Fun and Educational Kids' Story
★★★★★
· Review provided by
koorong.com ·
May 22, 2012Fourteen-year-old twins Linus and Ophelia Easterday have been left to live with their aunt and uncle while their parents go on a five-year research trip. While exploring the old house they are now living in, Linus and Ophelia find a hidden attic filled with the belongings of the mysterious Cato, who used to own the house before he simply disappeared one day. The attic has a lot of strange books and bottles, and a large circle has been drawn on the floor. An 'accident' with a magic circle brings the fictional Quasimodo out of the classic Victor Hugo novel and into the Real World.\r\n\r\nI enjoyed Facing the Hunchback of Notre Dame for what it was: a fun adventure story for 8-12 year olds, with a little classic literature and a few thoughts on good writing thrown in for educational value. It would be a good book for reading aloud, and I can see it fitting well into a home schooling curriculum. There is even the odd interjection for the sake of the parents, and the humour, combined with the distinctive voice of the narrator (Bartholomew Inkster, janitor at Kingscross University) reminded me of Roald Dahl. \r\n\r\nThanks to Zonderkidz and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.\r\n