The Kinmaran Chronicles I.i - The Adventures of Brackenbelly: All in a Day's Work by Gareth Baker27/2/2014  Lovely nose I bought this book because I liked the nose on the huge floating head on the cover. However, I soon discovered that huge noses wasn't the only thing I would like. The names too were most appealing. Isomee, the poor young, innocent yet spirited girl, her horrible uncle, Hogg-Bottom and then the Uma, Brackenbelly - what wonderful names! Obviously the author has been eating one too many cabbages.
Each chapter is short and it's a breeze to get through, and get through you do as this is a real page-turner. I was very impressed with the descriptions of the world the characters inhabit and the characters themselves. 'Isomee's curly red hair looked like it was caught on fire...' The characters themselves are involving, you don't feel indifferent and you do end up rooting for them. Brackenbelly is a noble character and Isomee's sweet like cabbage ice cream. There's good pacing and plenty of mystery as we learn about the chostri and whether or not they will they capture the beast. Now, to begin book two.
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 Not about a light switch This is indeed an exciting adventure story that had my slugs and I on the edge of our seats. A couple of slugs got so excited that they fell off their seats. Unfortunately, for them, there was a a frying pan beneath. Fortunately for me, it provided me with a little snack whilst I read this quite wonderful story.
The main reason I like it is because I am a little OCD and a bit of a maniac when it comes to hygiene, like our protagonist, Ethan. The poor boy has to leave his opulent home and then, via his Dad and stepmother's place in Zimbabwe go on safari and then gets transported to a strange, magical kingdom trying to rescue his cousin, Joe! Think of the dirt the poor Ethan has to encounter! With poor cousin Joe being held captive, will Ethan and the others rescue him in time? Or will he end up like those slugs that fell off the chair? What we have is a story with magic, adventure, witchcraft, all set in Africa - which is wonderful for kids to read and learn about. My remaining slugs are already looking forward to book two! Excellent stuff.  New cover coming! If you're looking for a book for your children or slugs (ages 9+) that delves into a bit of English history around the Elizabethan era, if you're looking for something that has magic and fantasy, uses the wonderful British Museum as a prime location, has well-written action and something that's a little different then I'd highly recommend The Magician's Fire (ZiyZo). You're not going to get your usual book as the author herself is probably rather unusual and who doesn't like quirky? The author obviously knows a lot about magic, spells and things of that nature - which is rather worrying come to think of it.
I'd imagine that if you or your children liked Harry Potter then they'd love this, however there's something more real about this. I understand that this is the first in the series so hopefully we will see many more. Get into it and begin the journey of online dragon chasing! Just don't attempt to chase slugs as they don't like it and will slime you.  I lived on an island My slugs and I had previously read D M Potter's In the Magician's House and Once Upon an Island follows the same formula of interactivity. This is fun, intriguing and with a little bit of history and geography about New Zealand thrown in too - not so much that my brain might explode. Unlike last time with In the Magician's House I actually made it to the end and got to meet a certain Captain and then was able to decide my own fate. I think children will love it, my slugs did, and I can recommend it if you're looking for something a little different and challenging for your 7 - 11 year olds.
 Frightening creatures. This is no ordinary book of rhymes. Fun oozes out of this charming book, with the games, the illustrations, the crazy characters let alone the rhymes. It's a very involving book that has been carefully thought about, considered and written, not just thrown together like a slug stew.
I especially enjoyed the rhyme about colours - the purple section didn't quite work for me but the rest were inventive and fun to read. However, why no brown? There was green and that was good for a cabbage-thrower like me. Highly recommended and do check out books one and two. They're free to download from Melinda's website!  This brings me back to my pre-slug days. I remember reading/playing this kind of book/game when I was a little tulip but we had to use a die. I didn't expect it when I first saw this book and was delighted to discover it was interactive as it filled me with tonnes of nostalgia and aromas of tulips. Unfortunately, I ended up being turned to stone on my first go and had to return to the beginning, which made me very angry and forced me to throw a cabbage at Dieter. I'm just not very good. It's unusually written and that was pleasing and is definitely not your run-of-the-mill fairytale so I think it's got something new to offer to young readers. This is a lot of fun and I'm sure many kids will love it as much as I love planning military attacks with my slugs.
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