(Rated: C)
Good Manners Kids Stuff Press
ISBN: 978-0982474419
Published Nov 3, 2009
Paperback, 180 pages, Ages 9-12
In the Kingdom of Zephram, everyone is magical except the Royal Quadruplets, Tom, Lizzie, Ned and Nell, much to the chagrin of their parents. They are shunned by the other children because they do not have any special powers, except that when evil Prince Persius steals the magic Golden Ball and everyone in Zephram loses their powers, the quadruplets come to the rescue with ordinary skills that aren't so ordinary when viewed from a different angle.
My 10 year-old daughter loved this story. The beginning starts a little slow but it picks up right after Prince Persius shows up and the four siblings take action. Although we don't know the age of the children—my daughter and I guessed between 10 and 12—the author does a great job of developing their different personalities, emphasizing their uniqueness through their dialogue and actions. Any tween could relate to them because they talked and acted like tweens.
The quadruplets had to hatch a plan to save their kingdom and as they met obstacles along the way, cooperated together to do it. Today, most fantasy books focus on kids or adults with special powers, but Susskind does the opposite by taking four ordinary kids and showing how they were special because they were ordinary. And what is ordinary to begin with? When everyone loses their magic and is lost without it, the quadruplets discover they have skills far more valuable than magic.
The Month of Zephram Mondays is a fun book for any middle-grader who loves a good fairy tale with a twist. The tale continues in The Tale of Time Warp Tuesday, which my daughter now wants to read.
You can find more of Leslie A. Susskind's books here: www.goodmannerskidsstuffpress.com
Disclosure: Thanks to the author for sending me this book for review. I was not compensated in any other way, nor told how to rate or review this product.
Every Saturday, Booking Mama hosts a feature called Kid Konnection—a regular weekend feature about anything related to children's books. If you'd like to participate in Kid Konnection and share a post about anything related to children's books (picture, middle grade, or young adult) from the past week, visit Booking Mama.
I'm glad there is a sequel so your daughter can continue to enjoy the characters and story.
ReplyDeleteI bet this would have been a hit at my house too!
ReplyDeleteHi!
ReplyDeleteSounds like great book. Makes ordinary sound wonderful. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books