There is a kind of children's book which is rare, but which includes some of the very best literature for the young. The Silver Sword, Goodnight Mr Tom, The Butterfly Lion, The Railway Children and Kim all belong to a genre in which there is no magic, but a tremendous sense of what real children in adversity might achieve with courage, cleverness and luck. Eleanor Updale's Johnny Swanson belongs to this category, and it deserves the highest praise

This is a lovely story, full of fascinating and accurate period detail, social injustice and moral quandaries, that revels in a child's determination to play the unfair system to his advantage. Young fans of Updale's Montmorency series will find this equally entertaining

Eleanor Updale is an excellent storyteller, building up character, plot and excitement until the reader is compelled to stop everything else until the book is finished

Eleanor Updale's very funny Johnny Swanson introduces a great character . . . The story swings along, providing dastardly villains, inept policemen and a satisfying denouement

Johnny Swanson is a charmingly old fashioned - in the very best way - adventure novel. This is a great read, it zips along and illuminates a period of history that is usually forgotten

Super old-fashioned adventure story set in 1929, featuring murder, mayhem, scam adverts and medical malpractice. Thank heavens for the dollop of courage and tenacity. A truly fun read

Many twists and turns, much humour, lots of adventures and a good dollop of fascinating period detail . . . Altogether most engaging and entertaining: the sort of book that is blissfully easy to read without being mindless. Smashing fun

Like the best children's books, it's about children, not simplified or toned down for them

This book is distinguished among other features by the immensely convincing background detail of the period setting . . . The characterisation is exemplary, Johnny and his mother being convincing and winning protagonists. This is a remarkable book

Filled with action and suspense, this is a book you will not want to stop reading. A great plot, with an unguessable villain!

Dido is compelling and beautifully written

What a fantastic job Adel Geras has done bringing these characters to life

Full of suspense and the characters were written so well that you were really pulled into their lives

The book comes billed as "a passionate tale of love, betrayal and revenge" - and it is indeed, an excellent, intelligent read which will stretch minds just as it will stretch vocabularies. It is vivid in the world it creates, intriguing as it takes you there and satisfying when it leaves you

Adele Geras gave us brilliant evocations of the ancient world with Troy and Ithaka. With Dido she again takes a classical setting and story and breathes freshness, and above all an up-to-date connection, into the people and the places whilst skilfully remaining faithful to her sources