CHILDREN’S | Daily Mail Online
CHILDREN’S
THE MAGIC HOUR
by David Wolstencroft (Scholastic £7.99, 394pp)
Who wouldn’t want an extra hour in the day to finish homework or play games? Well, that’s exactly what Ailsa discovers when she accidentally moves through a portal into a parallel universe of 25-hour days.
But there’s a terrible price to be paid for the chosen ones who visit — a price Ailsa discovers just in time to launch a battle against the forces of evil to save her parents and the world.
This clever debut from a TV writer (Spooks, The Escape Artist) has a wonderful lead character in Ailsa, a cliffhanger ending (teeing up a sequel) and fizzes with funny footnotes.
FABLEHOUSE
by E. L. Norry (Bloomsbury £7.99, 368pp)
The cruel fate of wartime ‘Brown Babies’, born to white British mothers and Black American GIs, is the backdrop to this exciting adventure.
Fablehouse is the orphanage where these mixed-race children were sent, and where lonely Heather befriends three others abandoned by their families.
Exploring the grounds, they discover Palamedes, a black knight from King Arthur’s court, who has slipped through time.
He warns them of a terrible danger as humans are replaced by changelings, and there’s a race to rescue the future.
The author, herself mixed race, was brought up under the care system and the sense of family and belonging shines through.
THE MAGICIAN’S DAUGHTER
by Caryl Lewis (Macmillan £7.99, 290pp)
Abby’s magician mum is dead and her dad’s conjuring act is tired and failing, so much so he gives up his wand and gets a day job. But when she finds a mysterious old book in the shed, Abby discovers that she can cast certain spells and is determined to rebuild her father’s career.
She has just three chances to change their lives and the action builds to a spectacular climax.
This heartwarming, witty and touching story is all about hope and belief, underpinned by the power of love to heal grief. An absolute delight.