by David FarlandBook #1 in the Ravenspell fantasy series.
Grade 5-8
Framed gave this book a hearty thumbs-up so I decided to read it for the Once Upon A Time Fantasy Challenge. I'm glad I did.
It starts out with a young, friendless boy who mistakenly thinks his parents have bought him a pet mouse. His disappointment turns to disgust as he is forced to feed the mouse to a lizard he is pet-sitting. The mouse instinctively turns Ben into a mouse simply wishing he could understand her terror. In this way, Amber, the mouse, finds out that she has special powers.
Amber promises to turn Ben back into a human if he will first help her free the mice at the pet store. What choice does he have?
When Amber turned Ben into a human the force of her magic sent a ripple that was felt by other creatures who hold magic powers. One of these creatures is evil. As Ben and Amber are working on establishing trust and friendship, the evil creature makes itself known and turns a dangerous
task into a deadly one.I think this tale will hold the interest of children from 8 and up. My sister and I are both considerably older and we enjoyed it. My 29 yo daughter liked it and my 18 yo daughter is planning on reading it. There's suspense mixed with a good dose of humor with themes of bravery, loyalty, good versus evil, and friendship.
The second book in the series will be released soon. Once again, Howard Lyon has done the interior and exterior illustrations. (Howard won an award from the world’s largest organization for artists, the World Society of Computer Graphics Illustrators, with his last cover for the series.) I really like the covers.
11 comments:
hm, interesting review. As a fantasy reader predominately, I have often wondered about this author, but mostly have been recommended away from him. Maybe I might have to rethink that. I hadn't heard of this particular book, in any case
Glad you enjoyed it!
I just bought the second book, but don't know when I will get around to it. I hope it is as fun to read as the first one.
Great review! This one's on my Amazon wishlist, so it's good to see others enjoying it :)
LOL...another book of personification! :) Well, you didn't let me down before...I'll jot it down and think about it.
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My daughter is a fantasy reader, and enjoys animal fantasy alot. I will recommend this to her. I think she just finished Warrior, but she goes through them so quickly, I have to check.
is it better than the brian jacques (sp?) mouse fantasy books? i really didn't connect with those.
Those covers look lovely! Very appealing to me.
Glad you enjoyed the book, I think I may have to add it to my list.
I have not read this book, but based on your review, I think you'd like "The Amazing Maurice and its Educated Rodents" by Terry Pratchett. It's a Discworld book for younger reader, but of the kind that adults will appreciate just as much.
Interesting! Does it compare favorably to the Redwall series?
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