The Clockwork Crow

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But the mechanical bird is put to one side for the moment when Seren discovers that Tomos has gone missing and that his parents have moved away from the house to deal with their tragic loss. Orphan Seren Rhys has been sent to live with her mysterious Godfather after living for 12 years in an orphanage. The possibility of her first happy family Christmas seems like it might finally be within her reach. Together, they set off to solve the riddle of Plas-y-Fran, facing many perils and challenges as they go.

Seren remains feisty and courageous, as in the previous novels and ready to stand up to The Fair Family. She is a fantastic protagonist and I love how she dotes upon the crow, despite his constant cantankerous nature. The Perilous Gard*, one of our favorite classic YA novels, also delves into the folklore of the western British Isles. Catherine has won many awards and much critical acclaim for her work. Her poetry has appeared in leading periodicals and anthologies and her volume Immrama won the WAC Young Writers' Prize. She won the Cardiff International Poetry Competition in 1990. For something a little different and that has just been published this year, Sibéal Pounder’s Tinsel: The Girls Who Invented Christmasre-evaluates how we think of the Santa story and how, for all this time, we might have been getting it just a bit wrong... So prepare for a truly funny, fresh, fizzing and feminist celebration of the true story of Mrs Claus and how its two formidable female protagonists bring this sparkling story to life.Catherine Fisher has turned out yet another magical mystery that will keep readers guessing right until the end. The Midnight Swan is well-paced and will keep readers in that uncomfortable yet exciting place, shrouded in mystery and suspense and with just the right amount of spooky. These books are beautifully written with detailed descriptions that make it easy to envisage a country manor house in Wales 100 or so years ago. You can tell that the author knows a lot about the myths and legends from this area and as always the Fair Folk and their magic seems beautiful but with an undercurrent of cruelty and fear. Her first novel, The Conjuror's Game, was shortlisted for the Smarties Books prize and The Snow-Walker's Son for the W.H.Smith Award. Equally acclaimed is her quartet The Book of the Crow, a classic of fantasy fiction. Woven within the tale are strong messages about friendship, family, belonging, empathy and resilience. Many of these messages come out through the actions of Seren and the choices that she makes.

There was definitely some character growth for both the Crow and Seren and the ending was well done. Several of the other characters (Captain Jones, Denzil and Lady Mair) haven't changed much and do still feel rather two-dimensional. So: I don't know what a kid would think of this book but as a permanently exhausted pidgeon with a severe case of the 2020s I am here to yell about how good I thought it was, why you should also be reading kids' books right now, and otherwise stir up the book recommendations on your Goodreads feed, hello. January 2019 Book of the Month | Shortlisted for the Blue Peter Book Awards 2019, Best Story category

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Catherine is an acclaimed poet and novelist, regularly lecturing and giving readings to groups of all ages. She leads sessions for teachers and librarians and is an experienced broadcaster and adjudicator. She lives in Newport, Gwent.

Seren is an orphan and in the first book, on her way to a new life in a remote house, she is given a newspaper parcel by a stranger, late at night in a deserted railway station. When she arrives at her new home, she finds that there is a lot of mystery and sadness concerning the absence of Tomos who has been missing for a year and a day. Seren sets off on a magical quest to try and find Tomos. Update 3/6/2022 - I have had a request to include the screens in Powerpoint format, so I have added a Powerpoint file that has all of the SMART screens.) Short but perfectly formed, this is a magical and atmospheric pair of books, with elements of classic children’s stories, traditional oral tale telling, and a dose of humour too. Wonderful – and a perfect December read! Then it looked at her with its shiny eye and opened its twisted beak. “Oil” it croaked. “I need oil.”She snatched up the key, pushed it into the hole in the side of the bird and wound it up. The machinery grated, stiff and rusty. It was hard to get the key round more than a few turns. There was a loud whirr and clatter, and quite suddenly the Crow’s head moved. It creaked sideways. Its wings opened. It took one wobbly step.

After twice rescuing Tomos from the Tylwth Teg all is well at Plas-Y-Fran. The house is calm and Seren, Tomos and the rest of the residents are living happily surrounded by Denzil’s protective charms to keep out ‘Them’. They have even taken the time to celebrate together at the Summer Fair. But the Tylwyth Teg are never far away and Seren finds herself drawn to a box emblazoned with a swan and a message that could be the answer to the Crow’s problems. This novel is imaginative, beautifully descriptive, captivating… it is typical of the high quality expected from such an exceptionally talented author.’ A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth. On another note, the covers of all three of the books in this series are enchantingly beautiful. I especially loved the cover of The Velvet Fox.

LoveReading4Kids Says

What an incredible way to finish off this incredible series. I loved both the two prior books in the series but I think I actually loved this one the most.