''The Dragonfly Pool'' is a children's

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

written by Austro-British children's writer

Eva Ibbotson Eva Maria Charlotte Michelle Ibbotson (née Wiesner; 21 January 1925 – 20 October 2010) was an Austrian-born British novelist, known for her children's literature. Some of her novels for adults have been reissued for the young adult market. Th ...

and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes. In a foreword to the book, Ibbotson writes that the school featured in the novel is based on her own experience at

Dartington Hall Dartington Hall in Dartington, near Totnes, Devon, England, is an historic house and country estate of dating from medieval times. The group of late 14th century buildings are Grade I listed; described in Pevsner's Buildings of England as ...

, a progressive school in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. The inspirational biology teacher, Matteo, is based on David Lack, the ornithologist, who did a lot of his early research on robins with the help of his pupils Ted R. Anderson - The Life of David Lack, Oxford Press 2013.

Plot

Talitha ('Tally') Hamilton is the daughter of the town's beloved doctor. Tally loves her life; she gets along with everyone. Following the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Tally is very upset to learn she will be sent to an English

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

, Delderton, but does so at the request of her father. When Tally arrives at Delderton, she soon discovers that this school is like no other: the dancing teacher encourages them to be seeds busting into light, and the enigmatic biology teacher Matteo takes them for study walks at four in the morning. Tally soon settles in and makes plenty of friends, even organising a trip for her friends to attend a dancing festival in Bergania. Meanwhile, Prince Karil of Bergania is a lonely boy who wants to be normal and have friends. He hates wearing stuffy suits and attending so many formal celebrations. When Karil meets Tally at the Dragonfly Pool, his place of comfort and peace, the two immediately become friends. But when Karil's father the King is assassinated, Karil is forced to flee with Tally and the others to England. The King's assassination is revealed to have been planned by the Germans, and they invade and overtake Bergania. The group of dancers quickly disguise Karil as part of the team in order to protect him, and take him back to school with them. On their journey, they fight off numerous attempts to capture Karil, but manage to get away. When they eventually reach England, Karil is taken into the care of his grandfather.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dragonfly Pool 2008 British novels British children's novels Novels by Eva Ibbotson 2008 children's books Novels set in boarding schools Macmillan Publishers books Children's books set in Devon Novels set in Devon Children's books set during World War II Novels set during World War II