The Fantastical Adventures of the Invisible Boy by by Lloyd Alexander

From the back cover: David hates being The Invisible Boy, ignored by his eccentric family because he’s considered too young to understand anything. But right now he's happy to be forgotten … Dr McKelvie has signed him off school to recover from a bout of pneumonia, and  David is looking forward to plenty of time for his imaginary swashbuckling adventures as The Sea-Fox, buccaneer captain and terror of the sea lanes.

Then his dry-as-dust aunt volunteers as his tutor and David is devastated. This is worse than school! But it turns out that Aunt Annie has some secrets to share, and together they set off on an exciting fantastical voyage.

This rollicking tale of wonder and adventure is Lloyd Alexander’s most personal book. He is best known for his prize-winning fantasy classic The Chronicles of Prydain.

I too have memories of being invisible to my parents. My sisters and I got thoroughly fed up with the old adage that children should be seen and not heard. When visiting most of our parents' friends or relatives we were certainly expected to either sit still and remain silent or go out and play. And we also had our imaginary worlds. But being a pirate definitely didn’t figure in our fantasies. For a start, pirates were evil characters, weren’t they? They were also very real, even if they belonged in the past. To us a pirate was a criminal. I think if I had wanted to be an evil character I would probably have chosen to be the type of character who exists only in the imagination, such as a witch. Maybe this is why this book didn’t appeal to me anywhere near as much as either the Prydain chronicles or other books by Lloyd Alexander. But I’m sure most children will enjoy it, particularly boys.

Power of Three by by Diana Wynne Jones

“I call on the Old Power—the Middle and the New to hold this curse to my collar. May it never loose until the Three are placated.”

This is the story of Gair, Ayna and Ceri who live in Garholt on the Moor. Ayna and Ceri have special powers—Gifts fitting for the children of a hero. But Gair, the middle one, is just ordinary, and knows what a disappointment he must be to everyone.

Gifts are desperately needed among Gair’s people just now, for the curse on the collar is working. Food is in short supply and Garholt is overcrowded with unwelcome visitors. Their enemies, the Dorig, are a constant threat, and the Giants are behaving strangely too. Most worrying of all, there is a rumour that the Moor itself is in danger!

Full of Diana Wynne Jones's familiar wit and range of fascinating characters, Power of Three views human beings from a new and absorbing perspective. Yet it isn't these ”Giants“ that so terrify Gair and his kind. The two that Gair and his siblings land up spying on seem to be relatively harmless, rather bumbling creatures. It’s mostly their sheer size that is terrifying and it isn’t difficult to keep out of their way, for the shaking of the ground at their approach gives plenty of warning. However, the same cannot be said for the traditional enemy of Gair's people, the water-dwelling creatures called Dorig …

Not as convoluted in its plot as many of DWJ’s novels, Power of Three is still every bit as absorbing.

Midnight for Charlie Bone by by Jenny Nimmo
(Book 1 of Children of the Red King quintet)

Charlie doesn’t want to believe it. He can hear people in photographs talking. What’s happening to him? Why now?

His horrible aunts are delighted with his new talent. They have plans for him …

The way Charlie’s life is about to change, he’ll be lucky to live till Christmas.

Fortunately for me, the Charlie Bone stories can more or less stand on their own, because I was unlucky enough to read the last book first! I don’t recommend approaching this series this way. It rather spoiled all the others for me in that I already knew the ending. But I had no idea when I bought Charlie Bone and the Hidden King that it was part of a series because the number (and even the name of the series) is only on the spine. There is nothing on the front cover to indicate it is part of a series. It irritates me no end when publishers do this.

I had a little trouble keeping in mind who Maisie was (Charlie’s maternal grandmother, the kind one) because she is always referred to as Maisie, while the evil grandmother is always called Grandma Bone. (I prefer more traditional titles for adults in books for children, and particularly dislike it when the children refer to their parents by their Christian names.) But eventually it got through my thick skull.

The Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo
(Book 2 of Children of the Red King quintet)

The series gets even better with this story. The first chapter is told from the viewpoint of Henry Yewbeam, who, when playing a game of marbles, finds one larger and more beautiful than any of his own and makes the mistake of looking into its bright depths …

In the second chapter the viewpoint switches to Charlie, whose attention is drawn to a photograph because it falls off the wall for no apparent reason. And in that photograph is a boy in old-fashioned clothing who looks very much like Charlie. “Poor Henry,” mutters Charlie's Uncle Paton when Charlie asks who the people in the photo are. “He disappeared.” As Charlie lies in bed that night wondering how Henry had disappeared and where he went, little does he know he is about to be catapulted into another dangerous adventure.

From the back cover:

Charlie Bone hoped the new term at Bloor’s Academy would hold no nasty surprises. But then Henry Yewbeam appears, twisted through time from the icy winter of 1916.

With malicious Yewbeam aunts on the prowl and the Bloors out to catch him, Henry will need Charlie’s help just to stay alive. Bloor’s Academy can be a very dangerous place …

The Blue Boa by by Jenny Nimmo
(Book 3 of Children of the Red King quintet)

A dark secret is emerging from Bloor’s Academy.

A boy was once lost in the attics and never seen again.

Charlie Bone is intrigued, but he has problems of his own. Uncle Paton has disappeared …

The Blue Boa of the title was a valued pet of the Red King that was turned into a killer by the Red King’s eldest son Borlath. The king’s daughter, horrified at what her brother had done, cast a spell on it to cure it. But the spell went awry. Instead of being squeezed to death, the snake’s victims became invisible …

Another riveting Charlie Bone adventure that won’t fail to please the growing number of Charlie Bone fans.

The Castle of Mirrors by Jenny Nimmo
(Book 4 of Children of the Red King quintet)

In a dark laboratory deep within Bloor’s Academy, Manfred and Ezekiel are brewing up a very nasty kind of trouble for Charlie Bone.

As happened in the Harry Potter books, the Charlie Bone series gets steadily darker and more riveting as the plots become more convoluted. Charlie Bone’s ever-growing body of fans will find The Castle of Mirrors even more exciting than The Blue Boa.

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King by Jenny Nimmo
(Book 5 of Children of the Red King quintet)

Charlie Bone wakes one snowy morning to find every creature in the city has vanished.

What strange forces have been unleashed—and does the portrait of the Red King have something to do with it?

As I said in my review of the first title in this series, this was the first Charlie Bone book I read. When I picked it up I saw nothing on the cover to indicate it was part of a series, never mind that it was the last book. How many people think to look at the spine of a book to find out information like this? Thus, to a certain extent, I ruined this series for myself. Well, strictly speaking the publisher ruined it for me; shame on them. For instance, Billy is one of Charlie’s friends in this book, but in earlier books he was spying on Charlie for Manfred. I felt quite cheated because I had become rather fond of Billy and hated seeing him as Charlie’s enemy instead of his friend.

I am sure all Charlie's fans will find Charlie Bone and the Hidden King a very satisfying conclusion to the series and will probably wish Jenny Nimmo had planned seven books just like Rowling!

The Jedera Adventure by Lloyd Alexander

Vesper Holly is on the road—and on the run!

Returning a library book is easy—unless the library is in the North African country of Jedera, and the book is in the hands of Vesper Holly! With her long-suffering guardian Brinnie in tow, the dauntless Vesper descends upon Jedera and organizes a caravan bound for the renowned library at Bel-Saaba. Feuding desert tribes, rough terrain, and slave traders are all threats—but the biggest one of all is the evil Dr Helvitius. Can Vesper stop the fiendish plot he’s hatching and triumph over her archrival?

"An impeccably paced adventure … In addition to being solid entertainment, the [Vesper Holly] books have the power to create a host of well-informed armchair travelers.”

—Publishers Weekly

Other titles in this series are The Drackenberg Adventure, The El Dorado Adventure and The Illyrian Adventure, but so far this is the only Holly Vesper book that I have read. With a spunky girl like Vesper for a main character and with Lloyd Alexander's impeccable storytelling skills, The Jedera Adventure is bound to make more fans for Vesper and I can’t wait to read the other three books.

The Silver Dragon by Sherryl Jordan

“My son,” said Friar Gregory huskily, “I believe you’ve been placed in my life for a wondrous purpose. I believe you’ve been given your special knowledge in order to help my dream come true. I believe that you and I are going to invent this machine to make books, and through our work we will change history.” 

Tempted by the thought of fame and glory, Denzil agrees to bring Adam (one of his friends from the future) back to his medieval village to help Friar Gregory build a printing press.

But he accidentally brings the whole MacAllister family along with Adam—and their car! And Mr MacAllister (who’s always thought Denzil to be a great illusionist, but has no time for all this ‘medieval’ nonsense) is convinced he has somehow landed on a film set, and is determined to impress the Director with his acting in the role of a brave knight.

When I picked up this book in the book shop I didn’t realise it was another Denzil adventure (I didn’t bother to read the blurb, quoted above; the author’s name was enough for me) so I was overjoyed when I found out I was about to meet one of my favourite wizards again. The Silver Dragon is every bit as hilarious as all the other Denzil books. Indeed, it may be even more so. Denzil fans will not be disappointed. I hope Sherryl Jordan will write many more books about her delightful boy wizard.

The Owl Tree by Jenny Nimmo

The owl-tree is not like any tree Joe has ever seen. It’s huge and leafy and shivers at times like a person; it even seems to speak. Granny Diamond once saw an owl perched among its branches and she has loved the tree ever since. It means the world to her. But her neighbour, Mr Rock, wants to cut it down. Why does he dislike the owl-tree so much? Does the tree have a secret to tell Joe? And how can he, a boy too scared even to climb the tree, be the one to save it?

Winner of the Smarties Book Prize Gold Award.

Although a very short book and clearly aimed at the younger end of the middle-grade market, The Owl Tree should enchant even those readers who consider themselves too old for illustrated books. The book contains only 95 pages, all in large type, and 12 of these are full-page black-and-white illustrations. It would make a wonderful read-aloud story.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

It was Leslie who invented Terabithia—the secret country on an island in the dry creek. Here Jess could be strong, unafraid and unbeatable. So when something terrible happens, Jess finds he can face grief and disaster better than he could ever have imagined.

Katherine Paterson’s writing is excellent and I’m sure this book deserves its status as a classic. But I’m afraid it didn’t really appeal to me. I’m not sure why. Maybe it was because the fantasy stayed firmly imaginary. I guess I felt cheated that Terabithia didn’t become real. Or maybe it was because the reality was just too grim, and I’ve already had enough grim reality in my life to want the fiction I read filled with it. A large part of my pleasure in reading has always been to get away from real life. I’m not saying, of course, that I won’t tolerate any grimness in my fiction reading; I just prefer it to be at least one step removed from any grimness I’m likely to have to face myself. If that doesn’t make sense to you, then I’m sorry I haven’t been able to make myself clearer. Anyway, I finished this book with a decided feeling of being let down.

The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones

When they threw Jamie out to the Boundaries, he was too shocked to make sense of it. He’d been told he could go Home if he found himself in the right world, but life became a succession of strange countries, where survival was all that mattered.

Slowly, though, Jamie realised there was a curious logic in things—he wasn’t the only Homeward Bounder, for one thing, though some, like Ahasuerus and the Flying Dutchman, had been trying to get Home for a very long time.

This is a remarkable, powerful story, full of unexpected events and ideas.

I certainly can’t argue with that last statement from the back cover of The Homeward Bounders. Diana Wynne Jones’s plotting skills are in top form here.

Conrad’s Fate by Diana Wynne Jones

”It’s this wretched bad karma of yours—that’s the problem,” said Uncle Alfred. “Unless you put right what you did wrong in your previous life, you are going to be horribly and painfully dead before the year’s out.”

Conrad is sent in disguise to Stallery Mansion, to infiltrate the magical fortress that has power over the whole town of Starchiest, and to discover the identity of the person who is affecting his Fate so badly. His mission is clear—get rid of them! But can any plan really be that simple and straightforward? Of course it can’t! And things start to go even more strangely for Conrad from the moment he meets the boy called Christopher …

Another magical Chrestomanci story, full of DWJ’s usual plotting twists and turns, and definitely up with her best.