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katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Not exactly a continuation of the Chitty saga, but it is meant to be the same car. Though Cottrell Boyce isn't trying to emulate Fleming's story or characters, he's creating a new thread to the car's story.
It's not the time of Caractacus Potts anymore - it's contemporary England. A family need a new car, and their out-of-work fix-it Dad decides to put an old car engine inside a camper van, you know the sort of story you are in for.
The Tooting family plan to see the world in their new motor, with emo/goth teenage daughter and younger son and baby, they set off for Paris... ANd discover their car is rather special. And that someone is after her (yes, it's a her).
With scenes set around the world, the story moves quickly from one Mini-adventure to another (joke intended), but keeps the children safe enough to keep this light. The children are the stars, especially the teenager with hidden depths (a celebration of all things educational), with Dad a bit of a stereotype and Mum (certainly the narrated version) a really annoying voice of calm (the only badly voiced character by David Tennant, in my opinion).
Apart from Mum's voice (so smooth and bland it could have been used in an M&S advert), David Tennant does a fine job in providing the voices on the audio-version I listened too, and it's not a long read to keep attention. A lot happens, a lot of places are visited, bad guys come and go, and of course we have a car that can fly.
Enjoyable, and a good start to a revamped series. Recommended for ages 9-12.
It's not the time of Caractacus Potts anymore - it's contemporary England. A family need a new car, and their out-of-work fix-it Dad decides to put an old car engine inside a camper van, you know the sort of story you are in for.
The Tooting family plan to see the world in their new motor, with emo/goth teenage daughter and younger son and baby, they set off for Paris... ANd discover their car is rather special. And that someone is after her (yes, it's a her).
With scenes set around the world, the story moves quickly from one Mini-adventure to another (joke intended), but keeps the children safe enough to keep this light. The children are the stars, especially the teenager with hidden depths (a celebration of all things educational), with Dad a bit of a stereotype and Mum (certainly the narrated version) a really annoying voice of calm (the only badly voiced character by David Tennant, in my opinion).
Apart from Mum's voice (so smooth and bland it could have been used in an M&S advert), David Tennant does a fine job in providing the voices on the audio-version I listened too, and it's not a long read to keep attention. A lot happens, a lot of places are visited, bad guys come and go, and of course we have a car that can fly.
Enjoyable, and a good start to a revamped series. Recommended for ages 9-12.
meredith_gayle's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lobeliaparides's review against another edition
3.0
I thought that this was a pretty neat book, the characters were kinda weird, but still a pretty good little book :)
kruthven's review against another edition
3.0
this ruined the original version for me-my kids have seen the chitty chitty bang bang movie and loved it, they were not impressed with this remake:(
heidi_lou_who's review against another edition
4.0
Just finished reading this with the kids. This is a great read aloud book. The kids were captivated the entire time. There are some great cliff-hangers, lots of comedy, and a great message about family being most important. Also, the book is fairly short, so we could finish it in a couple weeks. I'm sure the kids would all give it 5 stars, but as I would probably never choose to read it again on my own, I'll give it 4. James told me yesterday that if someone doesn't make this into a movie, he's going to when he grows up...It would make a great movie.
lucyjackson267's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
talljustin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
scoobygirl93's review against another edition
4.0
I wanted to read more of the Potts' adventures. This not being that I was rather miffed when I started reading this, not helped by not being able to get an audiobook-on-cd copy from the library. I soon got just as into this story as the original though, and did really love it.
alexthepink's review against another edition
5.0
We listened to the audiobook, brilliantly narrated by David Tennant. Both my 5yo and 7yo really enjoyed this. Adventurous and funny with real heart. They want to read the next book in the series straight away!
shayneh's review against another edition
4.0
Great voice throughout, and a heap of fun in the plot. Glad to have this book exist, and that's saying something for a sequel to a beloved book by another author.