While on holiday in Africa, animal trainers Cyril and Mavis Tanner find an English girl living with chimps. Pretending she is their niece, Cherry, they bring her back to England to perform in their act – and to slave for them.
Picture StoriesA girl replaces her mother in a stage comedy duo, while she is sick. She can’t let anyone know that she is pretending to be her mother though.
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The Simpsons are having a hard time. First their father walks out on them, then their mother loses her job. Tina the eldest daughter struggles to keep the family together after their Mother also abandons them. Tina along with her sister Beth and brothers Martin and Kevin move to a shelter on the roof top of their tower-block. The roof top had originally been planned to be turned into a garden, but this plan has been abandoned and the whole block is quite run down. Tina’s plan is to keep the family together, while trying to get their mother back. She fears the family will be split if they go into foster care. She manages to get some part-time jobs, but for different reasons she ends up losing them.
She also believes she sees her mother at times, but she never manages to catch up to her. Her younger sister Beth helps out as much as she can, but her brothers believe their mum is just away because she is sick. They get by as well as they can in their roof top home but time is running out for them. Families in the tower block begin to get relocated and the plan is to knock down the building as soon as everyone moves out. Tina knows they’ll have to leave soon, but what she doesn’t know is that the demolition is brought forward a day. Luckily a news helicopter spots the kids and rescues them before the building is demolished. They appear on the TV and in national papers. Their appearances on TV gets through to an amnesic Mrs. Simpson who has been hospital after getting hit by a car. The story also reaches Mr. Simpson, who comes back looking for a second chance. He has also saved enough money for a deposit on a house so the family can have a new start
The Simpsons have some hardships, although it is not all tragedy all the time. Sometimes good things happen as well. Beth has a pleasant birthday, despite missing her mother, as the boys surprise her with a garden of her own and Tina gets her a cake.When a visit to a museum nearly ends in disappointment, their luck changes when they get reward for returning a lost wallet and Tina lands a job in a cafe.
Of course while there are some good things happening to our protagonist, to keep the reader invested the story still has to make sure she has more obstacles to get through to get to her happy ending! So while this job goes well for a while, another worker gets a grudge against Tina when she won’t cover a shift for her (this is because Tina wants to follow up on a hunch where her mother may be). This ends with Tina getting fired. This is also near the time she finds out about the demolition. Although everything works out in the end with the whole family back together. I do think it’s a bit too convenient to have both parents come back. Especially with the mother having amnesia, and everyone forgiving the father pretty easily.
The siblings have a nice relationship, the boys aren’t aware of the full situation, but it’s nice to see the sister’s so protective of them. In turn they fix up a garden for Beth’s birthday and try to help out at times. They still act like real kids of course, so when they are being helpful making their own dinner they end up making more of a mess and a midnight feast nearly ends with Tina ringing the doctor. Beth while helpful and sharing some of the burden with Tina also shows her frustration with the situation at times. Tina as the eldest, takes on the responsibility of the family with little complaint, she is very protective of her family, but seems quite distrustful of adults. She runs from her mother’s friend in case she finds out where the Simpsons are living. She does debate afterwards, whether she should have trusted her to help them, but she still likes to be cautious.
Wilson’s distinctive art is as good ever. The story’s strong point is the family dynamic, and there is a nice climatic ending with the family on the roof just before the building is about to be destroyed.
Plot/Thoughts
The Crankies are a family that are reminiscence of “The Munsters” or “The Addams Family”. They are a group of misfits surrounded by normal people and they don’t realise how different they are.
Apart from the youngest girl Medina, each family member has “talent”. The father can make things disappear, the mother can see into crystal balls, Zena the eldest daughter can move things with the wink of her eye, Ivan the towering brother can change things with a snap of his fingers and finally uncle Petrov is a mad scientist type.
They lived isolated in their castle until it was blown up and they were forced to move into an ordinary house in a town. They are very upbeat family and they don’t realise how different their way of doing things is.
While adjusting to their new life they find themselves having a learning curve. Their neighbours aren’t too pleased when they do such things as change their dogs to rabbits, or set off fireworks in the dining room during lunch.
Medina is the first to realize they are different .
So she tries to help her family fit in. They still have a several mishaps, such as when they find themselves in situations where they are running low on food and discover a supermarket but don’t realise they have to pay for items.
Medina discovers, from her new friend, about such strange things as money, jobs and school. Things finally settle down at a festival talent contest. While Medina is worried about her family entering, its actually the one place where their talents are appreciated and they get offered a theatre and TV contract.
This is one of my favourite stories. It is a typical type of fish out of water set up but the characters are likeable and the situations they find themselves in are amusing.. The art by Andrew Wilson, is detailed, expressive and all the characters look great and distinct. Overall it’s just lighthearted fun story that’s entertaining to read and is actually one of the few stories that ages well.
Heather Gray a junior member of the Merewood Athletic Club was hoping to wi
n the Young Athlete of the Year award. Then a strange cat named Sheba moved in with the family and made life very difficult fr Heather. Sheba the last descendant of the Sacred Cats of Egypt had chosen Heather as her handmaid – and Heather couldn’t refuse, as Sheba had mysterious powers to make people do what she wished.
Claire Lorton, an orphan, was happy living with her rich guardians, Aunt Maud and Aunt Jane. They were all pleased when Ralph, Claire’s cousin, returned from abroad after eight years. But Claire felt there had been a change in Ralph.
