Once I finished the two YA Ibbotson books that I bought, I decided to move to her children’s fiction – The Dragonfly Pool. Like The Morning Gift, The Dragonfly Pool is set in the WWII era, but unlike The Morning Gift, The Dragonfly Pool focuses on the value of friendship.

The Dragonfly Pool starts with Tally receiving a scholarship to boarding school. This sounds like a nightmare to her, especially after what her stuck-up cousins tell her about their boarding schools, but Delderton proves to be very different. At Delderton, children are given unique lessons and are generally encouraged to take charge of things, which is how a group of students end up in Bergania for a folk festival.

Tally, who wanted to go to Bergania after seeing a film of the king standing up to Hitler, ends up meeting the crown prince, Karil. It looks like the start of a great friendship, until the king is assassinated and the Nazis try to take over.

Since I was reading The Dragonfly Pool after reading Ibbotson’s YA fiction, I was initially worried that I was going to find this simpler than her other two works. But I was totally wrong; The Dragonfly Pool is a beautiful work that emphasises the power of friendship. While Tally and Karin’s friendship is at the heart of the book, the two rely on many other children – not just the students at Delderton, but also children from the festival.

Speaking of Delderton, I thought it was a lovely school, even though I had the same initial reaction to it. It’s pretty different from another progressive boarding school I’ve read about (Enid Blyton’s Whyteleafe), but it’s clear that the students are happy and learning here. The lessons might be unconventional, but the students do learn and the school acts as a wonderful foil to the rigidity of the world that Karil hates.

I also liked the nuance written into this book. It’s pretty easy, especially in a children’s book, to have all Germans be painted as evil Nazis. But Ibbotson take care to include a German contingent in the folk festival and the children make friends with them (until the German children get sent home by the Nazis). As Tally astutely notes, at the festival, they were all just people and friends.

Finally, I also really enjoyed the thrill of this book. Compared to the other two books, this one has a lot more action – there is even an escape from the Nazis!

Overall, I loved The Dragonfly Pool and find it a beautiful and moving work. It’s got a lot of heart in it, which is why it’s perfect not just for children, but for anyone who wants to read a story with well-formed characters and strong friendships.

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