story is our main character Hugo James Macfie’s bedroom and the canvass for exploration is his active and lively mind. It is an interesting observation to see how the author uses Hugo’s bedroom being painted as a metaphor for the picture she paints during the story. In the story everything in Hugo’s room takes on a life of its own and the author is obviously communicating to us the idea of how big and grand everything can seem in a child’s world, especially the notion of time.
This book has a great cross-curricular property to it and could be used for numeracy, literacy, geography, art and more.

[Suvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Päivä häkissä

Tommi tahtoo kovasti oman gerbiilin, mutta isä on sitä mieltä, että Tommin koulussa ollessa gerbiilille tulee tylsää. Niinpä Tommi päättää kokeilla olla seitsemän tuntia omassa huoneessaan seuranaan vain kolme lelua, yksi ruoka ja juomista. Millaista on viettää päivä häkissä ja onnistuuko Tommi.

Kakkosille.