The Girl with No Nose
Publisher: Conkers
Life is tough in Victorian times, the world into which Alice Peasbody is born - and Alice is a girl with no nose.
The book follows Alice from small baby to young woman, and the cruelty and coldness she often experiences, simply from looking different.
However, this is a book where darkness comes dotted with light. As Alice grows up, gets a job and falls in love, she also meets people who show her friendship.
As one boy says (shunned by others for his smell, as he works in a tannery): 'I meet the kindest people in the world as only the kindest people talk to me.'
Inspired by a Victorian false nose at the Hunterian Museum in London, The Girl with No Nose is steeped in detail and atmosphere. This is helped by the rich, evocative illustrations that look like oil paintings.
A wonderful, thoughtful book that teaches compassion, celebrates difference and tackles some weighty issues with a gentle touch.
