Friday 31 May 2019

Big Foot and Little Foot and the Squatchicorns




The Squatchicorns - Potter, Ellen
The Squatchicorns

By Ellen Potter

Illustrated by  Felicita Sala



Hugo and Boone are off on another adventure in this third book in the Big Foot and Little Foot series.  Hugo is a sasquatch, but when a large group of strange sasquatches with unicorn horns appears at his cavern, he’s a bit concerned.  It turns out there’s nothing to worry about and these strange-looking creatures are a lot like him.

But where did they come from?  The squatchicorns, it seems, were driven out of their own cavern by a ghost.  Now they are looking for a new home.

Meanwhile, Hugo is invited to Boone’s birthday party!  He’s never been to a human party and can’t wait to go.  He is accompanied by Nogg, one of the squatchicorns.  After eating the whole birthday cake, getting spaghetti sauce all over his fur and doing a couple of other things that seem rude to humans but normal to a sasquatch, Hugo gives Boone a crown and pronounces him king for a day.  As king, Boone can make the rest of them do anything he wants.  So he decides that they must hunt down the ghost in the squatchicorn cavern.

Hugo and Nogg aren’t too thrilled about this idea, but they go along with it.  Before long they are solving the mystery of the ghost and having an adventure along the way!

Friday 17 May 2019

The Parker Inheritance

The Parker Inheritance
The Parker Inheritance
By Varian Johnson



Twelve-year-old Candice has been forced to move to Lambert, South Carolina from her home in Atlanta.  She is bored and unhappy.  But when she discovers a mysterious letter waiting for her in her grandmother’s attic, she begins to investigate.

The letter describes the Washingtons, an African American family who was driven out of town in 1957.  The letter’s author, James Parker, claims to have hidden a fortune somewhere in town.  He has wrapped a puzzle into the story of the Washingtons and the person who solves the puzzle will find his fortune.

Candice knows that her grandmother, Abigail, tried, and failed, to solve the puzzle.  Believing James Parker’s fortune to be buried under the tennis courts, she had them dug up.  But the treasure wasn’t there, and Abigail was fired from her job because of her actions.  For the rest of her life, Abigail was known as a crazy woman who dug up the tennis courts.  But Candice knows her grandmother was not crazy.  And now Abigail has left the puzzle for Candice to solve.

Candice loves puzzles and mysteries, but she doesn’t know if she can solve this one on her own.  Luckily, she meets Brandon from across the street and the two of them spend the summer working on the mystery.  As they dig up information on the Washington family, Candice and Brandon also learn about the racist history of the American south.  They are shocked by the injustice, but also learn how far they have come.

The great thing about this book is that it combines puzzles and mysteries with historical fiction.  These are two of my favourite genres!  It also touches on being bullied, and learning to accept people for who they are.  Overall a great book!

Friday 3 May 2019

The Storm Keeper's Island

The Storm Keeper's Island
The Storm Keeper's Island
By Catherine Doyle



Fionn and Tara Boyle have been sent to the Island of Arranmore to spend the summer with their grandfather.  Although they are close in age – Fionn is eleven and Tara is thirteen – they are no longer interested in the same things.  Tara, in fact, drives Fionn crazy.

On Arranmore, Tara meets up with her boyfriend, Bartley Beasley, but they won’t have anything to do with Fionn.  Away from the comforts of his home in Dublin, Fionn doesn’t know what to do.  But Arranmore is full of secrets, and as Fionn begins to question his grandad, some of those secrets begin to reveal themselves.

Arranmore, it seems, has a long history of magic.  It dates back thousands of years to a battle between the evil Morrigan and Dagda the good.  Morrigan is darkness incarnate.  She has been hidden away all these years, but is now regaining strength.

Fionn also learns about the Sea Cave, a magical place that promises to grant one wish.  But finding it turns out to be more dangerous than he thinks and he faces some stiff competition to get there first.

With Fionn’s arrival, the island starts to wake up.  The magic that’s been tucked away for years begins to appear everywhere. It’s thrilling but it’s also terrifying.  And when Fionn learns that Arranmore is searching for a new Storm Keeper, he fervently hopes that it won’t be him.

Filled with magic, The Storm Keeper’s Island is about a boy who learns he is capable of much more than he thinks.  If you like a bit of magic in your stories, you’ll love this book!