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

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by author

Eva Ibbotson Eva Maria Charlotte Michelle Ibbotson (née Wiesner; born 21 January 1925 – 20 October 2010) was a British novelist born in Austria to a Jewish family who fled the Nazis. She is known for her children's literature. Some of her novels for adult ...

. It is 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 "on ...

, a progressive school in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. 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, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, 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