Toby Alone by Timothee de Fombelle

Translated by Sarah Ardizzone with illustrations by Francois Place

Toby Alone thrusts you into the story immediately – Toby a 13 year-old who just happens to be one and a half millimetres tall (“not exactly big for a boy of his age”) – is on the run and is hiding from his pursuers in a hole in the tree in which he lives.

Toby Lolness lives in a tree – a tree as we understand it – but for Toby and his fellow inhabitants the tree is their world. Anything outside the tree is a fearful place full of danger and uncertainty.

Toby’s father is a clever and well-respected scientist. But when he refuses to share the secret of one of his inventions, because he is worried about the effect it would have on the tree, he is shunned and made an outcast. Toby’s family are banished to live in the Low Branches and that is just the beginning of the adventures of the Lolness family.

The story has the feeling of a fairy tale where the fate of many people rests in the hands of one tiny individual who accomplishes great deeds. The tree stands for the world and the sap is the life force which can be, and is being, plundered for short term gain by greedy corrupt individuals.

You have to pay attention while reading this. The story flits forward and back in time and there are quite a few characters to remember. But it is worth it.

As I was coming to the end I kept on thinking “How will it all be resolved in so few pages?” Well…. it wasn’t! There is more to come – at least one more.

By the way - it is beautifully produced – nice paper, lovely illustrations and a brown paper dust jacket that can be opened up to show you a map of the tree. It is all very smart.

Suitable for year 6 and up. However be wary. In the fairy tale tradition there is some nasty stuff – Bernie, the prison warder’s daughter, is not someone you would want as your friend, and it might be worthwhile to read it before you give it to your younger children.

Published by Walker Books