Thursday 17 August 2017

Genesis

Genesis
Genesis
By Helen Dennis



When a boy washes up on the shore of the Thames – alive, but barely – Londoners want to know who he is and what he was doing in the river.  But the boy has no memory of anything and doesn’t even know his own name.  No one comes forward to claim him.

Nat, the doctor caring for him, gives the boy a pencil and paper and asks him to do some drawing.  What emerges is a complicated symbol – the ouroboros.  It seems to mean something to the boy, but the significance is unclear.

Nat knows that the boy needs time and space to rediscover his identity, so he convinces his sister Anna to let the boy move in with her and her teenage children: Kassia and Dante. Together, they name the boy Jed, and try to give him some normal family time while avoiding the media and others who are curious.

But there is more to Jed than even he imagines, and there are some unsavoury characters who want access to him.  When Jed is captured and held against his will, his new friends learn that he is very valuable to some people.  Can they rescue Jed from his kidnappers?  Can they get him out of the country and keep him safe from harm?

Riveting and suspenseful, Genesis ponders some life and death questions, all while keeping readers wanting more.  Genesis is the first in the River of Ink series

Monday 14 August 2017

The Princess In Black


The Princess in Black
The Princess In Black

By Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Princess Magnolia is prim and proper, as a princess should be.  She wears frilly pink dresses and takes tea with duchesses and never gets her hands dirty.  But Princess Magnolia has a secret: when the monster alarm rings, she knows she has to go.  She runs to her broom closet and quickly transforms into the Princess in Black!

Now, a princess/superhero needs a trusty steed.  Luckily, Princess Magnolia’s unicorn Frimplepants also has an alter-ego: the faithful Blacky.

The Princess in Black lives near the entrance to Monster Land.  Those mischievous monsters come out of their hole to try to eat local goats and cause all kinds of destruction. Luckily the Princess in Black and Blacky are ready to fight.  But can Princess Magnolia keep her identity a secret?

Girl power abounds in this series of stories for early readers.  Chapters are short and illustrations abound.   They also make great read-alouds.