Cecily Sawyer How to be a spy by Iona Rangeley illustrated by David Tazzyman

"My name is Cecily Sawyer and I'm investigating the disappearance of Emmeline and Peregrine Sawyer. I know this city's mice are being used as spies 

and I know who kidnapped my parents."

Publisher blurb: Cecily Sawyer has spent the evening in the attic, training her pet mouse, Mrs Maple-Syrup – an unusually intelligent mouse, in Cecily’s opinion – when her parents disappear. Luckily, Cecily is more than ready to investigate such a thing. She has wanted to be a spy her whole life, and has all the spy handbooks, manuals and code-cracking kits a girl could need. But soon, Cecily discovers several very strange things in her city. She’s not the only spy out there – far from it, in fact. And Mrs Maple-Syrup is not the only unusually intelligent mouse…

I am not sure if this is a book that young readers aged 9+ will stick with - it has such a large cast of characters and I found the motivations of the adults, who used to belong to one organisation but who have now formed several spy agencies, very confusing. In the end I was also a little bit lost about who were the baddies. I did admire the perseverance of young Cecily and the way she used her knowledge gained from reading a large number of books about working as a spy. It was fun to read the scene when Cecily used the telephone box to transport herself to another place - you have probably seen this in a movie or on the television program Get Smart. In fact, the slapstick style of this book reminded me of a little of that show especially all of her gadgets such as a fire shooting pen and exploding cactus plant.

The organisation names were also a little confusing:

The Espionage Collective

The Intelligent Institute of Espionage and Counterespionage

The Counter Espionage Collective

The Nightcrawler Network

The United League of Reconnaissance

Cecily's books:

Espionage for School-aged Children

The Little Girl's guide to Forging your identity

Code-Breaking for beginners

The Little girl's guide to faking your death and evading your enemies

Manipulation and Intrigue

Surveillance made simple

The Little Girl's G

Thuide to scaling buildings and crossing borders

The Little Girl's Guide to plotting, meddling and coniving

The Little Girl's Guide to infiltration of a Crime Ring

The Little Girl's Guide to Common household poisons

The Little Girl's Guide to starting fires and winning them

So you're assembling a new spy organisation: What next?

You can read story sample here. This book is the first in a planned trilogy. 

Iona Rangeley is the author of this series:

In some ways the tone and format of this book Cecily Sawyer How to be a spy reminded me of this series. These are the newer covers but I do prefer the original ones:

The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin

As this story opens Lizzie boarding a ship bound for the USA - she is being sent to stay with her wealthy grandmother. Trouble is Lizzie has NO intention of taking this trip. Her mother is missing and Lizzie needs to stay in England and find her. Yes there is a war unfolding and yes it might be dangerous but Lizzie knows her mother is not dead, as she has been told, and that she needs to find her brother and then solve the mystery of her mothers disappearance. The opening scene where she tricks her chaperone and gets off the boat would be a fabulous way to introduce this book to your library group. 

Lizzie has such a cheeky and distinctive voice in this story which is told with alternating voices. I Ioved the scene where Lizzie 'tricks' the chaperone for the second time and also her unfolding relationship with Colin - son of the innkeeper. 

You can 'hear' Lizzie in these three quotes:

I prefer being straightforward. My older brother, Jakob, used to be straightforward. Before Willa disappeared, that is. Willa is our mother. Killed in a bomb blast, they told us. A falsity I refuse to accept. I no longer refer to her as Mother because she’s not currently here to “mother” me. So it’s easier, and hurts less, to call her by her first name. Precocious? Probably. Willa is American. From a posh place called Cleveland. Some say that explains why I’m so straightforward, because I’m half American. They say the word “American” as if it’s scandalous. I love that. Willa loved it too.

“I don’t know what’s being done here, sir. But from the look of the wallpaper, this room has not long been a war office. From the annoyance in your tone, you are not welcoming visitors this evening. My apologies for that. I’d be grateful if you could provide a bit more information or clues to solve the puzzle,” I reply.

“Perfection? But perfection is boring and forgettable. It’s the imperfections that I find interesting.” “Goodness, you sound so adult. Are you a philosopher, Elizabeth?” “I prefer Lizzie, if that’s all right with you. And heavens no, I’m not a philosopher. I just have the awful habit of speaking whatever pops into my head. I think it’s because I’m half American.”

And here is the voice of Jakob:

Am I in charge of her now? No, I can’t be. I’ve got work to do. More important work than I ever imagined doing. There’s no way I can look after Lizzie at the same time. I can’t even talk to her. Can’t answer the storm of questions I know is coming. I wish I could just turn to her and say, “Look, Lizzie, I’m a cryptanalyst. A code breaker. It’s all very hush-hush.” Sounds ridiculous, I know. A line from a bad play. But the thing is, if I told her the truth, how I got into all of this, she’d accuse me of exactly that—imagining myself in some far-fetched spy drama.

The Bletchley Riddle has almost 400 pages and 94 chapters - but the action just races along. I found myself reading this book deep into the night and again early the next morning. I highly recommend this one for readers aged 10+.

Publisher blurb: It is the summer of 1940. The world is at war. These days, you don’t know who you can trust or who might be a secret spy… Maths whizz Jakob Novis has been recruited to the secret codebreaking centre at Bletchley Park. As Jakob works to crack the Nazi’s Enigma cipher, his younger sister Lizzie is busy on an undercover mission of her own: to find their mother. Filled with codes to decipher and mysteries to unravel, this is the unputdownable historical adventure that will have you on the edge of your seats.

Take a look at the official trailer. 

A rich, enthralling historical mystery that engages and educates. Kirkus

In a compelling mystery, written by two award-winning authors, and told in two voices, the dark cloud of their mom’s disappearance hangs over vivid, well-researched depictions of the Bletchley Park code-breaking operation. The story incorporates many of the significant, real-life, historic heroes who, together, arguably shortened WWII by years. It also depicts life in London at the onset of the war. It’s topped off perfectly with a sweet dash of adolescent crushing. A book and a hug

It was good to know a little about the circumstances of this story prior to reading The Bletchley Riddle. I had already read I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey and seen the movie The Imitation Game an Oscar-nominated movie starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley from 2015 and also the television series The Bletchley Circle. I have now discovered the I Spy is the first book in a trilogy - Book 1: I, Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2023) Book 2: Hide and Seek: A Bletchley Park Mystery (2024) Book 3: Wink, Murder: a Bletchley Park Mystery (2025). I am not sure if I have seen the other movie Enigma staring Kate Winslet from 2001. 

It is amazing and somewhat exciting to think about the work of code breakers - even though the circumstances in this story are based on real life and of course this is about life and death for thousands of innocent citizens during World War II. The codes themselves were so complex it seems amazing that they were ever cracked. Those men and women who worked at Bletchley had such brilliant minds and amazing perseverance. 

Image source: Bletchley Park

This book is a perfect blend of adventure, characters you come to care deeply about and real events. Here are two quotes about the work at Bletchley: 

The work undertaken at Bletchley was extremely secret, with staff forbidden from discussing their roles with anyone outside the park – even their own families. The need for secrecy was so great that some Bletchley veterans never revealed the true nature of their wartime service, even decades later.

Work at Bletchley Park began in the Mansion and its outbuildings, with a staff of around 150 people. As more and more people arrived to join the codebreaking operations, the various sections began to move into large pre-fabricated wooden huts set up on the lawns of the Park. For security reasons, the various sections were known only by their hut numbers. The first operational break into Enigma came around the 23 January 1940, when the team working under Dilly Knox, with the mathematicians John Jeffreys, Peter Twinn and Alan Turing, unravelled the German Army administrative key that became known at Bletchley Park as ‘The Green’. Encouraged by this success, the Codebreakers managed to crack the ‘Red’ key used by the Luftwaffe (German air force). In addition to German codes, Italian and later Japanese systems were also broken. Source Bletchley Park

Further Reading

History Tools: Uncovering the Enigma: The Untold Story of Bletchley Park‘s Codebreaking Triumphs

Visiting Bletchley Park - this site contains a wealth of information - well worth a deep dive

History Learning

Warfare History Network

Companion book:

Max in the House of Spies

The voice of Lizzie also reminded me of this book:

Faceles

In her review Ms Yingling mentions this book as another title to explore about the code breakers of WWII.

Read more on the author web page

You could use The Bletchley Riddle as a way to talk with your students about writing effective descriptions - here are a couple of terrific examples:

The man looks Jakob up and down and so do I. He’s taller than I remember but still has a boyish face. His trousers and jacket are wrinkled. Tie poorly knotted. Faint gray crescents ring his tired brown eyes, and his bedraggled curls are longer than usual. Has he been sleeping on the street?

A tall, narrow figure in a trench coat and hat stands alone on the moonlit platform. He starts toward us with the awkward gait of a marionette. He inhales on his cigarette, and the glowing tip illuminates his face. Something about him resembles my old doll with the smashed glass eye, or a curious illustration from a medical encyclopedia. I like him instantly.

A man in a tweed suit stands alone and sock-footed in the grass. His eyes are closed and his face lifts toward the sun. He wears an apricot bow tie which, by my estimation, makes him very approachable.

William Wenton and the Liridium Thief by Bobbie Peers translated by Tara Chace

 

The opening scenes in this book reminded me of The Graveyard book by Neil Gaiman. Do you remember the scene where the assassin arrived to murder the baby? In my book today William Wenton and his family are living in hiding in Norway. Young William is a skilled code breaker, but his parents have banned him from all codes and puzzles and also told him he must keep a low profile. He even has to remember his new name at school. But William reads in the newspaper that there will be a one-day exhibit at the local museum of the Impossible Puzzle. William is desperate to see this object which has been touring the world and luckily his class are going to the museum on an excursion. The exhibition is too full for the children to visit but William finds a way inside and amazingly he finds himself on the stage with the puzzle - and yes, also amazingly, he solves it. Oh no - he has drawn attention to himself and now his family are in grave danger.

"Suddenly he spotted a large shadow, which moved along the wall then disappeared. William was about to call out, but he was interrupted by his father who suddenly screamed at the top of his lungs, "WILLIAM GET OUT OF THE HOUSE! RUN! RUN! William stood on the landing, completely paralyzed. He heard his father wail and then his father shouted again. "RUN, WILLIAM, RUN!"

William does escape only to be captured moments later and then the roller coaster ride of this thrilling story begins. William's grandfather has been missing for many years. He was a famous code breaker, and he also founded a school called the Institue for Post-Human Research and this is where William is taken. He is told his mother and father are safe and so William settles into school life - a school which is perfect for his intellect and abilities BUT William is a curious boy and he really needs to know about his missing grandfather and so the adventure takes on another enormous plot twist with William searching disused railway tunnels searching for the cryogenically frozen body of his grandfather. Little does he know he is heading straight into danger because it is William's own body that holds a secret and the evil Abraham Talley will stop at nothing to get the precious liridium (of the title) and this means William will need to be killed.

If you are in need of a page turner, then this is THE BOOK for you! I started this in the morning and finished it later that night. In fact, I was visiting friends and I had to ask them to stop interrupting me so I could keep reading. I now see this book is part of a series but luckily this installment has a good ending and so I have not been left hanging around waiting for book two or three. Book one of the William Wenton series has also been issued with a different title. [9781481478267]

I also need to mention there are fabulous robots in this story. I will say that again - fabulous fabulous robots! I think this series will be enjoyed by fans of Harry Potter (of course) and fans of the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer. I also recommend look for The Great Fox Illusion by Justyn Edwards.

Bobbie Peers is a Norwegian author film director and screen writer.  

Bobbie Peers made his mark on Norwegian film history when he won a Palme d’Or in 2006 for Sniffer, written and directed by Peers himself. The award became the first of many milestones in the London International Film School graduate’s career as a director and film writer. The first book in the William Wenton series, William Wenton and the Luridium Thief was published in 2017, has been translated into over 30 languages.

Here is the original cover of The Liridium Thief.

This novel received the Norwegian Ark Children's Book Award in 2015. Peer's imaginative and intense cybernetic world add excitement and danger to William's dangerous quest for the truth, and this would make an exciting class novel for Upper Primary students. Read Plus

Here is the Reading Time review.

It also won the Box Hatcher Award 2017 (Bokslukerprisen award) which is a Norwegian children's choice award. This award uses an interesting form:

Middle school pupils will vote for their favourites based on excerpts from an anthology with excerpts from 10 books for the target group.

Use Google translate to read the text extract the students read as they judged this book their winner. 

Awards:

• Shortlisted for the Fantastic Book Awards 2018-19 UK 2019
• Parents’ Choice Award recommended title US 2017
• The Bokslukerprisen Award Norway 2017
• Children’s Book Award Norway 2016
• Book of the Year Norway 2016
• The Ark’s Children’s Book Award Norway 2015

Here is the German cover:

I Spy: A Bletchley Park Mystery by Rhian Tracey

 

Bookseller blurb: Twelve-year-old Robyn has grown up in Bletchley Park, where her father works as a driver. When she's not at school, there's nothing she likes more than helping her dad in the garages. Then the war begins and everything at Bletchley changes. Robyn is assigned to help with the carrier pigeons that take messages to the Allies. But first, she must sign the Official Secrets Act and is ordered not to leave the grounds of the park. While Bletchley is buzzing with people recruited for the war effort and all eyes are on the skies, Robyn becomes convinced that there's something sinister going on within Bletchley Park itself. Together with her friends Mary and Ned, Robyn resolves to uncover the enemy in their midst . . .  This is a part of World War II UK history that is probably unfamiliar to many young readers of books about WWII.  

It is my blog policy to only talk here about books I have loved or at least enjoyed reading. I didn't really enjoy I Spy mainly because Robyn is such an unappealing child and so I became annoyed at the way she just kept 'breaking rules'. One Good Readers reviewer said "One of the first thoughts I had of young Robyn was that she would not be a good role model for other children. Ignoring her parent's rules and the strict rules and regulations of the Bletchley Park security officers. Plus, one of the first things she does is steal a bike, and yes, she gets a reprimand, but still."

I do like the cover and I always on the hunt for good stories about World War II, but I took over a week to read this book - it just didn't hold my attention. I did enjoy reading about the pigeons and the women workers at Bletchley Park. I was fairly sure Robyn was on the wrong track in her identification of the spy in their midst, so the ending was both expected but also a surprise. 

Listen to an audio sample from the first chapter.

There are three main historical topics mentioned in this book:

• Pigeons and their use to send and deliver messages during WWII
• The work at Bletchley Park to break German codes and especially the use of the Enigma machine
• The request by Winston Churchill to move and save precious artworks taking pieces from big cities such as London to more secure and secret locations (sorry this is a story spoiler).

Here are some other books about pigeons and World War II

Here is a splendid book about the way art was protected during the war

Moonlocket by Peter Bunzl

Jack Door has broken out of prison. He is a dangerous criminal convicted of stealing the Blood Moon Diamond from Queen Victoria. Lily's friend Robert has no idea but his life is entwined with Jack. Once again we find Robert and Lily are chasing and being chased across London accompanied by Malkin - mechanical fox.

Moonlocket is the second book in the Cogheart Adventure series which began with Cogheart. There is just the right amount of recapping so Moonlocket can stand alone but most curious readers will surely want to discover more about Lily especially after reading the first sentences:

"In her short life Lily Hartman had come back from the dead not once, but twice. Neither time had been particularly pleasant."

I really enjoyed the first installment so I was keen to own book two and three. I now discover Peter Bunzl has just published the fourth installment - Shadowsea. This is a terrific series for Middle Grade readers with just the right amount of tension, heroes who make you cheer, baddies who make you hiss and wonderful loyal friends. At times the story feels like an old fashioned melodrama where the dastardly villain keeps appearing intent on capturing Robert and retrieving the precious diamond which has been missing for fifteen years.

Peter Bunzl has activities for each book on his web site. You can read a sample of the text here which begins with the prologue where Jack is escaping the prison.


You know it’s a “tockingly” good steampunk mystery when the dastardly escaped criminals who stole from Queen Victoria are somehow connected to the hero’s mysterious, long-lost mother. Kirkus

Drawing on wondrous details and strongly motivated characters, Moonlocket is a caper with heart. Foreword reviews

Letters from the lighthouse by Emma Carroll

Following on from books such as Goodnight Mister Tom, Carrie's War, Vinnie's War and The War that saved my life we now have Letters from the Lighthouse.

Olive and her brother Cliff are living in London. The bombs are falling. Their father has died while serving with the air-force and then their older sister goes missing. Sukie had taken the younger children to the movies. She leaves them on a pretense of needing the toilet then the air raid sirens sound. Olive rushes outside looking for her sister but she sees her with a young man.

"It didn't look like a normal chat about the weather either, because their heads were close together and the man kept glancing behind him. He gave Sukie a piece of paper before taking her hand and squeezing it in both of his."

Olive grabs hold of Sukie's coat and at that moment a bomb falls nearby. When Olive wakes up she finds herself in hospital. Lying in a box under her bed is the coat - actually it was her mum's coat, that Sukie had mysteriously chosen to wear for their outing. Sukie is now missing and things have become very dangerous so mum decides to send Olive and Cliff to Devon. The children are set to stay with Sukie's pen pal and Olive imagines Queenie will be waiting for them with a warm welcome, delicious food and a comfortable home. Their reception is completely the opposite. The two children climb the stairs to their attic room feel sad, displaced and very hungry. Cliff falls asleep but Olive is restless and cold so she puts on her coat and reaches into the pocket only to discover a note in the lining. It is coded message. It is important. Now Olive just has to discover the truth.

Here is an interview with Emma Carroll. If you use this book with a class the chapter headings would make interesting discussion and research points:

KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
DO YOUR DUTY
KEEP IT UNDER YOUR HAT
WHEN IN DOUBT, LIGHTS OUT
V FOR VICTORY

I do love the cover of this book and when you pick it up you will discover the title is embossed.

Illustration by Julian De Narvaez http://www.juliandenarvaez.com/read-me-3/

You probably know I do love lighthouses too and this one is quite perfect.

"It was perhaps the nicest room I'd ever seen. For one thing, there was so much light. I counted at least six windows - little ones, arched at the top and set deep into the walls. Everything was painted white, even the floor. On either side of the room two bed hugged the curved lighthouse walls. Above each was a shelf of books from which hung beautiful, sea-blue lanterns."

I would recommend this book for readers 10+. Pages 190-194 could be used as an extract especially if you are discussing the plight of refugees both in WWII and in our modern context. Click these review quotes to read plot details. Here are a set of chapter by chapter questions. Listen to an audio sample which begins part way through Chapter One. The comments below from Just Imagine are especially good.

This is historical fiction at its best and would sit nicely alongside wartime study including the subjects of evacuation, rationing, use of animals, spies, codebreaking and even military tactics alongside ill-treatment of the Jewish population.   Just Imagine

This book should be in every school library and shared with as many children as possible. If children are to understand the world around them, it is books like Letters From The Lighthouse that will set them on the way. I really cannot recommend this book enough! Mr Davies Reads

As Olive's story unfolds, Carroll also provides the reader with a window though which to see and understand just what it means to be a child and live in a country at war and under siege, realistically depicting the fears and the privations, as well as the importance of family. the value of friends and neighbors, and need to learn trust and tolerance. Heading each chapter with expressions, warnings, and advice that were common during the war also helps give the novel a sense of authenticity. The Children's War


I did enjoy another book by Emma Carroll - In Darkling Wood.  You might also look for Children of the King by Sonya Hartnett and The Amazing Mind of Alice Makin.

A Lottie Lipton Adventure : The scroll of Alexandria by Dan Metcalf

We have three of the six books from this series A Lottie Lipton Adventure in our school library.  These are simple mystery books perfect for younger readers.  Each installment features young Lottie, who lives in the British Museum with her uncle, using her detective skills.

"She had lived in the museum ever since her parents had died in an accident during an archaeological dig in Egypt. Her Great Uncle, Professor Bertram West, had sworn to take care of her and and returned to England from Egypt to take a job at the British Museum."

There are five chapters and about seventy pages in each book plus a series of puzzles and cryptic codes which readers are invited to solve before Lottie reveals the answer and more of these to enjoy at the end of each book.

In The Scroll of Alexandria, the crazy museum director Sir Trevelyan Taylor declares he plans to sell all of the books in the museum library.  Lottie, her uncle Bert and Reg the caretaker set off to prove the collection must be preserved by order of King George III.

Lottie opens a small box that arrives with an Egyptian mummy in The Egyptian Enchantment.  She releases twenty shabtis into the museum but because she has only read half the spell these little doll like creatures race around the museum creating chaos. Shabtis are supposed to work as servants in the afterlife but these ones are out of control.

You can read more about each book on the author web site.

Secret Breakers The Power of Three by HL Dennis

Before I begin this review of The Power of Three I need to warn you :

1.  This book is part one of a series of 6 and nothing (well almost nothing) is resolved by the end of the first book
2.  This book, while intriguing, does take quite a long time to read.  Not because it is particularly long but at times the plot does feel a little slow. You will need reading stamina but it is worth the effort.
3.  The action does heat up but not until about page 231 or chapter 10 then you will find yourself rushing to reach the end - now read caution number one above.
4.  To better appreciate this book you need a little knowledge of the legend of King Arthur. For the next book you need to know about Edward Elgar and in the next a little about Shakespeare.
5.  If you like books about codes and the sense of power that comes from thwarting the bad guys then you will enjoy the twists and turns of this story.

Three children,  Brodie, Tusia and Hunter, have been selected to join a team of adults who are trying to crack a code that has puzzled people for centuries.

"She reached into the trunk and lifted the bundle.  The fabric fell away.  Underneath was a thick bound book.  The red leather cover was soft, worn in places, unmarked by any writing or title apart from a small label of unreadable text in the corner. ... the letters used for the writing were not like any Brodie knew.  Even the pictures of flowers and plants weren't like anything she'd ever seen growing on earth. .. On one island she could clearly make out what looked liked a volcano and also a castle like the one sketched in her locket."

The children form the third study group named Team Veritas - searchers looking for the truth.  Brodie's mum was part of the second study group and she died when she attempted to crack this code.  For the first section of the book these newest team members complete a number of tests to ensure they are up to this important task then they learn the story of this special manuscript and its history and get to work to link the clues and solve the puzzle (sort of).

This might seem odd by my favourite character in The Power of Three is one of the baddies.  An evil woman named Kerrith who is out for promotion and revenge.

"Kerrith Vernan prided herself on three things. ... the third was her very carefully managed appearance.  You didn't get to be as good looking or as well presented as she was today without expending a lot of energy at the gym, or spending a lot of money on your stylist  ... she twisted the new diamond ring she'd bought herself around her little finger."

If you enjoy team work, books where the kids know more than the adults, codes and puzzles then pick up The Power of Three.  You might also enjoy The Mysterious Benedict Society, The Seven Professors of the far North,  A Whole Nother story or The Billonaires curse.

It is well worth taking time to look at the author web site where you can read about all the characters and read extracts from the books and see real pages from MS408.  You can read a little more about the plot.  Here is a video showing the letter the children use to solve this puzzle.