Whitehouse, Howard

PERSONAL:

Born in Birmingham, England; married.

ADDRESSES:

Home—NY.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked variously in a rock band, with troubled children, and as a writer.

WRITINGS:

Battle in Africa, 1879-1914, Fieldbooks (Camberley, England), 1987.

(Editor) W.R.C. Wynne, "A Widow-making War": The Life and Death of a British Officer in Zululand, 1879, Paddy Griffith Associates (Nuneaton, England), 1995.

"MAD MISADVENTURES OF EMMALINE AND RUBBERBONES" SERIES

The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy, and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken, illustrated by Bill Slavin, Kids Can Press (Tonawanda, NY), 2006.

The Faceless Fiend: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, illustrated by Bill Slavin, Kids Can Press (Tonawanda, NY), 2007.

Writer and designer of history games.

SIDELIGHTS:

Howard Whitehouse is an English writer. Whitehouse worked variously as a rock musician and helping troubled children in his pursuit of becoming a writer. He published two history books before turning to children's novels with the start of the "Mad Misadventures of Emmaline and Rubberbones" series.

In 2006 Whitehouse published his first novel in the series, The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy, and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken. The book introduces Emmaline Cayley, a girl who grew up in colonial India and was sent back to England to continue her studies. She attends the infamous St. Grimelda's School for Young Ladies where she makes friends with Robert "Rubberbones" Bums. Emmaline is not interested in the primping and polishing the school has in order for her, so she attempts to escape to be an adventurer and build flying machines. She receives help from others in her attempt to escape the headmistress and attempts to fly out on a large kite, realizing, inopportunely, that she is afraid of flying.

In a CM Magazine review, Maha Kumaran "recommended" the novel, noting that it is "definitely a good book to read while doing a project on [the] Victorian Era." Kumaran worried, though, saying that "The Strictest School in the World is a good read, but a younger reader might not know the history of the times in which it is set." David Ward, writing in Resource Links, described Emmaline as "a vibrant self sustaining heroine with enough guts" to attract not only a female readership, but male as well. Ward added that the "promising book … will make an excellent [complement] to social studies and history classes that cover this period in history." Walter Minkel, writing in School Library Journal, commented that "this comic tale of a slightly alternative Victorian England is goofy and fun." Minkel added that the illustrator's "intricate pen-and-ink drawings are properly atmospheric." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews found the ink drawings "fluidly drawn." The same contributor described the novel as "an entertaining mix of high and low comedy."

Whitehouse published the novel's sequel the following year. In The Faceless Fiend: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind, Emmaline is living in Yorkshire with her Aunt Lucy after having successfully escaped from St. Grimelda's. However, the headmistress is not done fighting, and a new enemy, a Russian secret agent whose face was blown off, tries to kidnap Emmaline's friend, Princess Purnah. With the help of Professor Bellbuckle to build a flying machine, Emmaline befriends Sherlock Holmes in her attempts to save Purnah.

Connie Tyrrell Burns, writing in School Library Journal, noted that "the gothic overtones and menacing situations are all goofy, over-the-top, and humorously handled." Burns added that "the author's voice slips in with sly, wry humor." A contributor to Kirkus Reviews took note of "several memorable characters" throughout the novel. The same contributor also remarked that all of the characters come "to life both in the narrative and in Slavin's usually hilarious drawings."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

CM Magazine, October 13, 2006, Maha Kumaran, review of The Strictest School in the World: Being the Tale of a Clever Girl, a Rubber Boy, and a Collection of Flying Machines, Mostly Broken.

Girls' Life, August 1, 2006, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 38.

History: The Journal of the Historical Association, July, 1996, John Johnston, review of "A Widow-making War": The Life and Death of a British Officer in Zululand, 1879, p. 392.

Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2006, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 798; August 1, 2007, review of The Faceless Fiend: Being the Tale of a Criminal Mastermind.

Magpies, November, 2006, Kevin Steinberger, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 38.

Resource Links, February, 2007, David Ward, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 18.

School Library Journal, November, 2006, Walter Minkel, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 156; November, 2007, Connie Tyrrell Burns, review of The Faceless Fiend, p. 139.

Voice of Youth Advocates, February, 2007, Jennifer Feigelman, review of The Strictest School in the World, p. 548.