Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.
Fridays with the Wizards by Jessica Day George
Fridays with the Wizards is the fourth and most recent book in Jessica Day George’s CASTLE GLOWER series about twelve year old Princess Celie and the magical, semi-sentient castle where she lives. Celie and her brother and sister and friends have just returned from an unexpected adventure in another land, as related in the previous two books in the series, Wednesdays in the Tower and Thursdays with the Crown,
May 4th, 2016. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3 | Jessica Day George | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Rage of the Fallen by Joseph Delaney
In Rage of the Fallen, the eighth book in Joseph Delaney’s LAST APPRENTICE / WARDSTONE CHRONICLES horror series for children, Tom flees with Alice and the Spook to Ireland to avoid the war that has engulfed their county. The evil creatures who live in Ireland are different from those they’re used to, so Tom gets to learn about, and attempt to defeat, these new threats to the world. Basically it’s the same sort of trouble he’s always been dealing with,
April 28th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Joseph Delaney | Audio, Children, Horror | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Thursdays with the Crown by Jessica Day George
Thursdays with the Crown is the delightful concluding half of a two-part story begun in Wednesdays in the Tower, which is necessary to read first. Hence, this review will necessarily contain some spoilers for Wednesdays.
In this third installment in Jessica Day George’s middle grade CASTLE GLOWER series, Princess Celie, her brother Rolf, sister Lilah, and friends Pogue and Prince Lulath,
April 20th, 2016. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 4.5 | Jessica Day George | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George
The adventures of Princess Celie, who lives in a magical castle where rooms appear, shift around and disappear again, continue in Wednesdays in the Tower, Jessica Day George’s lively sequel to Tuesdays at the Castle. Normally Castle Glower only moves its rooms around on Tuesdays, but one Wednesday Celie, heading up the stairs to go to the schoolroom for lessons, finds herself in a passageway leading to a tower room she has never seen before.
April 18th, 2016. Tadiana Jones´s rating: 3.5 | Jessica Day George | Children | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Mattimeo is the third REDWALL novel written by Brian Jacques, and contains all of the elements which have come to define the series in the minds of fans: noble heroes, dastardly villains, young animals who mature into budding heroes, lengthy descriptions of food, mysterious riddles, and dual plots which see the residents of Redwall Abbey defending its red sandstone walls against invaders while the principal hero-characters journey far afield. Subsequent books do jump around quite a bit within the series’ chronology,
April 8th, 2016. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4.5 | Brian Jacques | Children | SFF Reviews | 6 comments |
Rise of the Huntress by Joseph Delaney
Rise of the Huntress is the seventh of Joseph Delaney’s LAST APPRENTICE / WARDSTONE CHRONICLES popular horror series for children. The series deservedly has legions of young fans and it’s likely that nothing I, a jaded adult, has to say about a seventh book will mean anything to anybody, so I’ll make this short.
Rise of the Huntress delivers exactly what we expect. The formula has become clear by now.
April 8th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Joseph Delaney | Audio, Children, Horror | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The Knights of Crystallia by Brandon Sanderson
The Knights of Crystallia (formerly published as Alcatraz Versus The Knights of Crystallia) is Brandon Sanderson’s third book in this Middle Grade (MG) / Young Adult (YA) series and I have several confessions to make. One is that I haven’t read the first two Alcatraz books. The second is that I am not Y. Not even close. Usually, I don’t feel that hinders my reviews of YA books. But as I read much of The Knights of Crystallia,
April 7th, 2016. Bill Capossere and Kat Hooper | Brandon Sanderson | Audio, Children | SFF Reviews | 8 comments |
The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
Eva Ibbotson is a well-loved children’s author, and it is books like The Secret of Platform 13 that make me glad that I have no qualms about reading beyond the confines of suggested age groups. In fact, I find the experience particularly indulgent.
As a quick prologue, I note that some people have made much of the similarity between Ibbotson’s Platform 13 at Kings Cross Station and the one used by J.K. Rowling,
March 30th, 2016. Katie Burton´s rating: 5 | Eva Ibbotson | Children, Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Clash of the Demons by Joseph Delaney
In Clash of the Demons, the sixth book in Joseph Delaney’s LAST APPRENTICE series, expect more of the same: scary creatures, dark magic, dangerous quests, captures and rescues, Tom’s insecurities, questions about whether Alice is good or evil, the Spook’s insistence that they can’t compromise with the dark, foreshadowing of war, etc.
This time, the quest is to accompany Tom’s mother to Greece where they must fight an ancient witch called Ordeen who threatens a group of monks who for years have held her at bay and protected the world from her evil.
March 24th, 2016. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Joseph Delaney | Audio, Children, Horror | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Martin, a traveling warrior mouse, is accidentally caught up in a war between the wildcat Tsarmina, who rules over Mossflower Wood, and the gentle woodland creatures starving under her rule. The creatures have formed a resistance group, but most of them are farmers or weavers who lack the experience needed to fight Tsarmina’s army of stoats, weasels, and other assorted nasties. Once Martin joins the resistance, they may finally have a chance to win their freedom and drive Tsarmina out.
I loved Brian Jacques’ REDWALL series as a child,
March 22nd, 2016. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Brian Jacques | Children | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
I felt just the same. The prose and character work was excellent. The larger story was unsatisfying, especially compared to…
Hmmm. I think I'll pass.
COMMENT Was I hinting that? I wasn't aware of it. But now that you mention it.... 🤔
So it sounds like you're hinting Fox may have had three or so different incomplete stories that he stitched together,…
It's hardly a private conversation, Becky. You're welcome to add your 2 cents anytime!