By Jenny McLachlan, Illustrated by Ben Mantle
4RBooks: 6/6, grades 3-7
Amazon rating: 4.8/5, grades 3-7
Good Reads: 4.35/5
Common Sense Media: Not Reviewed
285 pages
Synopsis:
The first term of the school year is over, and Arthur and Rose Trout can’t wait to revisit Roar, the magical land they created with their imaginations where every creative thought they have in this world, good and bad, can come to life in their fantasy world. They travel to Roar through a folded cot in their grandad’s attic, which he has now turned into a fun retreat for their visits.
When they get to Roar, it seems, at first, as if everything is great again and the control that Crowky, their scarecrow nemesis, had over the land is vanished. Until they learn that Crowky knows about the box, a cardboard box where Arthur and Rose’s greatest fears come alive. The box was hidden by Rose’s friend Mitch, a merwitch (mermaid witch) and can only be found with her help, and the help of Arthur’s fried Wininja (wizard ninja).
The twins venture on a journey to “The End” to find the box before Crowky does. Arthur’s biggest fear is that Crowky will find the secret needed to enter into their world and attack their Grandad. No one is quite sure what Rose’s greatest fear will be. They get help from The Lost Girls, a boat crewed by two honey badgers, and Mitch and her ship crewed by orangutans.
Adventures abound as they make their way on this quest. Chased by wolves, traveling on ice floes down rivers and through mountains, snowball fights with the scarecrow army, and constantly being haunted by the present of Crowky are among the obstacles to face, before the box is opened.
Parental Guidance: low
Some moments of fantasy monsters and dangerous situations.
Rose and Arthur facing their greatest fears.
Recommendation:
This is the second book of a three book (so far) series, and I can just repeat what I said about the first book.
“It was such a pleasure to read a book for elementary children that was appropriate for elementary children. I enjoyed this book immensely and highly recommend it. The characters are relatable, and the adventure is suspenseful. This is a good book for an individual read, a classroom read, or a family read. There’s enough intrigue to keep high readers interested, but it’s accessible for low to medium readers, too. Short chapters are interspersed with longer chapters and the illustrations are excellent and help bring life to the story. The story is written in first person, Arthur’s viewpoint, but Rose is an equally strong character. Boys and girls should enjoy reading this novel. The relationship between the twins is valuable for discussions of growing up and growing apart. Fear of change and expectations are also important subplots to the overall story.“
I would add for this book that the story line would lead to great classroom or parental discussions about facing fears and standing up to bullies. I’m looking forward to the third book, and hopefully, a future movie adaptation.
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