ReadItDaddy's First Book of the Week - Week Ending 27th September 2019: "The Wind in the Wall" by Sally Gardner and Rovina Cai (Hot Key Books)

What is the purpose of a picture book? Is it there to entertain us, educate us? Is it there to take us on a journey or perhaps hold a mirror up for our own human behaviour, for us to scrutinise and mull over?

After we'd read this the first time, both of us sat in stunned silence. "What on earth did I just read?"

You see, I'll admit something to you, dear blog reader. I have a problem with rules - a healthy disrespect for them and, let's face it, picture books are bound by rules that may be sensible, may fit a specific business model, but to me have always seemingly stifled creativity.

Imagine then a picture book that wasn't specifically written for children (though some older children will almost certainly enjoy it, and may blush and titter at some of the - er - slightly more 'grown up' moments in it). That's rule number one broken then, as we're always being told that picture books are purely for kids,  purely frivolous throwaway ideas constantly rehashed to teach us a specific set of morals (something which all book reviewers know is a load of tosh).

"The Wind in the Walls" begins in riddlesome prose as our mysterious narrator, later revealed as the former head gardener for a powerfully rich Duke, speaks of the wind and rain, and of the faint tapping bringing him back to his conscious self. Instantly you'll notice a richness of language, a text that rolls off the tongue in pleasurable waves, that doesn't sound like someone trying to dictate a story into speech recognition software. So that'll be another picture book rule broken then, we're doing well so far.

As the story continues, time rolls back to moments of glory, when the gardener's career - though tinged with tragedy - is at its height.

The Gardener shares the Duke's passion for exotic flowers - but then there's a new obsession and the Duke bids his gardener to grow pineapples in the vast hothouses on his sprawling estate.

But the climate in the northern hemisphere does not suit the tropical plants at all - so when the gardener ultimately fails in his task, he's replaced by a strange and shadowy figure - the mysterious Mr Amicus.

Amicus is quite obviously a con-man but still seems to produce the luscious fruit almost on demand.

The Duke is happy, his guests are impressed but the gardener seeks revenge - and aims to uncover Mr Amicus' secret, discovering something entirely unexpected and decidedly dark at the heart of the Pineapple House. This is not the end of the gardener's troubles, and the twist in this story is tragic, quite brutal, and wholly unexpected (and boy do we ever love it! And yes, you've guessed it, there's a third picture book rule broken at the end of the book too. Happy endings? Pah who needs 'em!)

Simply put, this is the sort of story that restores our faith that others out there don't care for 'the rules of picture book creation' either.

I beg you, urge you to get hold of this by hook or by crook and see if it affects you like it affected us (particularly if you're a grown up book reviewer who specialises in children's books).