The Tulip Touch (Collins Drama) - Softcover

Fine, Anne; O'Neill, Cecily; O'Neill, Rachel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007130864 ISBN 13: 9780007130863

Publisher: HarperCollins UK, 2002

Synopsis

A stunning adaptation for schools by the Children’s Laureate Anne Fine, of her much-loved children’s novel. Why is Tulip always in trouble? And why does Natalie find Tulip’s dangerous games so fascinating. A powerful story about troubled teenagers and their relationship to the adult world.

The Tulip Touch is suitable for class work, drama lessons and school productions. The resource material includes advice on staging the play, ideas for improvisation arising from the script, poems and extracts from fictional and non-fictional writing. The issues of parenthood, families, growing up and peer pressure are explored through drama, discussion and written work.

About this title

About the Author:

Anne Fine is the highly acclaimed childrens author of many successful novels including the Tulip Touch and Madame Doubtfire. Anne is also Children's Laureate.

From Kirkus Reviews:

The author of Alias Madame Doubtfire (1987) and, more recently, Step by Wicked Step (1996) mines a darker vein with this study in malevolence. Exploring the countryside around the elegant old hotel her father is now managing, Natalie first sees Tulip standing in a field holding a kitten; later in school Natalie makes overtures of friendship, not realizing until too late that Tulip is a social outcast and perennial discipline problem as well. Enthralled by Tulip's fearlessly antisocial behavior, Natalie surrenders her will and common sense, playing along in a succession of pranks, cleverly subtle harassment, and quiet, mean games with hair-raising names--Rats in a Firestorm or Road of Bones. In Fine's view, Tulip is to be pitied as much as feared, for her twisted, uncontrolled nature has been molded by an abusive father--but all of the adults in the story come in for a share of the blame, too, aware of Tulip's situation but, beyond handwringing, allowing it to continue. After a game of Wild Nights ends in arson, Natalie finds herself abruptly free of Tulip's spell and breaks off the friendship. Tulip retaliates, and on Christmas Eve, the hotel goes up in flames. Fine expresses with canny precision her protagonist's ambivalence and soul- searching, challenging readers to see how fascinating such repellent behavior can be. A moving, complex story. (Fiction. 11-13) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins UK
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0007130864
• ISBN 13: 9780007130863
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96