Sunday, 26 February 2017

Big Beard The Pirate by Harald Davidson (Children's, 9 years +, 10E/10E)

August 2016, Magic Editions, 120 pages, Ebook, Review copy 

Book summary
A story from the Magic Meadow where anything can happen...

Big Beard the Pirate is a force to be reckoned with. Pursued by the navies of four countries he is not a man to be thwarted easily - to say the least he is a bit of a bully. In this debut children' adventure story, Francesca Spaghetti and Poppy Noodle use all their courage, ingenuity and Magic Powers to try to stop him getting his greedy hands on a treasure chest that rightfully belongs to their friend Patti's family with exciting and unexpected results.

Even against the background of The Magic Meadow - a place where​ anything is possible - the outcome is still a surprise.

Nayu's thoughts
This was a book which I was excited about because I love stories with sisters in! Francesca and Poppy are full of energy, inventive, and find a magical world that takes them on board a wild adventure. It reminded me a little of Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree series with different worlds and all kinds of creatures. The sisters come across flowers who move and like to smell the girls rather than being smelled themselves. The Magic Meadow is full of wondrous things including a unicorn who helps transport the sisters. 

I liked how there's a bit of mystery at the ice cream shop which gets referred to later in the story. The girls discover they each have a magical talent to help them get out of trouble and help others, and those talents were a joy to see used. Francesca isn't fond of walking but her grumpiness when she had to trek a little way made me smile. The characters they meet are fun to read about, mostly helping the sisters who have fun experimenting with their powers. I especially liked how their cat comes along for the adventure too! 

Animal companions are a hit with me, and made it an even more enjoyable tale. There is a fair amount of major peril, but nothing insurmoutable. Big Beard and his crew provide hilarity as they try to beat the sisters on their quest, with a lot of in about pirates conveyed. The end was a little bit of a surprise, and I'm already looking forward to rereading this tale. The colour illustrations throughout the book while not 100% my style fitted the story and was nice to look at to add that extra dimension to Francesca, Poppy, and all those they meet, appearing at key moments in the tale.

Find out more on Harald's website

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