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I will read anything about the Titanic, even if it's children's books, that are mid series - I hadn't picked up all of this series, just this particular book. You probably need to have read the rest of this series, as although it can be read as a standalone book, not all of the references to previous books/encounters/characters will make much sense. However, this was next up to on my TBR pile/shelf/OK shelves and I am trying not to buy books unnecessarily.
this book is based around two characters, Cleo and Evan, so it will appeal to both boys and girls and the author has done a great job, by making it so that the two kids can do the same things the other can. They are "Key Hunters", so as far as I can understand (having not read the others), they are searching for keys within books, to solve clues, to find "Jewelled Greats". Which Locke, the villain of the story is also after. If he finds them first, the children remain in whatever book they have landed up in FOREVER.
Locke is also accompanied by two "trolls" as the kids keep referring to them as, and they reminded me a lot of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from Alice In Wonderland.
This book starts with Cleo and Evan landing on the Titanic, on the day of the sinking and it's a frantic race to solve the clues that they're looking for, aided by another character called Libby.
It's a quick read, only coming in at 121 pages and will appeal to children of all ages (Including myself, who is completely the wrong age to be reading this). There are black and white illustrations scattered throughout and the characters are just descriptive enough to get readers' imaginations sparked.
If you are going to pick this up for your child, I would definitely recommend buying the rest of the series to go along with it (there are 7 books in total), and I'm sure the children will enjoy being read a couple of chapters each day/night, until they can devour the book in one go.
this book is based around two characters, Cleo and Evan, so it will appeal to both boys and girls and the author has done a great job, by making it so that the two kids can do the same things the other can. They are "Key Hunters", so as far as I can understand (having not read the others), they are searching for keys within books, to solve clues, to find "Jewelled Greats". Which Locke, the villain of the story is also after. If he finds them first, the children remain in whatever book they have landed up in FOREVER.
Locke is also accompanied by two "trolls" as the kids keep referring to them as, and they reminded me a lot of Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum from Alice In Wonderland.
This book starts with Cleo and Evan landing on the Titanic, on the day of the sinking and it's a frantic race to solve the clues that they're looking for, aided by another character called Libby.
It's a quick read, only coming in at 121 pages and will appeal to children of all ages (Including myself, who is completely the wrong age to be reading this). There are black and white illustrations scattered throughout and the characters are just descriptive enough to get readers' imaginations sparked.
If you are going to pick this up for your child, I would definitely recommend buying the rest of the series to go along with it (there are 7 books in total), and I'm sure the children will enjoy being read a couple of chapters each day/night, until they can devour the book in one go.
{My thoughts} – This morning I’d been woken up my 2.5 year old screaming “mama, mama, mama.” Over and over again. Usually when she is like that I find the nearest book, which in most cases is a board book or short story book and start reading it to her. Reading tends to calm her down and she highly enjoys being read to. I figured since I needed to finish this particular series for reviews that I’d start reading this book to her.
This little girl never amazes me with her desire to hear a story. She really enjoys books and I am forever thankful that she does. I started the book and she was pointing to words on the pages and the images when we came upon a page that had pictures on it. Eventually I was almost through with the story. I had two chapters left in the book before she was bored enough to get up and go play with her toys. It kind of made me sad when she got up and left me, but I did continue reading the story out loud to her so that we could finish it.
In this book Cleo and Evan go on an new adventure. However, this one is even more dangerous then the last. This one takes them into a story about the Titanic. In this book they come very very close to getting seriously hurt or even worse. Although, they always seem to survive most of the stories without much trouble this one wasn’t an easy adventure for either of them.
They both had to test their limits and find new ways in solving some of the problems that they were dealing with. One of the biggest problems was not having enough time to do the things that they needed to in order to complete the current mission.
I look forward to seeing where there future missions are going to be taking them. These books are fun to read and the characters are incredibly likable.
I recommend this book for any young reader that wants to go on an adventure. It’s an added bonus if they enjoy reading stories about werewolves and ghosts. This story helped to fill in some missing gaps in the storyline that were much needed. It also helped me as a reader to better understand the storyline as well as the character’s roles within the series.
This little girl never amazes me with her desire to hear a story. She really enjoys books and I am forever thankful that she does. I started the book and she was pointing to words on the pages and the images when we came upon a page that had pictures on it. Eventually I was almost through with the story. I had two chapters left in the book before she was bored enough to get up and go play with her toys. It kind of made me sad when she got up and left me, but I did continue reading the story out loud to her so that we could finish it.
In this book Cleo and Evan go on an new adventure. However, this one is even more dangerous then the last. This one takes them into a story about the Titanic. In this book they come very very close to getting seriously hurt or even worse. Although, they always seem to survive most of the stories without much trouble this one wasn’t an easy adventure for either of them.
They both had to test their limits and find new ways in solving some of the problems that they were dealing with. One of the biggest problems was not having enough time to do the things that they needed to in order to complete the current mission.
I look forward to seeing where there future missions are going to be taking them. These books are fun to read and the characters are incredibly likable.
I recommend this book for any young reader that wants to go on an adventure. It’s an added bonus if they enjoy reading stories about werewolves and ghosts. This story helped to fill in some missing gaps in the storyline that were much needed. It also helped me as a reader to better understand the storyline as well as the character’s roles within the series.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Description
Evan knows the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15th 1912, he also knows that he’s on the Titanic – and it’s 11:30 PM the day before.
Now fully experienced with the magical library under their school, Cleo and Evan follow the villainous Mr. Locke into the story of a new book. They find themselves living out a story of the Titanic’s sinking. But they soon discover that Mr. Locke is traveling through this story for more than just the key to open another book in the magical library. They have only hours to learn what it is and get back out of the book’s story before they go down with the historic sinking.
Disclosure
I borrowed this book for free from our library system, it was provided for my personal use. There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
This was another fun read. As with the other books in the series (read my review of book 1 here), the story starts off running, characters are interesting, and the plot is fun to follow.
Events from both the previous book and this one smoothly establish a new goal for Cleo and Evan to work toward with the books in the magical library. This develops some unexpected character dynamics, as well as the need for at least another three books in the series. It also raises some more questions about the history and use of the magical libraries that we don’t have answers to yet. I’m hoping that Luper continues to flesh these out as the series continues.
This book is a little different from the previous Key Hunters books, as this is the first story that’s based on a true event. I know very little about the Titanic, so I’m not sure if any specifics were accurate, but I’m guessing from the details that Luper did his research before writing this.
I found the story a little tricky to follow in some spots, especially when Cleo and Evan were running up and down the length and depth of the Titanic – I’m not so good remembering verbal directions, so I definitely got turned around a few times. I will say that I was able to give this a second read; I forgot to write a review shortly after finishing it, and wanted to go back for a quick refresher. On the second read, I wasn’t as confused – probably because I wasn’t reading to kids and was able to pay better attention. If you’re reading this with kids younger than the intended audience (2nd – 4th graders / 3rd grade reading level), you may want to find some pictures of the Titanic or draw a quick sketch of some things to help them follow along (ex: a profile of the Titanic showing the 4 smokestacks, how the boat tipped as it sank, where it broke in half, etc.).
Overall, this was a good book, though I’m not as excited with it as I was with the first four in the series. We might revisit this after we check out some books on the Titanic from the library. Still looking forward to continuing the series!