Moondial (Faber Children's Classics)

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The series was produced by Paul Stone and directed by Colin Cant. Other cast members include Valerie Lush as Minty's aunt Mary, Arthur Hewlett as the elderly, mysterious Mr. World and Jacqueline Pearce in the dual role of the vicious Miss Vole (who seems to have lived in the 18th Century) and the present-day ghost hunter Miss Raven.

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This is one of my favourite stories - I loved the BBC adaptation when I was younger. So, it was impossible to resist when I saw this book in the local Library sale. See Faber authors in conversation and hear readings from their work at Faber Members events, literary festivals and at book shops across the UK. The closing moments of the show feature a poignant scene where Tom is reunited with his sister Dorrie and, along with Sarah, walk off into the distance before fading from Minty’s view entirely. Lux et Umbra vicissim, sed semper Amor, Light and shadow by turns, but always Love.This magical, at times, harrowing, and engaging six-parter signalled an end of an era as the decade closed to allow the 1990s to begin where children’s drama would continue its shift for faster-paced viewing with less quiet tones. Colin Cant reflects upon this change of pace. Moondial itself owes a little to some of Creswell’s earlier books, especially Polly Flint, but the whimsy is countered by a darkness and a genuine thrill at knowing that kids don’t need to have EVERY question answered because they can provide their own solutions when necessary. There’s a lovey ambiguity about the ending, about who Miss Vole and Miss Raven might be, and where Tom and Dorrie and Sarah actually go. Creswell provides some endings but also leaves other bits wildly open to interpretation which is incredibly bold and welcome in a genre where the gap between what adults what think kids want (tidy endings) and what kids actually will accept (messiness, strangeness and room to make their own endings) is often very large indeed. It’s less scary and dark than the TV version but treads a fine line between whimsy and menace during the best passages

Moondial by Helen Cresswell book review | Yakbooks Moondial by Helen Cresswell book review | Yakbooks

This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Children’s drama in this era was thought-provoking and intelligent, with real care and attention made during the productions. The BBC seemed to go to great lengths to produce high quality programmes that made children think, entertained them and which didn’t belittle them. Like most other drama of this period, Moondial was made entirely on videotape (with quite a bit of day-for-night recording too), but this doesn’t detract from the quality of the storytelling and the series still manages to stand up to scrutiny today. Cant resists the temptation to go overboard with special effects (which would undoubtedly date any production), with only minimal use of video effects. Even the day-for-night material has a slightly unsettling quality to it, due to the images having been slightly colour desaturated.Moondial, a children’s book written by Helen Cresswell, was jointly published in October 1987 by Faber and Faber and the National Trust. The story is set in 1985 Belton village and at Belton House.