The Hunt for the Golden Scarab by M.G. Leonard

 

2025   

 

Sim and his mum are always on the move. Fortunately Mum is a champion n in martial arts and Sim is also pretty good. They always seem to be on the run and Sim isn’t sure why.

He finds out Mum has the power to unlock doors in time. This is related to her playing the flute Does Sim also have this powers? Unfortunately he plays the piano and you can’t exactly put one of those in your back pack. Yet he finds out that his tuning fork that has as much power.

Sim finds out he has an uncle, Emmett, and a cousin, Jeopardy, who have similar powers. Emmett can be difficult – he often steals artefacts from the past.

Emmett and Sim’s mum Callidora are in trouble with the Council of Keys, which has become corrupt. They have to prevent the Council form stealing the golden scarab that belongs on Nefertiti’s tomb.  Yes, they have gone back to ancient Egypt and met Tutankhamun. On the way Sim has met Howard Carter excavating Tutankhamun’s tomb.  

Callidora loses her power. Sim has to take over.

The novel is 262 pages of blocked text with a serif font and difficult ‘a’s and ‘g’s. The end material includes some detailed notes on aspects of the past they have visited, author and illustrator bio and an excerpt form the next book in the series.     

Find your copy here  

Mission Find Mum by Jo Somerset

 

2024   

 

Isla and Lac’s mum goes missing. ‘Aunty Lou’ – not really their aunty but a friend of their  mother who looks after them from time to time – cannot look after them this time as  she has to go to hospital for an operation.  Mum had not realised this.

Isla, who is partially deaf, and wears an aid, is bullied at school and now has to act as parent to Lac, short for Lachlan, her younger brother.  A look at her mum’s browsing history indicates to Isla that mum has gone to the Hebrides.

So, she Lac, her hamster Weasley and Lac’s Luke Skywalker toy set off. They manage but don’t shine at camping and fending for themselves. Jo Somerset really has got rid of the adults and left the children to have the adventure on their own.  Unlike in the Enid Blyton books this isn’t fun and it isn’t even too comfortable.

The police and social workers are now looking for them.  

There are some charming coincidences, just like in all the good works by Dickens, Molière and Shakespeare. The children inadvertently end up at their Granny’s home. The co-pilot in the helicopter that is looking for them is their father. Granny recognises the ring Isla has brought with her.

It’s all a slightly uncomfortable read.  Was Mum negligent to go off and leave them like that? Why had Dad abandoned them?

It comes right in the end but still leaves questions.    

The book is 209 pages long.  It uses a blocked text and an adult serif with difficult   ‘a’s and ‘g’s.   Each chapter heading has a black and white picture of something to do with the chapter.

In the acknowledgments Somerset refers to her work with Greenback Primary school.

There is also a note for children about where they might get help if they are facing problems like Isla’s.  

 

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing

 

The Others by Sarah Merrett

2024   

Reuben lives with his grandmother.  He has to wear special glasses because he has something wrong with his eyes. He and his grandmother are constantly looking for visitors form other planets.

Then one day they arrive. Grandma rushes off to find out more about them. Reuben is left mainly to his own devices. However, he finds a survivor form the crashed space ship; he calls her Blue because a blue light comes from her.

Archie, a local grocer’s son, befriends Reuben and together they look after Blue, saving her from captivity by the scheming Professor Pinfield who wants to win the Pierre Guzman prize – a huge cash award for anyone who could communicate with life on another planet.

Grandma has sent a letter to Reuben to let him know what is going on but he left their home before it arrived.  It is the first time he has ventured out beyond the gates of their house. He is almost overwhelmed by the activity there.

Reuben and his grandmother do find each other again and Blue is reunited with the other survivors of the crash and with some of her other people who have bene living on Earth form some time. Now he finds the truth out about himself: he is also from the other planet and he has to keep his eyes covered because of the way they behave. He can gradually learn to keep this under control.

He has the choice of staying with Grandma or joining the ‘others’ like him. At the end of the book it looks as if he’s going to divide his time between the two places.  After all, he has found a good friend in Archie.

The book is 340 pages long.  It uses a blocked text and an adult serif with difficult   ‘a’s and ‘g’s.   Each chapter heading has a black and white picture of Inky, Reuben’s’ cat, a telescope and Reuben’s special glasses. There are a few full page black and white illustrations.

There is a short bio of the author at the beginning of the books and several notes from her at the end. She explains all about the Guzman prize which really existed.   

 

Find your copy here 

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing 

The Book of Chaos by Jessica Renwick

2023 

Jessica Nuthatch lives with her aunt and cousin after her parents and her uncle were killed.  Jessica and her Aunt Moira both have magic but have to keep it hidden.

A strange book appears on Jessica’s bookshelf. It swallows her cousin and Jessica manages to jump into it and follow him. She finds herself in the world of Starfell, a magical place where she can freely use her powers.

She is received kindly by everyone there and eventually finds out what has happened to her cousin Tommy.  He and many other people have been trapped by the powerful witch Endora in picture frames. Endora is actually Jessica’s great-grandmother.

Jessica manages to free a knight from his picture frame and he in turn helps her to trap Endroa herself in a frame. Tommy is released and Jessica and Tommy are reunited with Aunt Moira who has been summoned by the Fey Witch, Fedilmed Coot.

Many readers may be glad to know that Fedilmed, although male, is a witch and he lives happily with this husband Algar.

The paperback is 258 pages long and the language is about reading age 9.     

At the end of the book there is a glossary of names and terms, information about the author, an invitation to find out more about how Starfell works and an excerpt from the second book in the series.       

Find your copy here  

Note, this is an affiliate link and a small portion of what you pay, at no extra cost to you,  may go to Bridge House Publishing.