Tag Rebecca Lewis-Oakes

Dream Keepers: Whispers of Wishing River / Lunar Grace Girl From Outer Space: Monster Mix Up

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These are both additions to series that are popular with young solo readers and as read alouds: thanks to Piccadilly Press for sending them for review:

Dream Keepers: Whispers of Wishing River
Rebecca Lewis-Oakes, illustrated by Anastasiya Kanavaliuk

Book 4 in this enchanting series set in the sleepy town of Sunny Wood and featuring Fatima and her friends who make sweet dreams for the town’s residents begins with Fatima eagerly looking forward to a day’s kayaking on the lake with her buddies. However as she’s getting ready she hears an announcement on the radio saying that due to a recent surge of pollution, the Sunny Wood Lake will be closed until further notice. She quickly contacts Mai, Paisley and Bella asking them to meet her at the library instead. Garvin the librarian, who arrives late to open up, as well as Bella, wonder why she wants boxes he’s discarded. After emptying out the contents of her bag she announces that they’re going to hold an anti pollution protest and the boxes are needed to make signs.

That night, with the aid of her black stone Fatima meets her friends again and they discover a new favourite part of the wood.
Then a few days later Garvin turns up at the library on foot having left his car at home and walked to work. Could it have been on account of a dream, he suggests. He also offers to put up one of the girls’ protest posters in the library. The girls then visit Joya (who was once a Dream Keeper) owner of the apothecary.

Horrified at the news of the pollution she willingly puts up a poster in her shop and also offers words of encouragement to the Dream Keepers, telling them, “It’s a big job but together you can do it … It’s not just Moon Wood, it’s the magic of the four of you together. There’s a strength in your friendship, you know.” Then Fatima’s mum tells her that she called off her daily run on account of the extra pollution, making Fatima all the more determined. Protest day is rather disappointing but Fatima remains determined, albeit getting a tad tetchy.She also starts to wonder if the Dream River is polluted, realising that if so, it must be the work of The Dark Queen, Queen of Nightmares.

By sticking firmly together, can the strength of the Dream Keepers defeat her once and for all?

The importance of friendships is key in this magical story that is an ideal read aloud for KS1 classes as well as a solo read for those who are confident with illustrated chapter books.

Lunar Grace Girl From Outer Space: Monster Mix Up
Julie Sykes, illustrated by Emily Jones

Luna is super excited to learn that her grandparents are coming to visit from Starbright, their home planet. She’s eager to show them how grown-up she has become since she and her parents moved to Earth and has decided to show them round her school’s Halloween fair.
However things don’t quite go to plan. With minor disasters such as a collapsed castle of the bouncy kind can she remedy her mix-ups? Perhaps, with an occasional sprinkling of subterfuge, some magical assistance at the hoopla stall and lots of determination.

This third story in the series with its generous helping of Emily Jones’s colourful illustrations will captivate younger readers and likely win Luna some new followers too. However those who haven’t met her before should start with Luna Grace Girl From Outer Space.

Nora Nightsky Double the Drama / Mirabelle and the Enchanted Sea Globe

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Nora Nightsky Double the Drama
Rebecca Lewis-Oakes, illustrated by Becka Moor
Scholastic

Nora Nightsky is no less keen to grant human wishes that she was in the first story but when she receives a wish letter handed to her by her sister Koko, seemingly sent by someone called From, she knows she must return to Earth. Her assumption is that the wisher, who wants to write comic books, is called From. Her intention is to convince the wisher that they can sort out their own wish. This time her Dad allows her to go so long as she agrees to write an essay on how humans behave when she returns.

On arrival Nora sees a little girl at a window holding up a sign saying, ‘Are you my star?’. Her name is Maya and Nora assumes that she is the one who wants to write comic books. However Nora’s efforts to get the girl interested in the appropriate tools to use rather that looking for the right shoes seems strange and their visit to the library is even more puzzling. Maya wants to look at books about mountaineers not comic books. On their way back to Maya’s home they see her neighbour, Mo, sitting on the doorstep doodling in a notebook. After some encouragement from Nora she speaks to Mo informing him that they are hoping to go to Tree City the following day.

That they do with Maya’s mum and to Nora’s surprise, Mo is also there and he talks about making comic books. Maya gets a funny feeling in her tummy and looks at the writing on his sketch book … then on the WishPost she pulls from her pocket. Has Koko been interfering and trying to get her sister in trouble?

With her stardust running out. Nora now has two humans to empower so their wishes do come true, if not she’ll end up on earth as a human for ever. Can she do it? …

With themes of perseverance, resilience and self-belief, with occasional black and white illustrations by Becka Moor this is a smashing story for young readers.

For slightly younger readers:

Mirabelle and the Enchanted Sea Globe
Harriet Muncaster
Oxford Children’s Books

I can hardly believe this is the fifteenth book in the series about the mischievous Mirabelle Starspell half witch, half fairy. It’s half term and Dad tells her that they’re all going to spend the holiday in a cottage by the sea. There they can all immerse themselves in nature and even do some cold-water dipping: a perfect spring break.”We are going to do things the HUMAN way,” Dad says.

However after a day without magic, come the night Mirabelle succumbs to temptation. What will be the outcome? Find out in this latest adventure. Fans will love to immerse themselves in the seaside doings of Mirabelle, Wilbur, and their parents.

Watts & Whiskerton: The Great Glacier Hotel Heist / Dream Keepers: Song of the Midnight Meadow

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Watts & Whiskerton: The Great Glacier Hotel Heist
Meg McLaren
Piccadilly Press

The third in this series sees the two detectives and best friends on holiday with no thought of any detecting whatsoever. However, things don’t quite turn out as they’d planned./ the best laid plans of dogs and cats. Watts’ parents have been hired by the hotel after a string of robberies had taken place at nearby ski resorts and it’s thought that the Ice Crystal, a priceless necklace might be the thief’s next target.

Soon to Watts’ horror, the necklace is stolen and his parents have become the prime suspects. That can’t possibly be right, so who is the robber? It looks as though Watts and Whiskerton have their toughest case yet and it turns out an advantage that the latter has hurt her paw and so is confined to the hotel. She spends her time speaking to the other guests and making notes about everything with the aim of solving the mystery. Cut off by thick snow their objective is to recover the stolen jewels and find the important guest who has disappeared. Can they do so before the snow melts and guests and any suspects depart along with the necklace? Could it be an inside job? A terrific adventure for the young detective duo.

Visual storytelling is a vital element of the tale with the illustrations adding much to the drama, making this book one that will also be enjoyed by younger graphic novel fans.

Dream Keepers: Song of the Midnight Meadow
Rebecca Lewis-Oakes, illustrated by Anastasiya Kanavaliuk
Piccadilly Press

Moon Wood is the magical night-time version of Mai and her friends’ town, Sunny Wood. Having banished the Queen of Nightmares, Mai and friends have become Dream Keepers; they have to craft the sweetest dreams for their sleepy town. Now though, Mai has just become a big sister and however much she loves baby Cam, the cutest most adorable thing ever during the day, she’s having problems sleeping on account of her baby sister’s all night crying. She feels a bit left out: being an only child was much easier, Mai thinks to herself. She even misses out on having one of her parents reading her a bedtime story.

With a solo performance in the upcoming show in Sunny Wood, Mai is set on becoming the centre of attention once more.
However on the night of her first performance, after promising to be in the audience, Mai’s Mum has to stay at home to look after Cam. Then during the show Mai’s prop- an umbrella – malfunctions and later on when she goes to meet her Dream Guardian, Crystal, in Moon Wood, the creature is missing. Has she done something to annoy her, Mai wonders. Everything appears to be going wrong: is the Dark Queen of Nightmares meddling with their dreams again?

Can Mai and her friends get to the bottom of things and prove that there’s power in kindness before it’s too late and Moon Wood’s magic fades away?

With magical moments aplenty, fantastical creatures and characters, this latest in the Dream Keepers series will be a winner with young fantasy fans.

Nora Nightsky

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Nora Nightsky
Rebecca Lewis-Oakes, illustrated by Becka Moor
Scholastic

When I say Nora Nightsky is a star, I don’t mean a celebrity but an actual star in the sky. All her family members are part of the constellation Ursa Minor and they love to grant humans, wishes from afar. Not so Nora; all she wants to do is stay in the shadows: after all humans ought to solve their own problems.
However having received several letters from a girl named Olivia wishing for a pet, she decides to take action and sets out to Earth accompanied by Leap her best friend, a hare-shaped constellation, eventually crash-landing in a muddy field.

Her intention is to give Olivia a ‘piece of her mind’ but that’s not what happens. She does though have a plan to obtain a pet for the girl, destination the zoo where a surprise awaits and it’s not a good surprise. Nora’s time on Earth is limited though and she must return from whence she came before her stardust is all used up and her magic fades. Can she obtain the pet for Olivia or will she be stuck forever as a mortal on Earth?

Nora’s character is a delightful mix of rebelliousness and determination that results in her getting into some hugely funny situations with the cheery Olivia, making this a really fun story. It’s made even more so thanks to Becka Moor’s black-and-white illustrations that portray the protagonist brilliantly. Readers will assuredly have their fingers crossed that Nora achieves her goals and can appear in a new adventure soon.