#TuesdayBookBlog Monkfish Maggie and the Bungalow Stairs #Childrens #RBRT

 

 

Author: Catchphrase Dan, Illustrated by Berg Norcross

Category: Children’s Fiction

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Review:

Not your traditional children’s story but Monkfish Maggie and the Bungalow Stairs has a certain unique charm that captivates the reader.

The illustrations are beautiful and flow very well with the story; my favourite has to be ‘The End’ piece with the weathervane.

Maggie is not a child protagonist, as is normally the case in children’s fiction. Maggie is, in fact, a seventy-year-old pensioner with a passion for gardening. Her husband, Nesbitt, is her soul mate, and it’s his unexpected disappearance that starts Maggie’s journey to rescue him.

I liked her fiery spirit and determination; she sets a fine example for any child reading this book that perseverance is a good thing.

There is a light humour running through the book that will amuse children and appeal to any adult audience who might be reading along with their child. Catchphrase Dan has a certain way with words that will charm his target audience. My favourite has to be ‘hornswoggled’ and I intend to use it in a sentence every day from now on.

From an adult’s point of view, I chuckled my way through this book and stopped to appreciate the illustrations. A beautifully quirky tale that will appeal to young and old alike.

I received a copy of this book from Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

“Maggie stepped forward and rubbed her eyes in disbelief – how was this possible? A giant stone staircase stood in front of her, climbing high up through an ugly hole that had appeared in the ceiling. Maggie strained her eyes and looked for the end of the staircase, but it climbed and climbed into the darkness of the loft.”

When Maggie returns home from the market one spectacularly normal day, two things in particular strike her as strange.

• Firstly, a rather peculiar set of stairs have sprouted from her otherwise stairless bungalow.
• Secondly, and probably most concerning of all, her husband Nesbitt is nowhere to be found…

Where is Nesbitt? Why have these extraordinary stairs appeared – and more importantly, what lies beyond them? Evil? Good? Monsters? Head lice?!

Join Maggie as she searches low, high and even higher for Nesbitt, in an intriguing debut adventure that will captivate children and adults alike.

Love stairs? This story is for you!

Hate stairs? It’s for you as well!

Don’t care either way? Me neither – have yourself a read!

Written by CatchphraseDan and bursting with over 50 enchanting illustrations by the mystical Berg Norcross, Monkfish Maggie and the Bungalow Stairs will dunk you deep into a barrel of mystery and then wring you dry like a limp blue flannel. Sit yourself down and open your mind hole, because this story is coming at you…

…Now!