Written and Illustrated by Sheena Dempsey Published by Bloomsbury Published on 18th January
Pablo and Splash is a wonderfully funny, full-colour graphic novel that is guaranteed to delight young readers of 8+ as they adventure back in time with two accidental time-travellers.
Even though she’s a penguin, Splash is not a fan of the Antarctica temperatures, and relies on a trusty scarf and hat for added warmth – even when she’s in a penguin huddle. Whilst her best friend, Pablo, thinks their home is paradise, Splash longs for a luxury holiday … in the sun! But how to get there?
After falling down an ice hole, the two friends are captured by Professor O’Brain and, whilst trying to escape her clutches, find themselves in a time-travel machine which transports them to a beach, but one which they’re sharing with … DINOSAURS! Can these accidental explorers find their way home? Or will they be stuck in the past, avoiding becoming the next meal for the locals?
This is such a fun read that brought plenty of giggles! The language is wonderfully playful including some fantastic puns – especially the fishy ones! The interactions between the two friends are just brilliant – filled with humour, warmth and oh so many problems to solve!
I adored the friendship between Splash and Pablo who are both incredibly likeable penguins! Pablo is more cautious, careful, and sensible whilst Splash is more curious, impetuous and daring with a sense of adventure. But what a brilliant pair they make as they team up to solve a rather big problem!
I loved the bright, vivid full-colour illustrations throughout which complement the energy, humour and warmth of the adventure. And, I didn’t know that penguin beaks and flippers could be so expressive!
The endmatter includes a guide for drawing Pablo and Splash and factual information. I especially enjoyed Pablo and Splash’s completely and absolutely true facts, particularly those about huddling and the Southern Lights.
A krill-tastic, laugh-out-loud adventure that is sure to capture the imaginations of young readers who, I have no doubt, will have a whale of a time as they join Pablo and Splash on their first time-travelling adventure.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Marvin and the Book of Magic is a heart-warming and hilarious tale that had me giggling and feeling fuzzy in equal measure.
Marvin has given up on his dream of becoming a magician after a disastrous appearance on a TV Talent Show involving a badly-behaved squirrel and ensuing chaos. Giggles guaranteed!
Marvin has always wanted to follow in the footsteps of his beloved grandad who had been a magician and had believed Marvin had a gift for magic, but Marvin no longer believes in this. His confidence and self-belief have been dented by the reaction to his TV performance which has made him doubt himself.
When his best friend Asha encourages him to take part in the school talent show, Marvin is adamant that he will never perform again. In fact, he is so sure that magic is no longer for him that he trades his box of magic tricks in exchange for an old book – a magic book. Has he just been conned, or is there still some small part of him that believes in magic? Can he find his magic again and make a comeback in the school talent show?
Be prepared for giggles galore as Marvin finds out more about his magical abilities through the book of magic, as his best friend Asha practises her talent show routine (seriously brilliant) and as they take to the stage.
I loved the friendship between Marvin and Asha which felt really genuine. Asha is confident, enthusiastic and brimming with positivity and, as soon as Marvin shows an interest in the talent show, she is immediately supportive. Will Marvin find his confidence and self-belief again? There is magic in this wonderful friendship and I absolutely loved how this was shown in the story.
The full-and-partial page illustrations throughout are wonderfully expressive and complement their warmth and humour of the story perfectly.
This is a gorgeously heart-warming, hilarious story brimming with the magic of sincere friendship, perfect for young readers of 7+.
This book is published by the wonderful Barrington Stoke who publish dyslexia-friendly, super-readable and accessible books for children of all ages. This one is for ages 7+ with a reading age of 7.
Thank you to Barrington Stoke for providing me with an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Last week, I shared some of my favourite books set during the Christmas period, so today I thought I’d share some of my absolute favourite books that have snowy settings …
Where I have written a blog post for a book, I have shared it alongside the synopsis from Waterstones.
When Tasha builds a snow girl with her grandpa, all she wants is for her to be real. If only wishes on snow could come true… Then Tasha meets Alyana, a friend made of wishes, starlight, snowfall and magic. But when your best friend is made of winter, what do you do when spring comes?
Barbegazi are fabled creatures who live in the alps, rather like gnomes. Tessa knows that they exist because her beloved grandfather told her about them. So she sets out to prove to her family and friends that her grandfather wasn’t just a confused old man. Soon she finds not only a family of Barbegazi but also a dastardly plot to kidnap one and keep it captive. But Tessa realises that uncovering the truth carries great responsibilities – and sometimes things have to remain a secret.
A young Viking girl is swept by a storm on to a desolate English beach. Cruelly orphaned there, Ylva becomes set on revenge, tracking a killer through dangerous hinterland.
She wants only the favour of the Norse gods and the comfort of her stories. But when a stranger decides to protect Ylva – seeming to understand her where others cannot – Ylva must decide if her own legend will end in vengeance or forgiveness …
Way out in the furthest part of the known world, a tiny stronghold exists all on its own, cut off from the rest of human-kin by monsters that lurk beneath the Snow Sea. There, a little boy called Ash waits for the return of his parents, singing a forbidden lullaby to remind him of them… and doing his best to avoid his very, VERY grumpy yeti guardian, Tobu.
But life is about to get a whole lot more crazy-adventurous for Ash. When a brave rescue attempt reveals he has amazing magical powers, he’s whisked aboard the Frostheart, a sleigh packed full of daring explorers who could use his help. But can they help him find his family . . . ?
In the snowy kingdom of Erkenwald, whales glide between icebergs, wolves hunt on the tundra and polar bears roam the glaciers. But the people of this land aren’t so easy to find – because Erkenwald is ruled by an evil Ice Queen and the tribes must stay hidden or risk becoming her prisoners at Winterfang Palace.
Join Eska, a girl who breaks free from a cursed music box, and Flint, a boy whose inventions could change the fate of Erkenwald forever, as they journey to the Never Cliffs and beyond in search of an ancient, almost forgotten, song with the power to force the Ice Queen back.
Deep in the forest, magic is waiting . . .
Sparkling with frost and magic, Shadows of Winterspell will sweep you up in a world of friendship and magic, to uncover family secrets and find out who you really are.
Stella has been living behind the magic of the forest for most of her life. Lonely, she enrolls at the local school, and as she begins to make friends, she discovers that she is even more different than she thought. But as autumn turns to magical winter, Stella realizes that uncovering her own family secret is the only way to release the forest from the grip of a dark and old magic.
At the stroke of midnight on the dawn of December, five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen in the city park standing on a pedestal of ice. His heart is beating, he is smiling serenely, but no one can wake him. Finn’s big sister, Bianca, suspects that the beautiful sparkling book Finn got from the library has something to do with it, but the book has vanished. Does the tall mysterious stranger who first discovered Finn know more than they will admit?
Each day, more children are found frozen and Bianca realizes she’s running out of time. Her quest to discover the truth and rescue her little brother hurls her into a fantastical winter wonderland, full of beauty and danger, where all is not as it seems. Can Bianca save her brother and the other Ice Children before they are forever lost?
When Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent to stay with a kind professor who lives in the country, they can hardly imagine the extraordinary adventure that awaits them.
It all begins when the children explore the professor’s rambling old house. When they come across a room with an old wardrobe in the corner, Lucy opens the door and gets inside. To her amazement, she suddenly finds herself standing in a wood, with snowflakes falling through the air. Lucy has found Narnia, a magical land of fauns and centaurs, nymphs and talking animals and the magnificent lion, Aslan. They are joined by the beautiful but evil White Witch, who has held the country in eternal winter for a hundred years.
It sounded like a respectable and worthy enough death for an explorer – tumbling from an ice bridge to be impaled upon a mammoth tusk – but Stella really, really didn’t want that to happen, just the same.
Join Stella Starflake Pearl and her three fellow explorers as they trek across the snowy Icelands and come face-to-face with frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages . . .
When Stella and three other junior explorers get separated from their expedition can they cross the frozen wilderness and live to tell the tale?
Feodora and her mother live in the snowbound woods of Russia, in a house full of food and fireplaces. Ten minutes away, in a ruined chapel, lives a pack of wolves. Feodora’s mother is a wolf wilder, and Feo is a wolf wilder in training. A wolf wilder is the opposite of an animal tamer: it is a person who teaches tamed animals to fend for themselves, and to fight and to run, and to be wary of humans.
When the murderous hostility of the Russian Army threatens her very existence, Feo is left with no option but to go on the run. What follows is a story of revolution and adventure, about standing up for the things you love and fighting back. And, of course, wolves.
Somewhere in the deep and frozen north is an island surrounded entirely by ice. The inhabitants love their snowstorm isle-with its scattered wooden cottages, its small patches of forest, and its single mountain peak. Most of all they love the magnificent ice bears that roam the streets, giving the island its name-The Isle of Bears.
Life with bears is dangerous, as Marv Jackson knows-the large crescent moon shaped scar on his face acts as a constant reminder of the night he survived a bear attack. But something tells him the legendary tale of that night, isn’t quite the full story, and that the truth lies with a mysterious skating girl and her magnificent polar bear.
Mila and her sisters live with their brother Oskar in a small forest cabin in the snow. One night, a fur-clad stranger arrives seeking shelter for himself and his men. But by the next morning, they’ve gone – taking Oskar with them.
Fearful for his safety, Mila and her sisters set out to bring Oskar back – even it means going north, crossing frozen wild-lands to find a way past an eternal winter.
Have you read any of these? Have you any other snowy setting recommendations?
Written by Chris Smith Illustrated by Kenneth Anderson Published by Puffin Books
Clarity Jones and the Magical Detective Agency is an absolute riot of a magical adventure which is guaranteed to bring giggles galore and keep any young (and older) reader completely entranced.
After being chased by trainee knights from the Knights’ Academy, Mutt finds himself in front of a building he has never seen before in Meandermart: the Magical Detective Agency. When Mutt sees a sign advertising for an apprentice, he decides to apply, and is offered a trial by the lead detective, Clarity Jones. Just like the rest of Meandermart, Mutt has no idea what a detective is (which is not surprising as Clarity has invented the word) but he is intrigued, and desperate, enough to accept her offer of a trial period with the Magical Detective Agency. He joins a rather unusual team: a walking chest filled with magical items, a snowgnoblin obsessed with clean fur, an assassin with a penchant for knives and Clarity Jones who has forged her own career path!
It is not long before Mutt is called upon to prove himself worthy of becoming an apprentice when the Detective Agency are given a mystery to solve by none other than the Duchess who is the Warden of Meandermart. Her jester has gone missing and she wants him found before important visitors arrive.
And so begins a fantastically action-packed, hilarious adventure as the Agency find themselves in a race against time to hunt down clues to find the jester who seems to have disappeared into thin air. Will they be able to find him before he needs to entertain the Duchess’s guests? Can they discover who is behind his disappearance and what they have to gain? And will anyone be able to explain exactly what a detective does?
I love the narrator’s asides which give the reader insights before the characters are aware whilst still keeping plenty of surprises in store. There is oodles of peril, wonderful twists, laughs galore and a fast-paced plot that kept me thoroughly entertained.
The characters are all absolutely wonderful and incredibly likeable from Mirko, the snow gnoblin who is rather incredibly fussy about the cleanliness of his fur – to be fair, white is really hard to keep clean. Smyll, the walking chest, stores a wonderful collection of magical items which Clarity makes great use during her investigations. She has followed her own path, searching for magical items and inventing her own detective agency. She is also someone who sees potential in others and gives them a chance when they need it. Oh, and she loves pockets – enough said! Nissassa (very clever name!) was an assassin for the notorious White Hand Clan who has definitely not become de-skilled. And then, there’s Mutt who I absolutely adored. He is clever, kind-hearted and courageous, and is looking for a place to belong. Will he find family and friendship by completing his apprenticeship?
I love a map in a book and this one has a wonderfully detailed map of Meandermart. There are also stunning expressive full-and-partial-page illustrations throughout which complement the action and humour perfectly.
This is an absolutely delightful, hilarious fantasy adventure that I have no doubt young readers will adore – just as much as I did!
Thank you to Puffin Books for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
There are a LOT of wonderful middle-grade books being released during September, so I’ve decided to do a post to highlight the ones I want to get, and there’s a lot I want to get. I’ve been lucky enough to get my hands on a few proofs, but I always want to get the final copy as well. These are the current release dates which can change, but as it’s getting closer to September, I’m hoping these will all be released on schedule.
Synopsis:Kate and her younger brother Tom lead desperately uninteresting lives. And judging by their desperately uninteresting parents, the future isn’t much more promising. If only life was like it is in books, where you have adventures, and save the world! Even Kate’s 11th birthday is shaping up to be mundane — that is, until her mysterious and highly irresponsible Uncle Herbert surprises her with the most unexpected, exhilarating birthday present of all time: a real-life steam locomotive called The Silver Arrow. Kate and Tom’s parents quite sensibly tell him to take it back, but Kate and Tom have other ideas — and so does The Silver Arrow — and very soon they’re off on a mysterious journey along magical rails. On their way, they pick up a pack of talking animals: a fishing cat, a porcupine, a green mamba, a polar bear, and the sweetest baby pangolin in the world. With only curiosity, fear, adrenaline, and the thrill of the unknown to guide them, Kate and Tom are on the adventure of a lifetime — and they just might save the world after all.
Synopsis:Sometimes at the darkest hour, hope shines the brightest… When Col’s childhood imaginary friends come to life, he discovers a world where myths and legends are real. Accompanied by his guardians – a six-foot tiger, a badger in a waistcoat and a miniature knight – Col must travel to Blitz-bombed-London to save his sister. But there are darker forces at work, even than the Nazi bombings. Soon Col is pursued by the terrifying Midwinter King, who is determined to bring an eternal darkness down over everything.
Synopsis: After his adventure on the Highland Falcon, amateur sleuth Hal Beck is excited to embark on another journey with his journalist uncle. This time, they’re set to ride the historic California Comet from Chicago to San Francisco. Hal mostly keeps to himself on the trip, feeling homesick and out of place in America. But he soon finds himself drawn into another mystery when the young daughter of a billionaire tech entrepreneur goes missing! Along with new friends—spunky 13-year-old Mason and his younger sister, Hadley—Hal races against the clock to find the missing girl before the California Comet reaches its final destination.
Synopsis: Leonard has never had a name. Or a body. Or a best friend. But he is excited to try being a human. On their three-hundredth-birthday, every alien from Leonard’s home galaxy gets to spend a month in the body of an Earth Creature. Leonard was supposed to become a forest ranger in Yellowstone National Park – but there was a mix-up. And now he’s stuck as a stray cat. Luckily for Leonard, he meets a young human called Olive – and together they set out on a journey to find home.
Synopsis:Emily must battle the greatest evil that has threatened The Midnight Hour. Can she keep its magic from leaking into the real world? They must have come from under beds, out of mirrors, up from caves, and down from attics, all out of the darkness and into the moonlight. They were the Night Folk, and this was their world. Now that Emily knows that her blood ties her to The Midnight Hour, she feels more connected to this frozen pocket of time than ever. But not only does she have to come to terms with her new identity as a Pooka, her parents also had to go and have another baby. And how weird is that? Life is feeling frustrating from all angles… But when Emily begins to encounter strange happenings within The Midnight Hour, her worst fears are confirmed: there is a hole in the Hour and it is leaking magic. Whoever is going through it is making the tear worse and worse, posing a threat to the survival of the whole world. With Emily’s parents distracted with the new baby, it’s up to Emily to find the hole and help fix it.
Synopsis: The first in a funny, deliciously dark, three-part series of twisted classics, written in verse by award-winning poet Joseph Coelho and illustrated by Freya Hartas. A yellow moon hangs in a satin sky the night Cinderella, barefoot and in hand-me-downs, slips at the top of the stairs … and dies. But not for long. The Shadow of Death arrives to breathe life back into her bones and, for three nights only, Cinderella goes forth as ZOMBIERELLA. With her skin as cold as ice and her faithful horse Lumpkin back by her side, can she seek revenge on her three cruel, fake sisters, once and for all? Crawl out of the grave and step into your mushroom carriage for this haunting and humorous adventure of the undead girl searching for her happily ever after.
Synopsis: Deep within the mountain, a great creature stirred in its sleep. Its eyes rolled back in its head, and its wings jerked wide open…When 12-year-old Billy Chan finds out his parents are sending him to a summer camp in middle-of-nowhere China he doesn’t know what to expect. There he meets fellow campers Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei and together they stumble upon an age-old secret: four powerful warrior dragons, hidden deep within the mountain behind the camp. They have been trapped since an epic battle with the Dragon of Death and need the children’s help to set them free before terrible evil is unleashed on the earth. Billy and his friends must set off on a dangerous adventure that will take them to the heart of the Dragon Realm. But can they save the dragon and human worlds from destruction?
Synopsis: Twig is the last surviving apprentice of the great wizard Ripplemintz, which, as a job, is just as terrifying as it sounds. Oh Ripplemintz always means well, but for a wizard of such high regard he really does make an awful lot of mistakes. And who’s always left to clear them up? That’s right – Twig. So when Ripplemitz’s most powerful spell is let loose on the world, off Twig goes to catch it. And catch it he does, except… not quite in the way that he intended. Because, instead of catching it in an enchanted jar, Twig sort of… well… catches it in… HIMSELF.
Synopsis: Milo, loyal to his double-crossing, business-mogul father, has taken a trip to Black Hole Lake, leaving Lucy to continue her search into alien life and the Truth that she knows is out there. Milo’s discovery of a sinister, dark creature in the Lake will put them both in terrible danger and also – if they survive their adventure – make them friends again.
Synopsis:Tamarind never knew her Indian mum, Chinty, who died soon after she was born. So when she arrives at her ancestral home, a huge mansion in the Himalayas surrounded by luxuriant gardens, she’s full of questions for her extended family. But instead of answers, she finds an ominous silence – and a trickle of intriguing clues: an abandoned hut, a friendly monkey, a glowing star ring, and a strange girl in the garden who calls herself Ishta. Slowly, Tamarind unravels a mystery at the heart of who she is …
Synopsis:Welcome to the dazzling new world of Quicksmiths, where you will encounter Strange Energy, the Mowl, Wormholes, Dark Forces and the tantalising riddle of the Ark of Ideas. When Kip Bramley receives a cryptic invitation, delivered by a beetle shaped drone which appears to be breathing, his world will change forever. Soon he finds himself chasing riddles and solving puzzles on a crazy treasure hunt set 400 years earlier by a mysterious genius. As things get dangerous, it seems much more is at stake for Kip and his family than winning top marks at his strange new school…
Synopsis: A haunting story of friendship, courage, time-travel and a very special crow. It is January 6th 1928, a few days before the Great Flood. Glory Bobbin, a twelve year-old orphan, works at The Frippery and Fandangle Emporium creating jewellery with her secret assistant, a peculiar crow. The river is about to burst its banks and a snow storm has engulfed the town when she meets treasure-hunting mudlark, Needle Luckett, who has travelled through time to reach Inthington. Can two children and a crow save the fourteen lives endangered by the flood? Can they change the future?
Synopsis: Xar and Wish are on the final leg of their journey. First stop: The Mines of Unhappiness. Here, starvation is never far away for the Magical creatures who toil in its horrible depths. Xar and Wish must escape and fast; Xar needs to take control of his ever-growing Witchstain, and Wish must achieve her Destiny. But the Tazzelwurm is in their way, a grotesque monster who threatens to block every entrance. Time is not on their side, but the forests are calling them. Will their combined strength be enough for the BIGGEST quest so far; to defeat the Kingwitch once and for all?
Synopsis: Aveline Jones loves reading ghost stories, so a dreary half-term becomes much more exciting when she discovers a spooky old book. Not only are the stories spine-tingling, but it once belonged to Primrose Penberthy, who vanished mysteriously, never to be seen again. Intrigued, Aveline decides to investigate Primrose’s disappearance.Now someone… or something, is stirring. And it is looking for Aveline.
Synopsis: Mirabelle has always known she is a monster. When the glamour protecting her unusual family from the human world is torn and an orphaned brother and sister stumble upon Rookhaven, Mirabelle soon discovers that friendship can be found in the outside world. But as something far more sinister comes to threaten them all, it quickly becomes clear that the true monsters aren’t necessarily the ones you can see.
Synopsis: October and her dad live in the woods. They sleep in the house Dad built for them and eat the food they grow in the vegetable patches. They know the trees and the rocks and the lake and stars like best friends. They read the books they buy in town again and again until the pages are soft and yellow – until next year’s town visit. They live in the woods and they are wild. And that’s the way it is. Until the year October turns eleven. That’s the year October rescues a baby owl. It’s the year Dad falls out of the biggest tree in their woods. The year the woman who calls herself October’s mother comes back. The year everything changes.
Synopsis:Freja arrives in Singapore during the month of the hungry ghost, when old spirits are said to roam the streets and families must make offerings to appease their ancestors. She’s homesick for her Danish hometown and isn’t sure she fits in with the ‘happy family’ of her father, her step-mother and twin step-brothers. As Freja tries to settle into her new life, a mysterious girl in a white dress starts to appear to her, seeming to beckon her on. Following this figure, Freja begins to unravel an old family mystery – one that must be solved before the month is over, to allow both girls to be freed from secrets long-buried.
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
The dark shape of Highbury House was getting closer and closer. Justice told herself that she knew the place now – its turrets and spooky ramparts no longer had the power to scare her. But the school was a daunting sight in the twilight, looming up out of the flat marshland, birds – or possibly bats – circling the four towers.
Any ideas?
I loved Justice’s first murder mystery, and am really looking forward to delving into her next case.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Justice Jones, super-smart super-sleuth, is back for her second spine-tingling adventure! For fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Enid Blyton.
When Justice returns for spring term at Highbury House, it’s not long before murder is back on her mind. Assigned to look after the elderly Mr Arthur in Smugglers’ Lodge on the other side of the marshes from school, Justice is initially dismayed. But dismay quickly gives way to intrigue as she finds herself drawn to Mr Arthur and his stories of piloting in the First World War – and especially when Dorothy, who lives nearby, tells her that the lodge is haunted.
But when Mr Arthur dies in mysterious circumstances, Justice soon has a list of questions in her journal: why hasn’t he been given a proper military funeral? Why does the new Matron not seem to know much about First Aid? And what secrets does Smugglers’ Lodge really hold?
Justice sets out to uncover the deadly truth in this brilliant follow-up to A Girl Called Justice.
Did you guess the book? Have you read this or A Girl Called Justice?
It will be my blogiversary on 11th April which also happens to be my wedding anniversary! Six years of marriage, and one year of blogging! At least I’ll always remember my blogiversary although, on reflection, I do wonder why I started a blog on this date! I wanted some way of marking this occasion, so I’ve made a decision to be brave and introduce something new to my blog …
So, what have I decided to do?
I started my blog after re-igniting my love for reading, and the books I love are most definitely middle-grade. I have been thinking for a while about what I’d like to do to celebrate both my blogiversary, and my love of middle-grade books, so I’m taking a chance on trying introducing something new … even if I’m the only one who takes part!
I’ve decided to start a weekly featureto celebrate and recommend middle-grade books.It is called Middle-Grade Takes on Thursday and is, quite simply, a celebration of middle-grade children’s books. I’d love if others could take part in this feature!
How do I join inwith #MGTakesOnThursday?
I hope this will be a straightforward and enjoyable feature to take part in, and that it brings some attention to some great middle-grade books. If you would like to use the banner I’ve created (through Canva), please feel free to use it.
The steps to take part are below.
Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence.
Write three words to describe the book.
Eithershare why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.
I’d love if anyone who wants to give this a go would comment in the comments box and include a link to your post so I can visit, comment and find some great middle-grade recommendations. If you do create a post and are on Twitter, and would like to share your post, please use the hashtag #MGTakesOnThursday so I can find it, read it and share it!
Right, I’m going to road test this, and give it a go!
Author: Dominique Valente Illustrator: Sarah Warburton Publisher: Harper Collins
Favourite Sentence from Page 11:
Willow had answered a knock on the attic window only to find herself confronted by a rather grumpy oak tree with a face carved deep within its trunk.
This book in three words:
MAGICAL, ADVENTUROUS, HUMOROUS
Everyone, regardless of age, should treat themselves to this heart-warming, enchanting story filled with adventure, warmth and humour: a treasure of a story that sparkles with a special kind of magic that captures and holds the reader under its spell! Read more in my review.
How did I do? Is this a feature you would like to take part in?
This is an enchanting story, full of adventure, danger and
hidden secrets, waiting to be discovered.
But it is also a story of heritage, self-discovery and acceptance.
Minnow lives aboard The Seafarer (a stunning pirate boat
with a mermaid figurehead) with her mother, Mercy, and faithful husky,
Miyuki. She is naturally drawn towards
the water, and feels out of place and awkward on land.
The story opens with the kidnapping of her mother by three
men who believe that Mercy is the key to help them capture a mermaid. Isn’t the existence of mermaids just part of
old myths and folklore, so why are they adamant that her Mum can help them
capture one? What secrets has she been
withholding from her daughter?
Left with strict instructions to go to her Grandmother in
Iceland, Minnow travels there aboard The Seafarer where she meets Raife, who
shares her love of the sea. Minnow has
no intention of staying safe at her Grandmother’s, but has every intention of
rescuing her mother before it is too late.
Once at her Grandmother’s, Minnow makes a startling discovery. Because of who she really is, she has the
power to open the Gateway to the secret Wild Deep and venture across it in a
desperate and urgent mission to free her mother.
The world of the Wild Deep is exquisitely revealed, and
creates a real sense of wonder and beauty, not only at the landscape but also
at the dazzling seafolk of lore which Minnow and Raife find there. They are both beautiful and dangerous, with
some prepared to help and others to hinder.
They emit a real sense of threat
and menace which creates plenty of action and tension as the children try to
outwit and escape from them as they struggle to cross this new world. Will the Deep release Minnow to allow her to
attempt to rescue her mother? Will there
be a price to pay? Will Minnow be
imprisoned there, unable to leave, or will she be free to travel in both
worlds?
Minnow is a strong, courageous, quick-witted girl who is willing to face her fears, fight for survival in dangerous situations and make difficult decisions to protect her friends. She builds a close bond with Raife as they come to trust, rely on and protect each other. She is a girl of two worlds who is resolved to fit into both, with all the determination, strength and courage that this demands.
Book Craic 