Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Cottrell Boyce, Frank.
FRAMED
New York : HarperCollins, 2005
IL 3-6, RL 4.5
ISBN 0060734035

Okay—so how do a bunch of super secretive art experts from London end up in a tiny mining village in Wales? (That’s the western part of Great Britain, in case you didn't know---they speak English there, but some of the names of things are spelled really strange…..) Well, London is having the worst flooding in centuries, and they’re going to keep all the paintings from the National Gallery in the mine--where it is very dry-- until it’s safe to bring them back.

So, what else is going on in the little town of Manod? NOTHING, NOTHING, NOTHING!!! Unless you count the fact that everyone seems to be moving OUT, and Dylan is now the ONLY BOY living in town (which is putting a real crimp in his soccer career), and Dylan’s family’s garage is losing what little business they used to get before someone knocked over the sign for Manod on the big highway…..If things go on this way, it won’t be long before Manod isn't even a town anymore, and THEN where will they be?? And what about those art experts from London---can they help to save this little village? Do they care? Thanks to Dylan (and his pet chickens Michelangelo and Donatello) things are about to change for everyone. With lots of humor, mystery, and a even a bit of crime thrown in, Framed shows us what can be accomplished with determination and a little help from the power of art. (New Hampshire Great Stone Face nominee, 2007-2008)