The Various facts for kids
First edition cover
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| Author | Steve Augarde |
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| Illustrator | Steve Augarde |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Touchstone Trilogy |
| Genre | Children's |
| Publisher | David Fickling Books |
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Publication date
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7 August 2003 |
| Pages | 452 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-385-60474-1 |
| OCLC | 52324461 |
| Followed by | Celandine |
The Various is an exciting fantasy book for kids, written and drawn by Steve Augarde. It came out in 2003. It's the first book in a series called the Touchstone Trilogy. The other books are Celandine and Winter Wood.
This series is all about secret tribes of tiny people. They live deep inside a wild forest on a hill in Somerset, England. The story shows how they interact with the children who live on the farm nearby. These tribes call themselves the 'Various'. They live tough, independent lives. They are always afraid of being found by the 'Gorji', which is what they call humans.
The Various won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Bronze Award. It was also a finalist for the Branford Boase Award. Plus, it was nominated for the Carnegie Medal.
Contents
The Story of The Various
Eleven-year-old Margaret Walters, who everyone calls Midge, is sent to stay with her Uncle Brian. He lives at Mill Farm in Somerset, England. Midge's mom is away on tour with her orchestra. While staying there, Midge starts to uncover secrets about her own childhood. This makes her wonder more about where she truly came from.
Midge Discovers a Secret World
While exploring the farm, Midge finds a small winged horse named Pegs. Pegs is trapped and hurt inside a barn. This is Midge's first hint of a hidden world. This world is the "Royal Forest," a thick, wild area on a hill within the farm. Midge manages to save Pegs and helps him get better.
Meanwhile, all the different tribes living in the forest are worried. These tribes are the Ickri, Naiad, Wisp, Troggles, and Tinklers. They all team up to send a group to search for the missing horse, Pegs.
Dangers from the Gorji
The journey of this search group shows how dangerous the 'Gorji' world is for the Various. 'Gorji' is the name the tribes use for humans. One of the searchers, Lumst, is sadly killed by a fierce cat named Tojo.
Midge is accepted by the Ickri Queen Ba-betts and her advisors. They see her as the one who saved Pegs. But Midge also brings bad news: her uncle plans to sell the forest land.
Trouble in the Forest
An archer captain named Scurl believes Midge is a danger to the tribes. He plans to kill her. Scurl and his archers, Snerk, Dregg, and Fitch, attack Mill Farm. Midge and her cousins, Katie and George, are home alone during the attack.
Maglin, an Ickri leader under Ba-Betts, finds out about Scurl's plan. He banishes Scurl and the other archers from the Royal Forest.
A Family Mystery
Midge feels another presence around her. This feeling is linked to an old picture of her Great-great Aunt Celandine. Celandine was about Midge's age when people thought she was "mad." This was because she claimed to see the Various, but no one else believed her.
Celandine's adventures with the Various happened many years before Midge's story. Her experiences are told in Celandine, which is the next book after The Various. The strong connection between Midge and Celandine is explored even more in Winter Wood.
Main Characters
Here are some of the important characters you'll meet in The Various:
The Humans (or Gorji)
- Margaret Walters: Known as Midge, she is an 11-year-old girl from London.
- Christine: Midge's mother, who is a professional musician.
- Brian: Christine's brother, Midge's uncle, who is a farmer.
- Katie: Brian's daughter and Midge's cousin.
- George: Brian's son and Midge's cousin.
The Various (Little People)
- Pegs: A special winged horse from the Naiad tribe.
- Glim the archer: An archer from the Ickri tribe.
- Ba-betts: The Queen of the Ickri and leader of the Various.
- Maglin: An Ickri General who serves Queen Ba-betts.
- Scurl: The captain of the South and West Wood archers.
- Little-Marten: A young Ickri drummer, also called 'Woodpecker'.
- Tadgemole: The leader of the underground tribes, the Troggles and Tinklers.
- Henty: Tadgemole's beautiful daughter.
- Maven-the-Green: A very old and wise hag.
- Grissel: An Ickri hunter, part of the group looking for Pegs.
- Spindra: A Naiad horse-breeder, also part of the search group.
- Tod: A Wisp fisher, who joins the search for Pegs.
- Lumst: A Troggle miner, part of the group searching for Pegs.
- Pank: A Tinkler smith, who also helps look for Pegs.
