The Dead Centre of the Woods

By Martin Hall

Ideal for children tackling their first chapter book as a solo read or a read aloud. Why can Faye and Danny hear the trees at the bottom of the garden talking in their dreams? Why is the farmer so unhappy to see people on his land. And why have the woods stopped being friendly?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Martin Hall
• Release date: Apr 10, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476489407

Martin Hall

Professor Martin Hall is Chair of Jisc, and Vice Chancellor of the University of Salford, UK. A British-South African academic and educationalist he has written extensively on South African history, culture and higher education policy. Professor Hall was a member of the Working Group on the Finch Committee which examined Open Access policy in the UK.

Book preview

The Dead Centre of the Woods

By

Martin Hall

The Dead Centre of the Woods

Martin Hall

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2012 Martin Hall

All rights reserved

The moral right of the author has been asserted. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission in writing of the publisher. Nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

ISBN 9781476489407

Chapter 1

In that slow midpoint of the school summer holidays, Faye longed for excitement. Everything was there, but none of it was right. Their house was old, but in a comforting, `lived in’ sort of way. The garden was long and overgrown, but the flowers were pretty. The stream at the bottom of the garden could be dark and run fast, but it chuckled at the same time. It was all a walk in the park. Faye wanted a white-knuckle ride. That was before the trees began to talk.

That summer was dry and cloudless. The stream ran low, almost too shallow to paddle in, unless you blocked it. That was still Faye’s favourite game, even though she thought that nearly ten was too old to be playing with water.

‘Build up that side nearest you.’

Danny, her next-door neighbour, ally, classmate and oldest friend leaned round the hedge that separated their houses. ‘Making a dam?’

Faye wasn’t going to admit to her game. ‘It’s getting clogged up. I’m just seeing if I can clear away some of the stuff downstream. You can help if you want.’

Danny nodded. He was just over ten and definitely too old to be playing with water. So, they both kept up the pretence that they were working as they built up the mud wall, offering each other advice. The water turned from fast running clearness to swirling like coffee in a mug. Then, the first,