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Yesterday Crumb and the Tea Witch’s Secret

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Yesterday Crumb and the Tea Witch’s Secret
Andy Sagar
Orion


This third instalment of Andy’s series is every bit as full of enchantment as the previous adventures starring apprentice tea witch Yesterday (Essie), Miss Dumpling et al. As the story starts, Yesterday and her best buddy, confectionary witch Jack, are together in the tearoom and Jack is testing his latest product, Gravitational Gumdrops on himself. Yesterday’s delight at Jack’s success however, is quickly replaced by renewed concerns about her evil stepfather, Mr Weep’s unknown reasons for restoring Jack to life; she feels certain it will have undesirable consequences for both of them.


Suddenly as she’s pondering this, a not-badger arrives with a letter for her. It’s from her mother, Nuala Quirk. Having located her whereabouts and paid her a visit, Yesterday, somewhat unsure her mother is to be trusted, is more determined than ever to put a final stop to Weep’s evil intentions, so she calls on her fellow tea witches for help. However the Lord of the Dead is already a step ahead as, one by one her potential allies become victims of a strange flower that turns their hearts cold and sets them against one another. War is surely brewing.


Now in her greatest challenge yet, Yesterday must work out a way to defeat the malevolent flowers, prevent Mr Weep from executing his wicked plans and finally end his dark reign. And her mother: what will be her fate?


Along I suspect, with a considerable number of adult reviewers, and countless child readers, I have loved the opportunities to escape into the superbly crafted magical world of possibilities that is Dwimmerly End, watch Yesterday find there a host of wonderful friends and with determination, grow through some decidedly dark events, towards reaching her full potential.

What a superbly satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. I will truly miss the eccentric characters with their quirks and know that in the near future I will go back, sit with a mug of hot chocolate and relish all over again, the previous stories.

Yesterday Crumb and the Teapot of Chaos

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Yesterday Crumb and the Teapot of Chaos
Andy Sagar
Orion

Apprentice tea witch, Yesterday Crumb, she who adds the double portion of T to attitude, returns.

At the start of this sequel Yesterday, who is trying to find her mother, is London bound. Despite warnings that it’s dangerous, she is eagerly anticipating seeing the Wild Feast cooking competition, but that isn’t quite what happens.
There’s an unexpected turn when suddenly her beloved Dwimmerley End is stolen with Miss Dumpling inside and in order to regain it Yesterday must enter and win the competition.

On top of that the Faerie Queen accuses Yesterday of being responsible for the disappearances of some of the Faerie Court, so at the order of the Queen, she has her innocence to prove too. Can things get any worse?As Yesterday and her loyal friends start to investigate, she realises the entire magical world is at risk.

We meet lots of new characters including villains aplenty, but always lurking near the surface is Mr Weep (who happens to be Lord of the Underworld and Yesterday’s father). What can our junior tea witch do in the face of so much adversity?

As good battles against evil, the story bubbles over with tension, wild magic and dramatic, sometimes perilous, twists and turns, all wonderfully brought to life by Andy Sagar through his excellent world building and elegant use of language. Underlying the whole tale are themes of identity, prejudice and acceptance, all of which Yesterday struggles with as a ‘neither-nor’ endeavouring to carve out her own identity; fortunately though she has the support of good friends.

There are issues in Yesterday’s world that readers in our world will recognise and relate to – the effects of water pollution on mermaids, tree dryads having to contend with a lack of green spaces, for example.

Utterly thrilling, this soul-stirring page turner leaves us on a cliff-hanger, a-boil with eager anticipation for the third story.

Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup

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Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup
Andy Sagar
Orion

Born with fox ears, and nothing of her own except The Pocket Book of Faeries bearing her name found by her side, Yesterday Crumb has spent the first part of her life trapped in a cage, a curiosity for visitors to the travelling circus.

Then one day, with the aid of a raven familiar she escapes, having first learned that she’s actually a witch herself, albeit now without her magic; but she meets the sinister Mr Weep, demon in charge of the world of the Dead and he puts a shard of ice into her heart. Happily though she is then taken in by Miss Dumpling, a tea witch who runs the magical tea shop with legs, Dwimmerly End, where the raven familiar and a boy with a wolf’s nose also dwell. However unless she can remove that shard of ice before the winter solstice just a month away, Yesterday’s blissful new existence with its sense of belonging as a trainee witch will be very short-lived.

Meanwhile that new nurturing learning environment with its fantastical customers, flying teapot turtle Pascal and magic in every teacup, along with supportive Miss Dumpling’s ‘where there’s a witch there’s a way” attitude, Yesterday begins to believe in the possibility of finding the all important spell ingredient needed to break that curse of the shard. Before that she has to face a visit from the College of Witches and the test on her magic skills; that and learn to deal with her anger.

Both wonderfully whimsical and sometimes, surprisingly spooky and sinister, this is a truly spellbinding adventure quest and there’s a twist in its tail. With a touch of genius Andy Sagar has created a wonderful world full of teapots, tea and brewing, not to mention scrumptious cakes and a little coffee, as well as a cast of amazing characters, (and the occasional rogue) to populate it. Prepare to be swept away; it’s absolutely superb and I can’t wait for the next brew.

Solo Reading Delights

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Lottie and Dottie Grow Pumpkins
Claire Burgess, illustrated by Marijke van Veldhoven
Orion Children’s Books
Green-fingered siblings, Lottie and little sis. Dottie, are once again inspired by their reading – it’s Cinderella this time – and off they go to the garden centre to buy pumpkin seeds. With just three in the packet that’s one for each of the sisters and one for their pal Basil (also a keen gardener). As the pumpkin seeds germinate and grow, Dottie muses over possibilities …

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and soon it’s time to replant the rapidly enlarging pumpkins outside where they continue growing and growing until …

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And with such a wonderful crop, come the autumn, there’s plenty for soup making, carving and more …

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and of course there are plenty of seeds for next year’s sowing.
A tasty treat for ‘just taking off’ readers and with those amusing illustrations, it also makes a great read aloud, especially for one to one sharing.

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Belinda and the Bears Go Shopping
Kaye Umansky, illustrated by Chris Jevons
Orion Children’s Books
Kaye Umansky puts a delicious new slant on the Three Bears story when young Belinda persuades Mummy and Daddy Bear to convert their attic into a bedroom for Baby Bear. It’s rather bare though

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and the trouble is, the Bear family are used to the woods: going furniture shopping in the village will take a whole lot of organising and once they get to the junk shop, Baby Bear needs a bit of persuading to concentrate on the job in hand …

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Luckily, Mr Musty has everything the Bears need and even offers to deliver their purchases free of charge; but when it comes to Baby Bear’s first bedtime in his new room, there’s a bit of a hiccup. Fortunately however, Belinda knows just what to do to make sure her small bear friend sleeps soundly.
With delightful illustrations by Chris Jevons on every page (and instructions to make a Robin Hood hat like Baby Bear’s at the end), what more can just independent readers ask. Some green paper and a feather perhaps …

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