Midnight for Charlie Bone: Children of the Red King, Book 1
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this has to be the least violent, least scary of all the thick fantasy books on the market. The worst thing that happens is that a dog gets scratched up by a wolf, and even that is not described.
Families who read this book could discuss the comparisons between this series and the Harry Potter books. What are the similarities and differences? Why might Scholastic, the publisher of Harry Potter, have published this too? What makes one better than the other?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
It was inevitable that this book would be compared with Harry Potter. It is, after all, part of a series of fat fantasies about a boy who discovers he has magic powers and is sent off to a magical boarding school, where he makes two friends: a boy from a large family, and a very bright and determined girl. There he confronts evil powers that are out to get him because of his family history. Sounds awfully familiar, no?
But though those superficial similarities are undeniable, this is a very different sort of book. It is far milder than most fantasies: there's hardly any violence or even real scariness, and when Charlie confronts evil, it is of the cranky, rather than truly powerful and malevolent, sort.
This is a pleasant read, quite entertaining, in a nice inexpensive hardcover edition, good for those who like fat fantasy series, and not at all worrisome. Like vanilla pudding, it's tasty, but not likely to cause sleepless nights.
From The Book
Charlie was very bewildered. In the morning he had been an ordinary boy. He hadn't been touched by a magic wand or banged his head. He hadn't had an electric shock or fallen off a bus, or, as far as he knew, eaten a poisoned apple. And yet, here he was, hearing voices from a piece of photographic paper.
Plot Summary:
On his friend's 10th birthday, Charlie Bone discovers that he can hear the voices of people in photographs. This modest sign of magical talent is all it takes for his nasty grandmother to put him into Bloor's Academy, a boarding school for children with his kind of special talents.
There Charlie finds out that he is a descendent of the Red King, and that the good and evil sides of his family, all magically gifted, have been at war for generations, a fight that may have led to his own father's death. And the people who caused it may be those who run the school.
Related Books:
Other Books in the Red King Series:
Charlie Bone and the Time Twister
Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy
Charlie Bone And The Castle Of Mirrors
Charlie Bone And The Hidden King
Also by Jenny Nimmo:
Griffin's Castle
The Night of the Unicorn
The Snow Spider Trilogy
The Witch's Tears
The Magician Trilogy
Related Web Sites:
Official Site
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ViolenceA dog is attacked, and Charlie is threatened by a werewolf. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoCharlie's uncle drinks wine. |
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