The Key to Extraordinary by Natalie Lloyd

"Beneath the stars of Blackbird Hollow

by the shadows of the ridge

Down a path no man can follow

lies a treasure someone hid ..."

In this family every girl will have a Destiny Dream. The dream is always set in a field of flowers. Emma's mother dreamed of being a musician. Emma's grandmother, Granny Blue, dreamed of being a boxing champion. Emma does have her dream, but it is such a puzzling one. She sees daisies, violets, red roses and an old key. There is a legend about her home in Blackbird Hollow involving hidden treasure and now there is an urgency to find it because it seems Granny Blue is about to sell their cafe, named the Boneyard Cafe, because it is beside the graveyard - to an unscrupulous developer. 

Time is ticking but where is the treasure? What does the dream mean? Is there a way Emma Pearl Casey along with her two friends Cody Belle Chitwood (she lives at the Sweet Peaches Trailer Park) and Earl Chance can solve this? There are obstacles of course. Earl no longer talks due to a past dreadful trauma. Emma has a childhood facial scar which means almost daily taunts from the school bully Beretta Simpson.  But Emma does have support from her grandmother and her uncle with the delightful name of Periwinkle plus her wonderful brother Topher. I love that his girlfriend is called Waverley Valentine. 

Along with a delicious mystery, terrific character names in this book and time spent in a spooky graveyard, this book is also filled with a hot chocolate drink called Boneyard Brew. It contains a secret magical ingredient. And there are lots of warm muffins served in the cafe and also toasted banana sandwiches along with joyful jamboree nights of music and dancing. You will find yourself tapping along to the beat of the song - especially the one that seems to be explaining the way to the treasure. 

Blurb from author web page: Everyone in Emma’s family is special. Her ancestors include Revolutionary War spies, brilliant scientists, and famous country music singers—every single one of which learned of their Extraordinary Destiny through a dream. For Emma, her own Destiny Dream can’t come soon enough. Right before her mother died, Emma promised that she’d do whatever it took to fulfill her Destiny, and she doesn’t want to let her mother down. But when Emma’s dream finally arrives, it points her toward an impossible task—finding a legendary treasure that’s supposedly hidden near her town’s historic cemetery. If Emma fails, she’ll let down generations of her Extraordinary ancestors . . . including her own mother. But how can she find something that’s been missing for centuries and might be protected by a mysterious singing ghost?

I almost gave this one five stars because there are so many delicious turns of phrase used by Natalie Lloyd. Here are a few:

"Boneyard Brew is like hot chocolate with a heavenly twist. ... Once you've had a taste of Boneyard Brew, you'll never stop craving it."

"My brother can read people like a story. He knows when a smile's covering sadness and which sparkly-eyed look is a sure sign of a secret. He can hear a broken heart in the sound of someone's voice. He's especially good at reading me."

"The human heart is a big thumping miracle, I decided. What else in the world could keep beating after being so broken?"

"I think about how nobody knows how long they have in the world. And how we only get a certain number of words to say and share. I'd hate for the last words that come out of my mouth to be mean ones."

"Sometimes you don't realise how special a place - or a person - really is until they're slipping away from you."

The Big Empty - "Birthdays are the worst when you've lost someone you love. Other days are that way too, of course. Tuesdays. Fridays. Sunday afternoons. Holidays and school picture days and rainy days. There's at least a few lonely minutes hiding in every day one you've said goodbye to someone you love. But Birthdays are fierce."

A bouquet of quirks, whimsy, sweetness, and magic. Kirkus

Companion books:

Eight Keys

The Dollar Kids

Three Times Lucky

The Parker Inheritance

Moon over Manifest

The Higher Power of Lucky

I saw The Key to Extraordinary at a recent charity book sale. It was published in 2016 and so the print copy is no longer available but there is an ebook version. I have put two covers above - my copy is the white one but I prefer the purple and blue. I already knew the name Natalie Lloyd because I loved her book A Snicker of Magic.

Janosch (1931-2026)

The Trip to Panama

Blurb: Little Bear and Little Tiger live together in their house down by the river. They are quite content with their life until one day Little Bear finds a crate marked Panama floating in the river. The crate smells strongly of bananas, and Little Bear takes it home in great excitement to show Little Tiger. Panama suddenly becomes their dreamland, and they will not be content until they have been there.

Janosch’s style still feels distinctive to this day: slightly irreverent, sometimes anarchic in tone and deliberately rough-edged in the drawings. It is precisely this unpretentious quality that leaves space for broader themes – the desire for a simple and happy life, for friendship and love, for freedom and the right to pursue one’s own path. 

SBS Radio: With “The trip to Panama”, Janosch became world-famous in 1978. The story of the little tiger and little bear who set out in search of their dreamland continues to inspire generations of children today. Author and illustrator Horst Eckert, known under his artist name, has now died. Born in 1931 in present-day Polish Zebrza, the artist created a perfect, harmonious world with his characters, which formed a stark contrast to his own childhood. More than 150 works in 40 languages, animated series and countless licensed products made his characters cult figures.

Walker Books: Born in 1931 in Zaborze, a miners’ settlement on the Polish border. After a short schooling, Janosch worked in a metalworking shop and forge, later he worked in textile factories and in a textile weaving mill. In 1953 he went to Munich, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, but had to abandon his studies after a few trial semesters due to “lack of talent”. So Janosch started to work as a freelance artist. In 1960 his first children’s book was published. Since 1980 he has lived in a house in the mountains of Tenerife.

I loved the discovery that the post office used his art for stamps:

I also read this: The fact that Janosch’s characters remain so familiar today is not due to the books alone. There have been film adaptations, radio plays, stage productions and musicals as well as a range of other projects inspired by his stories. Janosch’s images have also come to be present in many people’s day-to-day lives: on postcards with drawings and sayings, calendars, posters and games, and also on merchandise that has given Tiger, Bear and Tiger Duck a second career.

These are the Janosch books in my own collection many found in charity book shops.

Separated from his friend, a bear and a tiger invent the postal system, air mail, and telephone to share letters and stay connected. "He took a bottle of blue ink with him. He also took a canary's feather, because you can write very well with a canary quill pen. He took some notepaper, and an envelope for his letter." Here is my blog post.

"They played hide-and-seek all day ... The day was over, and there were no mushrooms in the basket."

This story is filled with food - gooey uncooked cake, breakfast and river trout with almond sauce and breadcrumbs. and potatoes with chopped parsley. 

'Where does it hurt?' asked Little Bear. 'Show me.'

'Here. And here,' said Little Tiger.

'You mean you hurt all over,' said Little Bear.

And even though Little Bear bandaged Little Tiger from head to foot - leaving his head in case he wanted to cough - Little Tiger still felt bad. Little Bear decided Little Tiger had to do to the Animal Hospital. And within two days Little Tiger was right as rain again.

All of the Janosch books are sadly out of print in English in Australia but I am sure many libraries (school and public) will have one or two of his books.

I don't have a list of the translators but there are wonderful words you can share from books by Janosch: plushy couch; gooseberry cordial; relish it; tremendous; elegant; discreet; tremendous; bilberry jam; sofa; and raft.

Translation: Well done, Janosch!

Mr Badger and the Boubles Grand Hotel by Leigh Hobbs

Make sure you do read the imprint page - Boubles is proununced Boublay.

Begin with these very short videos where Leigh Hobbs talks about his newest book:

• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four

The dedication for Mr Badger and the Boubles Grand Hotel is to Leigh's friend in London Andrea Reece. I saw a post on Facebook which shows her delight over this inclusion. 

The end papers in this new full colour picture book are terrific. I am sure you and your young reading companion/s will have fun talking about disguises and trickery. And did Mr Badger really recognise young Sylvia? And the ending will give you a hint there might be more to come - well at least you can let your imagination enjoy the possibilities of this idea. 

Publisher blurb: Mr Badger is the Special Events Manager at the Boubles Grand Hotel which is about to celebrate its 175th birthday. The celebrations are only for grown-up, so young Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers is packed off to the seaside - or is she? Strange things start to go wrong at the hotel, including the doorman losing his pants and guests having to sleep in the lift, until Mr Badger tracks down the culprit to the Deluxe Suite, where he encourages the pest to assist with the special attraction entertainment to the delight of everyone - not the least dear little Sylvia. 

Image source: Allen and Unwin

Publication date 3rd November, 2026 AUS$26.99

Look at my list of labels for this post - tricks/trickery; deception; mayhem; pranks; and chaos. I am totally risk adverse and I utterly dislike pranks and any form of unkindness. This means Mr Badger and the Boubles Grand Hotel (and in fact the whole Mr Badger series) are not the 'right' books for me but that is what you would expect - I am an adult reader.  I'm sure though, that young children aged 7+ will really enjoy this new picture book and hopefully their school or public library will still have copies of the original easy chapter books published between 2010 and 2011. The library I visited had books 1-3. I have discovered a bind up version was also published back in 2015. 

I think this new picture book installment about Mr Badger and the naughty prankster Sylvia Smother-Carruthers will make a little more sense if you can read the previous books especially when you encounter Algernon the stuffed ape who is displayed in the foyer of the hotel. You can still buy the four chapter books.

Book One Mr Badger and the big surprise: Mr Badger is in charge of special events at a splendid old London hotel. When he and his assistant, Miss Pims, prepare for Miss Sylvia Smothers-Carruthers' seventh birthday party, little does Mr Badger know just what is in store for Sylvia, and for him...

Book Two Mr Badger and the Missing Ape: For longer than anyone can remember, Algernon has been standing absolutely still in his own special spot at the Boubles Grand Hotel. Everyone is shocked when he disappears. Can Mr Badger solve the mystery of the missing ape?

Book Three Mr Badger and the difficult Duchess: Mr Badger is not only the Special Events Manager of London's grand Boubles Grand Hotel - he is also the Manager of Special Guests.

Book Four Mr Badger and the magic mirror: Life is certainly full of surprises at the Boubles Grand Hotel. When Mr Badger discovers a mirror that is anything but ordinary, he learns more about his favourite hotel than he would ever have dreamed possible.

I do enjoy books about hotels. Here are some I highly recommend:

This post about book five has links to my comments about each of the titles in this series

The Incredible Hotel

Hotel Flamingo

The Sea-Breeze Hotel

Tales of Mr Walker

The Hotel Witch

Leigh Hobbs is the bestselling author of more than 20 books, including the iconic Old Tom, Mr Chicken goes to Paris and Horrible Harriet. As an artist, he works across a range of mediums, as well as writing and illustrating his children's books. Mr Chicken goes to Paris was shortlisted for the 2010 Prime Minister's Literary awards and has been a constant best seller at the Louvre Museum Bookshop in Paris. Old Tom has been adapted into an extremely popular TV series. Leigh Hobbs was the Australian Children's Laureate for 2016-17.

Standoff: Kidnapped from Ukraine by Marsha Forchuk Skrpych

For an authentic and very personal perspective on the war in Ukraine, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch offers a story of Ukrainians from Mariupol and what they saw and felt when the Russians attacked. Can Lit for Little Canadians

When Russia starts the war with Ukraine by bombing the major cities, 12yo Rada and her Dad are separated from Rada’s twin Dariia and their Mom. While Rada and Dad make it to the safety of the Azovstal steel plant, Rada huddles in a bunker while Dad is off fighting for Ukraine’s freedom.  As bombing continues for months, life in the bunker goes from desperate to dire.  Rada has formed a family of sorts, but she won’t find happiness until she can find Dariia and Mom and a new life. (source)

Bookseller blurb: Twelve-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova couldn't be more different. Dariia is outgoing and chatty while Rada is quieter and artsy. But what they have in common is their love for each other and their home. The family lives in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is attacked by the Russians on Feb 24th, 2022. The attack separates the family-Dariia is with her mum and Rada with her dad. Rada and her father navigate the treacherous journey from shelter to shelter as they make their way to the Azovstal plant so that her father can fight in the resistance. Meanwhile, Rada is still trying to get in contact with her sister and mother. As the war rages and each family member must contend with their own battles, their love for their country and their family keeps them going.

At the recent IBBY Congress in Ottawa I met the Canadian author Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch and she told me briefly about her books. Here is her web page.  I had not heard of her work but when I returned to Australia I saw a couple of her books in a bookshop and then I discovered this title in a library where I work as a volunteer. It is book two in this series (Kidnapped from Ukraine) but it seems that each book does stand-alone although the Kirkus reviewer says book one is important and that it is a stronger story than this second installment. 

I recommend this series for readers aged 11+ - senior primary up to Grade 8 in high school. Readers who enjoy books about contemporary events, survival stories, and books about younger kids or teenages as heroes will enjoy this series. This book is also an important way to raise awareness about the war in Ukraine.  It is interesting to note the author is now banned for life from Russia.

Standoff is a fairly new book - published by Scholastic Canada in 2026. Here are the first (2025) and third (2026) books:

Bookseller blurb: 12-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova couldn't be more different. Dariia is outgoing and chatty while Rada is a quieter and artsy. But what they have in common is their love for each other and their home. The family lives in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is attacked by the Russians on Feb 24th, 2022.The attack separates the family -- Dariia is with her mom and Radawith her dad. Dariia and her mother are then separated by Russian officials and Dariia is sent to live with a Russian family. As the war rages around them, the sisters and their family must overcome unimaginable hardships. But they will learn how powerful hope is in the face of disaster.

Bookseller blurb: Twelve-year-old twin sisters Rada and Dariia Popkova couldn't be more different. Dariia is outgoing and chatty while Rada is quieter and artsy. But what they have in common is their love for each other and their home. The family lives in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is attacked by the Russians on February 24, 2022. The attack separates the family-Dariia is with their mum and Rada with their dad. After separate struggles, the sisters have finally found their way back to each other. Though the siege has changed them, their love for their country and their family has remained the same. But their father is still somewhere out there, and they won't rest until they're all reunited.

Mermaids and Mix-ups: Stella and Marigold by Annie Barrows illustrated by Sophie Blackall

Stella and Marigold are sent a gift from a distant cousin. Cousin Judy does not quite send the 'right' gifts to the girls and often they decide to discard or hide them. This year the gift is two identical books - journals. There is a page in the book where you write down the names of all your friends but the problem for the girls is that this page has twenty-five blank lines. Do the girls each have twenty-five friends? This is a huge problem especially for little Marigold. Perhaps there is a way she can get the man next door to be her true friend. She decides to 'take' a precious ornament that Laredo has told her he loves. It is a rather ugly mermaid with teeth.

"She was chewing up a sailor guy, and she had blood on her chin."

Marigold puts the dreadful candleholder under her jacket and takes it home but of course this leads to all sorts of troubles.

Publisher blurb: In this second book, Stella and Marigold receive a purple present-a book for them to list all their friends. That's when they discover they need to make more friends! But how? With magical recipes to make snow fall? With lots of nice Band-Aids? How about a mermaid candleholder? The two sisters are full of ideas and plans. Maybe they turn out, or maybe they don't, but one thing is for sure: By the end of this book, readers will be the best of friends with Stella and Marigold.

About a week ago I talked about this series. At that time, I had borrowed and read the first book. This week I read the second in the series and I have to say it is EVEN BETTER. I especially loved the way the nine stories are interlinked. This book also deals with the moral dilemma of truth and lies. 

If you want to explore the idea of unwanted presents, try to find these:

Lester's dreadful sweaters

And look for this one about honesty:

And as I often do in my recent posts, I do have a Bluey episode to link with today's book - Mermaids and Mix-up (by the way this book is not about mermaids!).

Bingo hides Turtle Boy hoping the owner of this toy will not be able to find him.  Eventually she has to confess her 'crime'.

Series 3, episode 30 "Turtle Boy"

Raising Hare: children's edition by Chloe Dalton illustrated by Denise Nestor

"The leveret lay on its stomach with its eyes open and its short, silky ears held tightly against its back. It was no longer than the width of my palm. Its fur was dark brown, thick and choppy and grew in delicate curls along its spine. Long, pale guard hairs and whiskers stood out from its body and glowed in the weak sun."

"I felt embarrassed and worried. I had no intention of taming the hare, or of keeping it as a pet. I only wanted to shelter it."

This is the essence of this book. As a reader we go on a journey with Chloe Dalton as she accommodates the baby hare careful to keep her distance and not startle the wild animal with loud noises. It feels at times as though it is not only Chloe who is learning how to adjust to the little leveret. The young hare also has to work out how to navigate her house, learn to drink milk, try new foods and follow its instincts to explore wild places always alert to possible dangers and predators. 

I really appreciated that Chloe Dalton resisted the temptation to name the baby hare for many months and for a long time we don't even know it this is a little boy or girl.  

"Ours are different worlds. She can cross into mine, but hers will always be out of reach to me, and that's how it should be."

Publisher blurb: One winter's day, Chloe Dalton went for a countryside walk and discovered a newborn baby hare - no bigger than her hand - chased by a dog and separated from its mother. Worried for its safety, Chloe took the tiny hare home and learned how to feed and care for it . . . and an extraordinary friendship began. This is the fascinating true tale of how Chloe and the hare, with its drumming paws and distinctive charm, lived alongside each other until the time came for it to return to the wild. But when the hare is finally ready to jump over the garden wall, will Chloe ever see it again?

This book cover is sure to entice so many young readers to pick up this book. I have not read the adult version (I did wonder about the difference), but Raising Hare the children's edition is a terrific book for animal lovers and all children who enjoy true stories. The way Chloe Dalton tells this story kept me turning the pages and enjoying her care and kindness towards this small wild creature that she was so privileged to meet. The format of this book in hardcover with a dust jacket (you know I love those) means this book will be a beautiful Christmas gift. [Allen and Unwin AUS$29.99]. The UK publisher is Canongate Books. There are some very useful addition resources on the publisher page such as videos, teaching ideas, and a Q&A with the author. 

Page from Hare files

It is rare in my experience to find end papers in a novel - these are very special:

You already know I am not a big fan of endorsements, but these are actually perfect - 'Glorious' Katherine Rundell; and 'Wondrous' Michael Morpurgo.

My friend at Kinderbookswitheverything has a Pinterest collection of books that explore animal heroes and true animal stories. Your younger readers, even though we are here in Australia with no hares, will have encountered hares in books such as Nutbrown Hare in Guess How much I love you; Aesop stories of the Hare and the Tortoise; the hare in the Frog series by Max Velthuijs; and even a slightly obscure but very funny picture book with the title Bad Hare Day by Miriam Moss illustrated by Lynne Chapman. I also thought of the March Hare in Alice in Wonderland. 

From the publisher: Raising Hare is Chloe Dalton's debut book and was an instant Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. Chloe divides her time between working as a political adviser and foreign policy specialist in London and her home in the English countryside. Raising Hare was also shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize and the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, and was selected as a Waterstones Book of the Year and as the Hay Festival Book of the Year. It was a Critics Best Books pick for The Times, Financial Times, Guardian, Spectator and iNews and was a Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month.

I suggest reading the UK RSPCA advice about looking after wild hares. 

Companion books:

Wandi

Singing with elephants

If you want to read another book (totally unrelated to Raising Hare) about hares, try to find this one - it is fabulous:

Mr Lepron's Mystery Soup

Here is the cover of the adult title by Chloe Dalton:

Read an interview with Chloe Dalton about her adult book

A soulful and gracefully written book about an animal’s power to rekindle curiosity. 

Kirkus Star review

The end papers from the adult version are very similar to the ones you will find in the young reader edition:

End papers from the adult edition