Fans of Harry Potter found another magical hero in Jenny Nimmo's first installment of her Children of the Red King series, and now, Charlie Bone makes his second appearance in this exciting, time-traveling follow-up. As mysterious and twisty as Midnight for Charlie Bone, this episode finds Charlie involved with young Henry Yewbeam, an ancestor of his who suddenly appears at Bloor's Academy via the Time Twister, a marble that can transport people to different times and places if they look into it. Out to hide Henry from his nasty cousin (now an aged headmaster at the school), Ezekiel Bloor, Charlie keeps busy escaping the watchful eyes of the dark Endowed children and his crony aunties as he tries to figure out if Henry can get back to 1916. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like there's much hope for Charlie and Henry, but a few surprises from Charlie's friends and a Welsh dictionary from Uncle Paton are their saving grace, and Henry lands in the company of his long-lost brother, James. A fast-paced read that will keep Charlie Bone followers bracing for what's to come in each chapter -- and wondering whether Charlie will ever find his father -- Nimmo's second spellbinding Red King adventure will keep you hooked.
Charlie Bone heads back to Bloor's Academy for another term filled with mystery, magic and fantastic adventure in Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo, read by Simon Russell Beale. This time around, Charlie finds himself face-to-face with a student who attended the school in 1916. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Gr 4-7-In this sequel to Midnight for Charlie Bone (Scholastic, 2003), Nimmo continues the saga of the endowed descendants of the Red King, who attend a very Hogwarts-like boarding school called Bloor's Academy. "The Time Twister," a marblelike ball with the power to transport people through time, brings Henry Yewbeam from 1916 to present day Bloor's. His evil, scheming cousin Ezekiel, who was responsible for sending him to the future, is still alive, and Charlie Bone must protect Henry and find a way to send him back into the past. This is a breezy read, even at its 400-page length. Sadly, there are plot elements that seem to come totally out of the blue or that just don't make sense. The power with which each individual child is endowed, such as the ability to create storms or to transform into a bird, seems arbitrarily created to provide dramatic rescues. A painting of a wizard named Skarpo is left for Charlie by one of his aunts. As readers of the first book know, Charlie can hear voices in pictures, and they now discover that he can actually enter them as well. Oddly, Henry seems unfazed by his trip through time and by the modern world. The unexpected plot twist at the end is strangely unclimactic, and seems to pass by so quickly that any sense of triumph at the outcome is lost. Charlie Bone is a likable character to whom kids will turn to for a fix after they've finished the latest Harry Potter for the fifth time. For libraries where fantasy is popular.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Praise for the Children of the Red King series
"Vivid characters and stories that hang together well." --THE WASHINGTON POST
"Nimmo's characterizations . . . have a high comfort level, and her major players are well-defined and sympathetic. . . . an absorbing, well-wrought read." --BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN'S BOOKS
"A . . . worthwhile offering for avid fantasy fans." --SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL
"[An] exciting, fast-paced adventure tale." --BOOKLIST
"In ten-year-old Charlie Bone, Nimmo gives readers a character every bit as likeable and ingenious as Harry Potter. . . . [a] marvelous fantasy." --VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES
A young adolescent discovers he has supernatural powers and is sent off to a school for special youngsters, where he makes friends and enemies and finds himself in fantastic adventures. If this sounds like a cheap Harry Potter knock-off, don’t be fooled. Jenny Nimmo, author of dozens of children’s fantasies, has a brilliant sense of storytelling and a well-tuned ear for good writing. Shakespearean actor Simon Russell Beale adds wonder to this book with his rich baritone reading. At times, particularly when depicting evil characters, Beale descends into a gravelly bass, which can be off-putting, especially with teenaged characters. In this, the second of Nimmo’s Charlie Bone novels, a boy who mysteriously disappeared in 1916 suddenly appears at modern-day Bloor’s Academy without having aged a day. Charlie must find a way to protect his 11-year-old ancestor from wicked relations. S.E.S. 2004 ALA Notable Recording © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
