(4) 4-6 Chronicles of the Red King series. Charlie Bone's ancestor Timoken the Red King now lives in an enchanted castle with his many children, but his wicked son Borlath and rival Osbern conspire to take over the castle. Ten-year-old Petrello plays an important role in saving his father. Too many characters and a muddy narrative style may confuse readers, but the magical fantasy elements will appeal to fans.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Chronicles of the Red King series. Timoken the Red King builds his castle from stones stolen from "the conquerors" and makes a home for his old friends and orphans he newly befriends. The story is told in poetic language, but the dreamlike episodes lack tension, as most problems are resolved using Timoken's unbounded magical powers. Nevertheless, fans will enjoy the pleasant, if flat, narrative arc.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Chronicles of the Red King series. This prequel series to the Charlie Bone books begins with Charlie's ancestor Timoken (the future Red King) protecting a jinni's magical gifts from the viridees after his parents are murdered. The tale's succeeding episodes don't build tension, relying on deus ex machina storytelling, but the fanciful events still pass agreeably. Other series entries are likely to follow.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Magician Trilogy series. These somewhat convoluted fantasies set in Wales are the second and third books about boy magician Gwyn (The Snow Spider). Originally published as the Snow Spider Trilogy, the series itself and the second book (Emlyn's Moon was previously titled Orchard of the Crescent Moon) have been renamed and treated to new covers. Review covers these titles: The Chestnut Soldier and Emlyn's Moon.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 A dilapidated old house in Wales becomes a castle in the mind's eye of Dinah, an odd, intelligent girl who convinces herself this will be the place where she and her flighty mother settle down for good. Fantasy and reality hauntingly intertwine when stone animals come down from the wall of a real nearby castle to defend Dinah against her mother's boyfriend's antagonism.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann

(4) 4-6 Magician Trilogy series. These somewhat convoluted fantasies set in Wales are the second and third books about boy magician Gwyn (The Snow Spider). Originally published as the Snow Spider Trilogy, the series itself and the second book (Emlyn's Moon was previously titled Orchard of the Crescent Moon) have been renamed and treated to new covers. Review covers these titles: The Chestnut Soldier and Emlyn's Moon.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(2) 4-6 Magician Trilogy series. Gwyn Griffiths is an ordinary boy with problems stemming from the strange disappearance of his sister four years earlier. Now his eccentric grandmother announces that it's time to determine if he's inherited his Welsh ancestors' magic powers. Gywn is a real ten-year-old, bewildered by the sorrows that divide his family. His personality and Nimmo's power of description make the story believable.

Reviewer: The Horn Book, Inc.

(4) 4-6 Children of the Red King series. Back at Bloor's Academy for magically endowed children, Charlie Bone finds a classmate turned invisible by a magic snake, his uncle is hexed by his aunts, and the friendly art teacher is kidnapped. Although the setting isn't thoroughly inhabited and the focus sometimes strays from the constant danger to, say, the school play, this Harry Potter wannabe is getting into its stride.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Children of the Red King series. When Charlie learns that he can hear the voices of the subjects of old photographs, Grandma Bone sends him to Bloor's Academy, an art school for magically talented descendants of a near-mythical Red King. While there, Charlie makes friends and sides with the good descendants against the wicked ones. Abrupt pacing and amateurish style drag down this otherwise intriguing story.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) PS Illustrated by Debbie Boon. Little Hen isn't special like the prizewinning purebreds who share her hen house. Then she disappears after a trip to the woods with the others and returns with "something wonderful": five chicks from the eggs she was brooding. Predictable and unoriginal, the story benefits from the bold illustrations, which imbue the chickens with roly-poly personality.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paul Howard. Young Esmeralda performs as a strong woman under the big top, carrying her mom and dad simultaneously on her shoulders. But this tale is poignant and interestingly askew rather than humorous, reflecting the experience of any child who feels out of place, misunderstood, and lonely. Refined pastel illustrations show Esmeralda eventually taking pride in her large body and following her real dream, tightrope-walking.

Reviewer: Christine M. Heppermann | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2000