Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book and I'm sure children will too. Caspia age 12 moves with her parents from Maine to Brooklyn for the summer due to her dad's work. She isn't very happy about leaving her friends and home behind but when she finds a bundle of letters in the apartment they're staying in she finds herself searching for plants and herbs in a "green" treasure hunt. The letters are between two sisters in the late 1950's early 1960's. One of the sisters is blind and is travelling with her father and the treasure hunt is a fun way of staying in touch. Caspia makes new friends and yet manages to keep in touch and include her two best friends from home. Her mum also finds her own confidence through cooking with some of the delicious herbs and spices that Caspia finds on the treasure hunt. The summer changes the lives of the whole family. A great family read.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.
Such a lovely book:,) a really beautiful story about the difficulties of your heart being in more than one place at once<3
I appreciate the themes of this lovely story very much. As a city girl who loved nature, I can see this being a boon to kids born in the digital age. The plot follows the heroine as she learns more about various plants and they help her feel at home in a new place. It's a lovely concept, but... honestly, it felt a bit twee, like the sort of book adults want kids to read rather than the sort of book kids actually love.
I really enjoyed this book! It's not very often that I read a children's book, but every one that I have read this year I have loved!
Every single riddle in this book was great, and I learned something new about such a range of plants. Where more serious topics, like sexuality or slavery are discussed, these are handled deftly and with beautiful sensitivity, well-suited to the target age of this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes plants and mystery, and wants a brief escape from real life.
Every single riddle in this book was great, and I learned something new about such a range of plants. Where more serious topics, like sexuality or slavery are discussed, these are handled deftly and with beautiful sensitivity, well-suited to the target age of this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes plants and mystery, and wants a brief escape from real life.
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I came to Cornelia Funke's stories as a grown-up, when my daughter would borrow, and re-borrow, and borrow again 'Dragon Rider' and I wondered what had so captured her attention! I enjoy her style of writing, and this new book didn't disappoint. It's the story of Caspia, a young pre-teen who has to spend the summer in Brooklyn, much to her dismay, but she soon makes a host of friends after discovering a mysterious bundle of letters between two sisters from long ago. They each contain a puzzle about a plant, and Caspia finds herself wandering across Brooklyn, trying to discover all of these plants, and putting down roots of her own along the way.
As someone who moved a lot as a child, I definitely identified with Caspia's feelings around living somewhere new. I would have devoured this book as a child, and even as a grown-up I raced through it quickly and found it very enjoyable. It's quite simply told, but the characters are interesting, and I liked all the puzzles around real plants, some of which I found easy to figure out and some less so. It perhaps lacked some of the depth that Inkheart has, but it is still a really lovely story.
With thanks to Net Galley for my copy.