#AtoZChallenge : D is for Dylan (from “Framed”)

My hero today is Dylan Hughes from Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce.

Dylan is the only boy in the small Welsh village of Manod in Snowdonia.  Along with his sisters he helps out at his family’s petrol station where he keeps a careful log of each car, the drivers and what they purchase.  Soon he notices strange goings on in the disused mine.  We get to know Dylan through his daily accounts to us, which are humorous and touching.

As the fortunes of the town and his family business decline, an opportunity arises. Important people arrive bringing famous paintings from the National Gallery to be stored secretly within the mine.  Dylan’s keen interest in the works of art make him popular with the gallery agents who are in charge of the paintings. but little do they realise that this sweet boy has criminal intent.  Calling his chickens Donatello and Michelangelo is not because he is aware of the famous artists but because he is an aficionado of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (Yes this book is slightly dated!)  Dylan is a real boy whom you would like as your friend, brother or son.

Hee are the paintings included in Framed https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/learning/teachers-and-schools/english-and-drama/framed/framed