Maybe Tom was right. Maybe the paintings weren’t just paintings. Manod had changed a lot since the paintings arrived. Maybe the paintings were like mutagen, changing the town. Maybe we were living in Ninja Manod!!

So there you have it. Framed is a kid caper comedy about Fine Art and Mutant Ninja Turtles. And small town life. And slate mines. And insurance fraud. And family unity.

Mr. Boyce says “Framed was inspired by a news story he’d read in an old scrapbook. During the Second World War, a collection of valuable paintings from the National Gallery was hidden in a slate mine for safekeeping. He couldn’t resist imagining how all that great art might have affected the people who lived near the mine.” Frank Cottrell Boyce is a screenwriter, and I could see that influence in the book. I kept thinking this book would make a good movie. It turns out that Boyce’s first book, Millions, was a movie. I’ve never seen it, but I might look it up.

At any rate, Framed is a funny story. The setting, the small town of Manod, Wales, sort of reminds me of Petticoat Junction with all the requisite characters, including a butcher who’s afraid of liver and a pair of sisters who share the driving since “Miss Edna can see but she can’t drive,” and “Miss Elsa can drive but she can’t see.” Then there’s Daft Tom who collects Mutant Ninja Turtle gear: T-shirts, videos, collectors’ cards, lunch boxes, models of the four turtles, and a full-size strap-on Turtle shell. Sheep run wild, but the distinguishing feature of Manod is its greyness. It’s all grey because it’s perched on the side of Manod Mountain, this great big mountain covered with slate, grey slate. Dylan, the dim-witted but loveable hero of our story, is rather fond of Manod, even if he is the only boy who lives there and consequently has to wait ten years or so for his baby brother Max to grow up before he can play a decent game of soccer.

So, Framed has Setting and Characters and Plot and Humor. What else does it need? Throw in a few mutant turtles and a lot of cars and a few masterpieces by Michaelanglo and Monet, and you’ve got an entertaining mix. The British/kid slang is a bit thick. If you’re NOT British, and you know the meaning of all the following terms, you’re legend. Get yourself a packet of crisps.

1. legend, as in “Ma made a legend breakfast.”

2. pillock

3. hectic, as in “That’d be hectic.”

4. nuddy

5. get nicked

6. a kick-around

7. packet of crisps

8. beastier, as in “DDS is even beastier.”

9. ticking over

10. trunk sale

Framed is one of the many good books nominated for the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Fiction.