Temmi and the flying bears by Stephen Elboz

Temmi and the Flying bears is long out of print but you may find a copy in your school library. Luckily, even though our copy is very old, the original printing was on lovely white paper of a good quality and so this book has not turned 'yellow' as have so many of our older paperback books.

Temmi and the Flying bears is a book I first read in 1998 and ever since it is a title I recommend to our Grade 3 and 4 students who like a fantasy story.  Last night I thought it was probably time to revisit this book just to check my memory of the plot and storytelling.  This little book did not disappoint.  Temmi and the flying bears is a terrific fantasy adventure.  It is very short at only 126 pages and has quite large printing so it is perfect for younger readers who are just beginning to develop their reading stamina.

Temmi lives near a colony of flying bears.  He has a very special relationship with them and especially with Cush the last cub born that season.  One day some soldiers arrive from the queen. They have been commanded to capture a bear for the princess.  Temmi is distraught.  He must save his precious bears.  The soliders surround the village with fierce wolves.  By the time Temmi reaches the distant forest Pasha, the mother of Cush, lies dead on the snow.  Temmi is determined to save Cush and so he follows the men and their evil leader Tin Nose.  In the skirmish Cush is injured and so Temmi is allowed to travel with the group to the castle of the white witch.

"The castle was a jewel set in gardens of perfect snow, and was quite unlike any building he had every seen before - or any building he had ever imagined possible.  Built entirely from a single block of ice, it resembled a gigantic quartz crystal - that is to say, like an explosion of water that instantly freezes."

Haggoth, Witch-Queen of the High Witchlands, is dying.  Cush is a gift for her spoilt daughter Princess Agna.  Temmi needs to befriend this cold girl so he can secure freedom for himself and Cush.  He can not know that an odd group of dwarfs will become is truest allies.  My favourite scene comes as our band of brave friends flee the castle.  The covering of snow means they can be easily seen so Agna summons a herd of reindeer who surround them as they cross the open field.

I am very happy to keep recommending Temmi and the Flying bears to my students.  There is a sequel called Temmi and the frost dragon and here is a little video of Stephen Elboz talking about another of his books. Listen to an audio sample from the book here.

The Heart of Glass book three in Tales from the Five Kingdoms by Vivian French

I am not going to write very much about The Heart of Glass Tales from the Five Kingdoms by Vivian French. If you have read the first and second books then you will already be hooked on this series and I probably do not need to convince you to read on. If you have not read the first two books you should do this before you pick up this book.

The Heart of Glass is another highly imaginative story. I marvel at the way writers like Vivian French can conjure such terrific characters, adventures and scenes.

In this third installment Marcus and Gracie have travelled to the Unreliable Forest of Flailing on a dwarf-spotting expedition. This should not be dangerous except that they have set out at a time of high activity in the dwarf world. Princess Fedora is about to marry Prince Tertius and the dwarfs have a huge order for gold. They are having some difficulty reaching this gold because time is short so the dwarfs have called on the trolls for assistance. In particular the dwarfs have called on King Thab and a bargain has been made. King Thab wants a Princess in exchange for supplying one troll as a laborer for the dwarfs. King Thab also wants power but so does Mullius Gowk who is in an Old Troll. Mullius is the last of the Old Trolls. “The High King of the Old Trolls had never known the meaning of the word mercy. He had lived for hundreds of years and had never once done a good deed. … after his death there had been stories … of his unrelenting cruelty and unceasing quest for domination.”

There is also a prophecy about power involving a Trueheart :

When Trueheart’s life in ended here
The High King’s heart will beat once more
And power come to those who reign.
A King of Kings will rule again

Trolls, dwarfs, Gracie (a Trueheart), bats, underground tunnels, greed, bargains and silly royalty are the perfect ingredients for a rollicking adventure. Good will of course triumph over evil but you will be so absorbed in the characters and twists and turns of the plot that by the end this hardly seems to matter.

As with the first two books in this series I read The Heart of Glass in just one sitting. It is good to see Vivian French has included a character list this time so you can keep track of everyone. I highly recommend this series for Middle Primary readers. Read an extract here.

The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens

Humans spend a lot of time thinking about the past and the future so perhaps that is why fantasy writers often allow their characters to travel across time. The Emerald Atlas is a book that allows three very special children travel to the past and then armed with knowledge of the awful events that will occur these same children travel further back and successfully alter the course of history – thank goodness.

If you loved Northern Lights, The Wind Singer, Narnia and as a younger reader you also enjoyed The Magic Tree House series then The Emerald Atlas is a book you will devour.

In a scene reminiscent of the opening of The Graveyard book danger arrives in the middle of the night and we learn the lives of these three very young children are in danger. A mysterious stranger arrives to take them away and although she is only four years old Kate understands and will always remember her mother’s final words that she must take care of Michael and Emma her two younger siblings until they are all reunited as a family.

Horrible creatures chase after then as they flea the house and then magically they arrive at an orphanage where they can safely hide.

Our story then does a jump in time and we learn that the lives of these three children have seriously deteriorated with stays in a succession of orphanages each one more harsh and austere than the last. They are now to be sent to yet another orphanage at a remote place called Cambridge Falls. I held my breath as they were taken across the lake as dusk fell and arrived at this huge and empty mansion. The only glimmer of hope comes from the crazy housekeeper who, in spite of her grumbling and ugly surroundings, feeds the children the most scrumptious food they have ever eaten.

All of this is, however, only the beginning. Kate will find the book which we later learn is called The Emerald Atlas, the three children will time travel, they will encounter an evil witch, the Screechers, make some true friends and begin a journey to discover their true destiny. His is the first book of a Trilogy and while it did leave me wanting more there is at least a resolution of sorts at the end of this first installment.

This is a book that all fantasy fans will lovebut it is not for the faint hearted. The Screechers are monstrous and the battle scenes are blood thirsty. You must take a look at the web site which has a wonderful trailer and you can read the first chapter which is a great way to see if this is a book for you! One more thing you might like to know. This book looks huge – but when you open it you will see lovely large printing, white space and generous page borders – all things that I appreciate as a reader.