Category: Children KS2

Wildcat Summer – A Twinkl Original

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I was delighted when the author of this Twinkl original, Victoria Williamson, asked me to review Wildcat Summer, as I am a huge fan of her work.

Blurb

“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t be bored here. It’s going to be an adventure – for both of us.”

I had no idea that it would actually turn out to be true and this would be the most exciting summer I’d ever had.

Eleven-year-old Molly is spending the summer at her aunt’s caravan park in the Scottish Highlands. But dealing with new surroundings and people who don’t understand her hearing loss is tough – and all Molly wants to do is go home. That is, until she discovers an intriguing local legend about a ‘ghost cat’ that appears as a warning when danger is nearby.

One day, Molly sees the ghost cat and realises that a family of recently released wildcats are in trouble. With the help of new friends and a wise, old neighbour, Molly’s summer just got a lot more exciting…

Review

Whilst telling the story of Molly’s summer at her aunt’s caravan park, meeting new friends and having an adventure involving a ghost wildcat, the author crafts a story that involves themes around awareness of hearing loss, change, looking after the countryside and not judging people before you know anything about them or their circumstances.

Molly and Lewis get off to a bad start because they both perceive that the other is judging them, whereas they were projecting their own fears about how others see them, based on precious experience. Once they started talking, their misunderstandings were cleared up. It also taught Molly a valuable lesson in being grateful for what she did have, and not to compare herself with others.

There is a strong message in the story about being careful and considerate when camping and looking after the environment, which is home to so many animals and plants. Poor decisions and lack of care could (and often does) lead to devastating damage and loss.

One of the strongest themes is around Molly’s hearing loss and there are many children who will identify with this. The awareness others around her show, to include her fully in conversations, proves to Molly that explaining how people can help her really can make a difference.

I also loved the intergenerational aspect of the story, with all the characters learning from each other.

The illustrations of excerpts from Molly’s scrapbook bring an added bonus to the story overall.

Twinkl Originals

Together, the KS2 Originals team combine their unique talents and backgrounds to produce captivating and educational books that resonate with children, parents and educators alike. Their commitment to quality, diversity and curriculum alignment ensures that each story not only entertains but also enriches the learning experience for young readers. Find out more about the Originals books here: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/twinkl-originals

The Twinkl Originals books can be downloaded by signing up to an account, which gives access to the library of 100+ eBooks plus nearly 1 million Twinkl resources: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/premium/choose

Buddy the Knight and The Queen of Sorrow by Peter David

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Blurb

Buddy is no ordinary teddy bear.

He’s a Knight, crafted by The Nameless Wizard himself, and sworn to protect his Person, 10-year old Mieya, from all the Things-That-Go-Bump-In-The-Night.

When Mieya is cursed into a magical sleep, it’s up to Buddy and his friends Esteban the Bard, Sasha the Warrior-Princess, and Copper the Butterfly to journey across The Realm-Under-The-Bed and find the one responsible.

But this is no ordinary Quest. The Realm is a dangerous place, filled with jungles, deserts, lightning storms, and Monsters. But worst of all is The Queen of Sorrow who waits for them in her dark castle in the crags. To break her curse, Buddy will need more than his skill with a blade, Esteban’s witty songs, or Sasha’s ferocious might.

He’ll need Heart.

Review

Starting off with a fabulous map of The Realm-Under-The-Bed, which sets the scene for this questing adventure, is always a winner.

The author has created a fantastic world into which our brave hero, Buddy the Knight, must journey, in order to save his Person, Mieya, from the evil Queen of Sorrow’s curse.

Armed with his enchanted sword, a magic amulet to show him the perilous way and Esteban, his trusty sidekick, Buddy sets off to battle monsters, sirens, storms and other unknown perils.

Along the way, Buddy encounters friends, foes and challenges that make him question his bravery and everything he believes to be true. Can he solve the quest riddle and defeat the evil Queen?

There are a few themes woven through the story which hit the right notes; do not let how you look or how you think others perceive you to limit you or make you feel less than who you are, know that you need both heart and mind to be whole and finally, be there for your friends and let them be there for you.

Thank you to the author for the eARC in exchange for this review.

The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan

On By @f33lthesunIn Children KS21 Comment
Cover by Amber Ren (@AmberRenArt)

Blurb

A fast-paced, high-kicking debut that’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon meets Stand Up, Yumi Chung as a young taekwondo artist uses an ancient book to help save her dreams—and her father.

Twelve-year-old Modesty “Mo” Seto dreams of being a taekwondo champion. Even though her mom disapproves, Mo can always count on her dad, who is her number one fan and biggest supporter. Lately, Mo has been on a losing streak, and it doesn’t help that she keeps losing to her archnemesis, Dax, who’s much bigger than her. If only she were faster, stronger, not so petite. Mo can’t even lean on her dad like usual with how distracted he’s been lately.

When Mo learns about the chance to audition to star alongside her idol and legendary martial artist and movie star Cody Kwok, she knows this her chance to prove to her dad, to the world, and to herself that she can compete with anyone, no matter her size. Unfortunately, Dax is auditioning, too. As Mo and her nemesis progress to callbacks, someone attempts to sabotage the movie set and Mo’s dad disappears—and both events seem linked to a mysterious book, the Book of Joy.

Review

“Though she be but little she is fierce” and “never meet your heroes” sum this book up perfectly.

Mo has to use all her cunning and creativity when not only is her father mysteriously AWOL but accidents seem to follow her around.

When she finds an ancient book that she cannot understand but knows links her family to an ancient discipline she so wants to understand and practice, she has to put her feelings of inadequacy due to her lack of height as well as her disappointment at the less than heroic leading man aside and prove to everyone around her that she has what it takes to solve the mysteries going on around her.

The themes of family, inner strength and self belief drive this pacey MG thriller, with its varied cast of characters and a feisty, gritty, determined, rule-busting protagonist.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and @The_WriteReads for the eARC in exchange for this review on the blog tour.

Mystery of the Night Watchers by A.M. Howell

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MAY, 1910. As the blazing Halley’s comet draws close to the earth, Nancy is uprooted to start a new life in Suffolk with a grandfather she has never met. With every curtain drawn shut, Nancy is forbidden from leaving her grandfather’s house: no one must know that her or her mother are there.

Yet, when Nancy discovers the house’s secret observatory, she watches her mother and grandfather creep out every night… Where are they going? And why mustn’t any of them be seen? Why does the Mayor hate her grandfather? As the mysteries pile up, Nancy has to bring dark secrets from the past to light – even if doing so will put her own life at risk.

A.M. Howell has done it again. A very enjoyable, mysterious, quick-paced adventure with many secrets being revealed to Nancy about her family as she investigates what her mother and grandfather are up to. Some of the secrets she is happy to discover, a couple not so much. The story is about family, the secrets they keep (and the reasons why), trust, power (how not to use it) and standing up for what you know to be the right thing, no matter how difficult it is or who it is you are standing up against. Sometimes you can be surprised by who else will stand with you once you start.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love a map in the front of a book. A.M. Howell doesn’t disappoint, featuring a map of 1910 Bury St. Edmunds as brought to life by Nancy and friends.

I was provided with an eARC of this book by NetGalley and Usborne Publishing. It is published on 8th July 2021.

The Incredible Talking Machine by Jenni Spangler

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Pull back the curtain and enter a world where mystery and magic take centre stage in a gloriously gothic, Victorian era adventure.

Twelve-year-old Tig works at Manchester’s Theatre Royale, cleaning, selling tickets, crawling along beams to light the gas stage lamps and anything else that is asked of her by her deliciously villainous boss, Mr Snell.

A strange and intriguing new act, a talking machine, arrives and behaves in a way that Tig just can’t work out. The machine appears to be hinting at a dangerous secret, so Tig must race against time to solve the mysterious clues. Just when she thinks she has, it turns out she was wrong and, because of her impetuousness, problems occur and her close friends start to mistrust her.

An action packed Victorian adventure full of ghosts, gadgets, a dress with pockets (if you know, you know) and shifty villains.

Jenni Spangler has used a real story to create a tense, atmospheric tale involving a cast of characters so well written that I read it in one afternoon. It helps that I have always been fascinated by stagecraft and inventions/curiosities like this

There is plenty of action, from Tig balancing on beams high above the stage in the dark, lighting the new gas stage lamps to mysterious thefts, disappearances and races to try to prevent the machine’s “open to interpretation” predictions of catastrophe.

However, the strength of the story lies in the characters that Jenni has created.

  • Tig, the feisty, impetuous, determined heroine.
  • Nelson, the sensible, cautious friend.
  • Mr Snell, the villainous, permanently nagging boss.
  • Gus, the ambitious but sneaky stagehand.
  • Mr (oops, sorry, Professor) Faber, the eccentric German inventor of the talking machine.
  • Eliza, the stage manager, who does her best to look after Tig when her “act first, think later” attitude gets her in trouble.
  • Euphonia, the talking head…does she have a mind of her own?
  • Annie…you will need to read the book to find out about her.

Chris Mould’s brilliant illustrations capture perfectly the array of characters and the gothic feel of the time, adding even more texture to an already well woven story.

The House of One Hundred Clocks by A.M. Howell

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It is 1905. After the death of her mother Helena finds herself moving to Cambridge with her father, a clock maker, and her precious parrot Orbit. Her father has accepted a job in the house of Mr Westcott. The job is a strange one, to keep all the clocks in the house ticking, never letting them stop and to never discuss any strange goings on. Helena finds this bizarre but then discovers other things that deepen her resolve to get to the bottom of the mystery. Just as she works out one puzzle, another one appears.

She befriends Florence, Mr Westcott’s daughter, and Stanley, the only servant left in the house. Together they try to work out why the clocks can never be allowed to stop, why Mr Westcott and his sister, Katherine, do daily clock inspections, what happened to Helena’s father’s predecessor, what is behind Katherine’s mysterious behaviour and why the clock keys disappear.

This is a well paced story with plenty of twists and turns. It also provides plenty of discussion points along the way, including the historical backdrop of the development of flight by the Wright Brothers.

The story has many themes, including loss, grief, superstitions, attitudes to females in engineering/academia at the time and that doing the wrong thing for whatever reason is not going to end well.

It is unusual to find end papers in paperback novels so I was excited to discover this book has them. Saara Söderlund has beautifully illustrated clues to different aspects of the story…clocks, books, hats and feathers.

Space Oddity by Christopher Edge

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Do you want Cosmic capers? UFOs? Alien Abductions? Killer Robots? Smelly aliens? Embarrassing dads? Zorbs?

Then this is the book for you.

It also has numerous references to Star Wars, Doctor Who and a certain David Bowie Song…”and there is nothing I can do”.

Space Oddity is a fast paced adventure. Jake thinks his dad is embarrassing (is that not the role of parents though?) and when asked at a dad and son space adventure weekend if he would rather have a boring dad or an out of this world dad, he really wants to say the first option. But then, when his dad is abducted, he will do anything to get him back.

This is a story about relationships, perception of others and how you feel others see you. It is also about songs and music but I won’t spoil that part.

There are, in my opinion, not enough sci-fi novels for children. This is an excellent entry to that category for 8+ to read on their own or, even better, to enjoy as a bedtime shared read.

Christopher Edge has also created an out of this world book soundtrack to go along with the book. You can find it here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0gcbXz0uHZePqLDMermKyJ

The Monsters of Rookhaven by Pádraig Kenny

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Nothing is as it seems in Rookhaven. No one is as they seem in Rookhaven.

Mirabelle and her family are suddenly exposed to the outside world when two orphan siblings, Tom and Jem, accidentally find their way through the invisible shield that protects them from the outside world…or is it the other way round? Who wouldn’t want to be protected by carnivorous plants?

The family are a bit of a mismatched group, all with their own past experiences and special skills. Especially the enigmatic Piglet, the being locked in the cellar. Is everything as it seems? Would it make things better or worse if Piglet is released?

Pádraig Kenny has written a classic gothic tale for children. There are echoes of other fictional worlds but the author has created a unique world with unique characters. Every one of them finds out more about themselves and we as readers are led to think one thing then forced to re-evaluate what we already thought we knew.

Themes of family, friendship, trust, fear, community, grief, morality and mortality are tackled deftly.

Edward Bettison’s illustrations are used to superb effect throughout the book, like light shining through the dark.

Endpapers…I love them and these by Edward Bettison are stunning. They are an added extra that echo the illustrations throughout the book that complement the story telling.

Elsetime by Eve McDonnell

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Elsetime is a time travelling story that will suck you in. It is set in both 1864 and 1928, with a backdrop of the danger and loss of life possibilities of the Great Flood of London on 6th January 1928.

Needle is a creative mudlark who finds treasure and makes items from them for his mother to sell. He can “see” the history of the items, and their owners, when he holds them. His father has also mysteriously disappeared.

Glory is a 12 year old orphan, with only one hand, who pretends to be older to get work making fine items for the mean Mrs Quick, in Frippery & Fandangle Emporium, to help her sister pay the rent and buy food. Unfortunately they lack finesse and fall apart.

Neither know of the other’s existence (although they both know a helpful crow called Magpie/Dust) until Needle finds treasure that, being from the future, makes his hand burn. This leads him to discover a hag stone through which he finds he travels through time to a London that is both familiar but different.

Needle and Glory end up working together, thanks to the crow engineering their meeting, to try to save the people who they think will perish in the flood. This is difficult as no one seems ready or willing to listen to their wondrous tale.

We are taken on a journey with Needle and Glory through time as well as the development of their friendship, which is not without its misunderstandings, to a high octane conclusion on the night of the flood. A twist in the tail left me with lots to ponder once the reading was done.

I love endpapers in picture books and hardbacks. They are rarely found in paperbacks so it was a lovely surprise to find the crow illustrations by Holly Ovendon inside the cover. Holly’s cover and illustrations throughout the book are a joy.