Welcome to my  feature, Pastime Pleasures, posted every other Friday. Today is the turn of Lady Daisy by Dick King-Smith. Here I will look at books that have given me great pleasure in the past. These are books I can read over and over again. The only rule is that the book must have been published five or more years ago.   Ned is a nine year-old boy who finds a doll in his Grandmother’s house. Intrigued he takes the doll downstairs. When he lifts her out of the box Lady Daisy, the doll, speaks to him. I’m surprised Ned doesn’t drop Lady Daisy in shock, I know I would. But Ned’s relationship with the doll arises through the shared bond of loneliness. Lady Daisy has been asleep for 100 years and Ned is an only child. Ned is able provide both a tough exterior as he holds his own against the school bully, who also happens to be his football team-mate, and shows a warming tenderness to his charge. By having a male protagonist interacting with a doll, King-Smith suggests […]