The House Trap by Emma Read

Claude and his sister Amity are moving to a new part of the country. Claude was Deliah's best friend but over the last year while they were both in Grade seven things have changed. This is so confusing for Deliah. Now Claude seems to be friends with an awful bratty boy named Sam. 

On the day the story begins the four kids are sent out of the house to 'play' but with the added warning not to go into Badwell Woods. Of course anyone who has read a book with a premise like this will expect the kids will ignore this warning and go into the woods. Somewhere deep in the forest they find an old mansion. It looks neglected on the outside but the inside is very strange. There is even a container of ice which holds drinks but clearly no one is home. Then the door slams shut and the four of them are trapped. This house is full of tricks, puzzles and danger. These four children have to find a way to mend their relationships and solve a series of puzzles and yes, at times, it feels like their lives are really in danger. Along the way they meet a young ghost named Hypatia. It was her father who made all the traps and puzzles back in 1930. In subsequent years other kids have also been trapped in this house. Claude, Deliah, Amity and Sam meet two of them who have been stuck in the house for twenty years. The other kids have all disappeared.

Read an extract on the Chicken House webpage. Here is the very brief blurb: Deliah, Sam and Claude follow little sister Amity inside a mysterious mansion. But no sooner have they found her than the floor beneath their feet starts to twist and turn: the house rearranges itself like a giant Rubik's cube. To escape, they must solve the puzzle and the century-old mystery of a girl who disappeared ...

Reviewers liken this book to Jumanji and in fact that famous book is mentioned at one point. I did know all the kids would be safe but there are moments in this story where the dangers they encounter are truly terrifying. I suggest this book for readers aged 10+. Oh and these are modern kids from 2020 but conveniently they all have to leave their mobile phones at home. Sam smuggles his in his pocket but mysteriously it does not work in this strange house. 

A fabulous twist on a timeless haunted house adventure ... (It's) Scooby-Doo meets The Mysterious Benedict Society via Escape Room. Full of friendship, teamwork and logic versus instinct - all wrapped up in a book with thrills, heart and bags of atmosphere. Perfect for readers aged 9 and up. GLORIOUSLY SPOOKY AND UTTERLY SPLENDID.' Hana Tooke, author of The Unadoptables. Reading Zone

Emma Read's no holds barred use of descriptive language allows the reader to see, hear and even smell the malevolence of Manvers Hall. Many female readers will relate to the main character, Deliah; she loves maths and riddles but is often mocked and considered 'nerdy'. It's wonderful, therefore, that Deliah's penchant for puzzles is the group's salvation; a powerful embodiment of feminism and a strong reminder to be happy in the skin that you are in. Reading Zone

Here is the website for Emma Read.

Companion books:

Floors

Her Perilous Mansion

Small Change for Stuart

Out of the Wild Night

The Parker Inheritance

Escape from Mr Lemoncello's Library

The Great Fox Illusion

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Fixer of Broken Things by Julia Patton

Don't worry! Now we have spoken, I fix what is broken.

Beatrice Millicent Robinson is a fixer. She fixes a tiny precious clock with no tock; counting machine which is kaput; and an enormous mechanical elephant that has stopped stomping. Everyone knows Bea can fix anything. One day a spaceship arrives. No problem - Bea can fix this too. Then comes the twist.  She finds a small broken heart - how can this be mended?

Bookseller blurb: Bea is a fixer. She is the finest fixer, far and wide, and people bring her everything - from tiny sprockets to enormous rockets - because they know she'll have them working again in no time. One day, Bea finds a broken thing. It's very small and very sad, and try as hard as she might, she cannot fix it. Bea soon realises that not every problem has to be solved alone, and that talking to her friends is the answer she has been looking for.

Julia Patton is an author and illustrator of over 45 picture books. She works from a rustic woodshed in the wilds of Northumberland, UK with her husband and two boys. Love Reading 4 Kids

In an ironic twist - I accidentally spilled a small amount of water on this book - and NO it cannot be fixed not even by Bea. Luckily I have been able to order a brand new copy for the library.

Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

From the first page Peter Bunzl creates his alternate (Steampunk) world. Take at look at these text fragments:

"the silver airship"
"clockwork innards"
"the stench of burning has filled the fight deck"
"It's at least a day's journey from here, have you enough clicks?"

Clicks?  Wait a minute John Hartman is talking to a fox - isn't that surprising enough? Now we discover this fox is clockwork.

"Take your winder anyway.' John produced a tarnished key on a chain and hung it round the fox's neck, next to the pouch. 'Though heaven knows who'll wind you if I'm not here."

Malkin, the fox is now on the run. This was one of my favourite parts of this story. Malkin is carrying a message for John's daughter, Lily. This message is so urgent I think I almost held my breath through the first 160 pages of this book. Then tragedy strikes. Maklin is shot. He survives but the letter is badly damaged and almost impossible to read. Lily thinks her father is dead, she thinks Professor Silverfish can help her, and she knows she must hurry because some very evil men want to get their hands on her father's invention. Thank goodness she has two wonderful friends and of course Malkin to help her. This book is a wild ride with so many surprising twists.

Professor Hartman has made some remarkable mechs. I especially adore Mrs Rust - the housekeeper. She has a number replaceable hands perfect for every task - spatulas, spoons and a whisk for example. She also has such wonderful expressions and she adores Lily. Here are some of her funny expressions:

"Cogs and chronometers! My tiger-Lil's back!"

"Smokestacks and sprockets."

"Widgets and windscreen wipers."

"Stopwatches and spinning tops."

Peter Bunzl gives us wonderful descriptions of the evil men who are after Malkin and Lily and her friend Robert:

"A big fellow with ginger mutton-shop sideburns arrived carrying a steam-riffle. His body looked lumpen, like a sack of rocks He resembled a crusher ... his cheeks were as red as bulging blood sausages. But what made Robert gulp was the pair of silver mirrors screwed into the raw sockets of the man's eyes. Scars  emanated from them, criss-crossing his cheeks, and running up under the brim of his hat."

Cogheart is the first book in this series. I accidentally stumbled across a comment by Peter Bunzl about Steampunk which is a genre I really enjoy. His comment made me curious to read his books so I have begun with the first published in 2016 (it is actually Peter's first book) and I do hope to continue the series. You can see the three books above. I do like their covers and on the Cogheart website they have been animated. I hope we meet Mrs Rust in the next installment and perhaps gain further insights into the emotional sensibilities of the mechs created by the professor.


An extraordinary story, exceptionally written it truly is a future classic which will be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Book Lover Jo

You can read the prologue to Cogheart on the Usborne site. Peter Bunzl has some activities for each book on his website. Here is a set of discussion questions. Peter Bunzl answers five questions. Listen to Peter talk about his book on this podcast.

In an Australian classroom you might link this book with Mechanica and Aquatica. If you enjoy Cogheart, and I think you will,  I would recommend other Steampunk books such as Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve, Airborn by Kenneth Oppel and also the wonderful book Tin by Padraig Kenny.

Here is a display by a class in a UK school where they develop the idea of Mechanimals - Malkin, the fox for example, is a mechanimal.