The Black Book of Secrets
-- School Library Journal, 11/10/2009
From the November issue
The Black Book of Secrets (unabr.). 6 cassettes or 6 CDs. 6:45 hrs. Recorded Books (recordedbooks.com). 2009. cassette, ISBN 978-1-4407-3110-5: $51.75; CD, ISBN 978-1-4407-3114-3: $66.75.
Gr 5-8–In F. E. Higgins’s mysterious medieval tale (Feiwel & Friends, 2007), Ludlow Fitch escapes the miserable squalor of city life and finds himself in the village of Pagus Parvus. A pickpocket by trade, Ludlow narrowly escaped from despicable parents who were determined to pull his teeth out for profit. Unaccustomed to kindness, Ludlow is baffled when another newcomer to the village, Joe Zabbidou, offers to take him on as his assistant. Joe opens a pawn shop in the village where, by day, he pays generously for worthless chamber pots and wooden legs, but trades in secrets at night. Gravediggers and bookbinders, butchers and coffin makers all make their way to Joe’s shop to divulge their most shameful stories—and Joe trades these secrets for cash. Ludlow’s job is to write them all down in the Black Book of Secrets. Narrator James Daniel Wilson is amazing. He infuses each character with a distinct voice and personality and listeners will be quickly drawn in by his performance which brings the misty, creepy dankness of medieval Europe to life. Higgin’s debut novel is a unique and absorbing tale that libraries will want to add to their collections. A gem.–Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK
