The Rooftoppers.

“On the morning of its first birthday, a baby was found floating in a cello case in the middle of the English Channel.”

That baby didn’t have a name so Charles named it Sophie. It had a first badge on, so they thought it was one year old because babies don’t often win prizes in competitions. Charles brought Sophie up but the authorities didn’t like her wearing trousers. They were going to take Sophie away but they escaped to Paris following the address from the cello case.

They meet a nice cello shop owner who remembers Sophie’s mother playing funeral marches double-time! He can’t remember her name so he calls in the shop assistant who thinks that women shouldn’t play instruments. He says her name was Vivienne, but he really didn’t like her playing.

Sophie and Charles stay in a hotel where Sophie opens up the window in the ceiling because she doesn’t like the room. She climbs out and shortly afterwards has a visitor who warns her, “Don’t go on the rooftops, they’re ours”. And so that’s how her adventures with the Rooftoppers begin.

The book is beautifully written, for people who love listening to the author’s voice through the story. One thing I would like to ask Katherine Rundell is why don’t you have an epilogue filling us in on what happens to all the characters we have met? Is there a Book Two planned maybe?

The Rooftoppers (2013) by Katherine Rundell is published by faber and faber. A lovely book aged for 8 upwards. Beautifully written and definitely worth reading. As far as I'm concerned, the perfect book.

  
 Katherine Rundell (@kdbrundell) replies:

I am thrilled you liked it! Thank you for your lovely review. In answer to your question: I know exactly what happens next... and will definitely one day write it down, though for now I am working on a different book: this one is about wolves.