Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars by Martine Murray (Text Publishing) PB RRP $14.99

ISBN 9781925240085

Reviewed by Wendy Fitzgerald

‘Imagine if you were never scared of falling, how much higher you might climb …. Or if you weren’t afraid of being clumsy and awkward, how much more gracefully you might dance’

I really enjoyed reading this book. Martine Murray has a gentle style that is sprinkled with her own delightful and surprising use of language.

For example-

‘Life was a jagged dance of joys and sorrows, up and then down and sometimes in knots or jolts or dizzying rushes over or around again.’ (P153)

Molly’s mum has a wonderfully free spirit. She likes to gather wild herbs deep in the woods and mix mysterious magic potions. Their house is coloured with Persian carpets, billowy curtains, candles, pot plants and brightly patterned cushions.

Molly’s dad and her two older twin brothers are ‘off having adventures’ in exotic countries with names like Morocco, Madagascar and Cuba.

Molly’s best friend Ellen Palmer lives in a tidy red brick house with a ‘normal’ mother, father and brother. They have a neat yard, a dishwasher, a trampoline and they eat delicious food that comes in packets.

How Molly wishes she had a ‘normal family’ like Ellen.

Next door to Molly and her mum live some terrible neighbours - Prudence and Ernest Grimshaw. When the Grimshaws threaten to kill Molly’s rooster, something has to be done.

Molly’s mum decides to grow a fast-growing tree for privacy. She concocts a potion to make the tree grow faster. But the magic goes seriously wrong. Molly must work out a way to save her mum from a most unusual situation.  Luckily Molly develops a special friendship with a young boy named Pim- and together with Ellen they work together find a solution.

Molly and Pim and the Millions of Stars is about friendship, family, resilience and the power of appreciating life in a world that glitters with curiosity and wonder. I recommend this book to kids who like to read stories that sparkle.