Small Wonder by Ross Montgomery

If you have one chance, make it count

Tick lives with his brother, Leaf, and their grandfather in a remote cottage near the coast of Ellia. There is peace in this land but there is also always the threat of invasion by the Drene. As the story opens Tick sees some ships on the horizon. He knows the invasion is about to begin. He grabs his brother and races home only to find a stranger is robbing his house. Tick and Leaf's grandfather has died recently but Grandfather gave Tick lots of training and advice. Tick knows he needs to flee with his brother to the King's Keep. It is a fortress in the mountains - a place of safety, where everyone will be headed, but it is a long journey and now he has no supplies - only his loyal (and fabulous) horse named Pebble and a small pocketknife.

"I won't always be here for you. when I'm gone, you'll have to look after each other. You'll take care of him, and he'll take care of you."

Tick does manage to rummage through the saddle bags of the hunter who has ransacked his grandfather's cottage and yes, he does find a few useful things such as a flint and some oats, but he also finds some documents. Tick cannot read them because they are not in his language, but he senses these are important. Now the race is on. The Hunter is chasing him and using his hawk to follow Tick's trail. The gateway to the Kings Keep will only stay open for a few days and winter is fast approaching.

"Three moons through the Forest,

Two moons through the Deep,

One moon to the Mountains

To the safety of the Keep"

This book has it all! It is a page turner. It has action and heroes. It has danger and disasters. It has a journey and edge of your seat desperate moments where survival seems impossible. And most of all it is about destiny. The writing here is so atmospheric - you will feel cold, you will feel hungry, you will feel the wounds of battle, and most of all you will want Tick to succeed. I enjoyed this book so much that I picked it up at 2am so that I could read the final chapters. 

My text quotes are spoilers but I just cannot resist them:

"You are heir to the throne of Ellia. Suddenly there was a sound around him, of metal dropped on stone: all the knights of Ellia were kneeling before him."

"I can't do it. A child born with the mark of a king - that's not even me. That's Leaf ... he's the one with the mark!"

"Tell me what is the mark of a king? ... Lara spoke first, reciting words that she had learned by heart. 'A king must first have the mark of bravery. He must be bold and take risks, even in the face of certain defeat. ... A king must have the mark of modesty. He must always put his people first, even if it puts him in harm's way. ... But most important of all ... a king must show the mark of love. Love for his family, love for his people, love for his kingdom."

Fiercely exciting, with moving moments when Tick recalls his precious grandfather, this is an adventure to thrill the heart.  Book Trust

Each character is skillfully developed so much so that even though their Grandfather dies before the book begins, he feels like a real presence, a significant personality in the story. Despite meeting with some unpleasant and evil characters on the way, Tick remains honourable, true to his grandfather’s wishes and so deserving of the fate which awaits him. Through the Bookshelf

Small Wonder is a beautiful story of brotherhood and hope. Tick’s narration provides a wonderful example of finding strength within yourself and what it means to be noble. Through truly listening, helping others and making connections, unanswered questions become answered and family secrets are revealed. Written in a classic style, this story draws out a nostalgia for stories of goodness, love and the fulfilment of destiny. Scope for Imagination

Ross Montgomery started writing stories as a teenager, when he should have been doing homework, and continued doing so at university. His debut novel, Alex, the Dog and the Unopenable Door, was shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book of the Year and Branford Boase Award. It was also selected as one of the Sunday Times' "Top 100 Modern Children's Classics". His books have also been nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Award, while his picture book Space Tortoise was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award and included in the Guardian's Best New Children's Books of 2018. The Midnight Guardians, Ross's first fiction novel with Walker Books, was selected as a Waterstones Children's Book of the Month and shortlisted for the Costa Children's Book of the Year Award. I Am Rebel won the Waterstone’s Children’s Book of the Year in 2024. He lives in south-east London

The opening scenes in Small Wonder reminded me of these two books I read recently although these have a different time setting:

The Cave

Wanderer

Other companion books:

Wilder

Oracle

The Lost Stone of Skycity by HM Waugh

Sunaya has a gift. She can sense danger and safety. She can 'read' people. She's had these skills for a long time but only now does she realise not everyone can do these things. Sunaya and her nephew (who is only slightly older than her) have been sent to remote mountain region in the bitter winter. Their people usually travel to this region in the summer but right now Sunaya's father wants to hide his six prized nanny gotals so they are not taken as part of dowry. Notice that word gotals - this one word tells you this story is set in another world.  The winter mountains are home to the Ice People but for Sunaya and Danam the Ice People are perhaps just the stuff of legends or stories told by Great Aunt Mera.

Travelling through this bitter snow covered landscape Sunaya senses danger. Her Uncle, who is travelling with the children, has forged ahead. Suddenly the snow explodes into an avalanche and First Uncle is killed. Sunaya knows there is no point in searching for him and she convinces Danam to continue their journey. The pair take refuge in a small run down hut. Sunaya has had a sense that someone is watching them.  Indeed this is true - it is a group of Ice People including the Princess, who is next in line to the throne, and her brother the Prince Praseep.

The Ice People are seeking a Cloud Dragon.  The Cloud Dragon will be the protector of the Princess Rishala when she takes over from the dying queen. There is a prophecy:

"The Seers foretold that if we walked to the edge of the Dirt, we'd uncover her Cloud Dragon. We walked there and we saw your group. We watched you come down the slope. One adult, two children. One child in pants who read the slopes expertly, and a child in skirts following who knew nothing."

The problem is the Ice People have the wrong person. They think Danam is destined to be the next Cloud Dragon and so they are taking him away to complete a series of extremely dangerous and complex tasks.  In fact it was Sunaya who was wearing pants, Danam just had his cloak tied around him and it looked like a skirt. Sunaya needs to convince the Princess and her group that she should come to the city with Danam. She does not know about the prophecy, she does not really understand her own power but she is desperate to protect her nephew and the herd of gotals. One of the guards travelling with the Princess, a girl called Aji, seems to sense the truth and later she becomes a very important ally. But what about Vilpur who is also in this group - can he be trusted?

These tests, Sunaya learns, can be fatal. Praseep himself had hoped to be the next Cloud Dragon and take the role protecting his sister but he failed one of the five tests and only lived to tell the tale because he does possess powerful gifts. The tests are designed around: Strength, Courage, Resilience, Compassion and Fortitude. Sunaya must save her nephew but to do that she knows she must face these tests - and win!

The lost stone of the title is the reason for the division of this kingdom into "dirt people" and "ice people". Stones are powerful devices used by the Ice People but Sunaya needs to show serious errors were made in the past and "dirt people" are not really the enemy. Stories from the past need to be rewritten.

I loved the depiction of bitter cold in this story. Thank goodness Praseep can make fireballs.  They kept me warm. I try hard not to say negative things on this blog but, while I totally adored this story, I really really do not like the cover. If I had not been given an Advanced Reader Copy by Beachside Bookshop I am fairly sure I would not have picked up this book and that makes me sad. I do tell students "don't judge a book by it's cover" but of course with books (and sometimes people) this is something we all do. I highly recommend this book and I hope you can convince a middle primary reader to explore the amazing lands, palace and tests of the Ice People.

You can read part of Chapter One here. Read about HM (Heather) Waugh on her web site. I hope this book is listed as a notable title for our CBCA awards in 2020 - yes it is that good! Why did HM Waugh include goats (gotals) in her story? Read about this here. This book will be available from 1st October, 2019.

I would follow The Lost Stone of Skycity with Ottilie Colter and the Narroway hunt; Prisoner of Ice and snow and The Halfmen of O by Maurice Gee.