The Clockwork Crow

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Short but perfectly formed, this is a magical and atmospheric pair of books, with elements of classic children’s stories, traditional oral tale telling, and a dose of humour too. Wonderful – and a perfect December read! Together, they set off to solve the riddle of Plas-y-Fran, facing many perils and challenges as they go. Catherine Fisher was born in Newport, Wales. She graduated from the University of Wales with a degree in English and a fascination for myth and history. She has worked in education and archaeology and as a lecturer in creative writing at the University of Glamorgan. She is a Fellow of the Welsh Academy. When Captain Arthur Jones, her dead father’s best friend, calls on her to come and live with his family in his grand mansion Plas-y Fran in Wales, she dreams of finally having a family because Captain Jones has a wife little boy, Tomos. However, Seren’s daydreams of a magical Christmas with her new family are shattered almost at once: Tomos is missing, the Captain and his grieving wife have fled to London, and no one wants to tell Seren about the mysterious nursery in the attic or the unearthly bell that rings in the middle of the night. In fact, her only friend now is a motheaten mechanical crow, dumped on her by a mysterious stranger at the train station. Stellas neues Zuhause ist ein dunkler, kalter Landsitz, der inmitten einer winterlichen Landschaft abgeschieden liegt. Es ist unheimlich und die Haushälterin ist eine wenig zugängliche strenge Frau.

The Perilous Gard*, one of our favorite classic YA novels, also delves into the folklore of the western British Isles. Once all the metal bits are in place, Seren winds up the mechanical bird, and to her utter surprise, the crow comes alive, starts to flap about, and cries out for oil.There are a total of 100 SMART Notebook screens (in one file) and each lesson is clearly marked, along with details about which lesson chapters should be read, to aid and link to the learning. Full of deep fairytale resonance, Fisher’s writing stands out in the mind’s eye like blood drops on snow.’ Catherine Fisher has turned out yet another magical mystery that will keep readers guessing right until the end. The Midnight Swan is well-paced and will keep readers in that uncomfortable yet exciting place, shrouded in mystery and suspense and with just the right amount of spooky. There was definitely some character growth for both the Crow and Seren and the ending was well done. Several of the other characters (Captain Jones, Denzil and Lady Mair) haven't changed much and do still feel rather two-dimensional.

For something a little different and that has just been published this year, Sibéal Pounder’s Tinsel: The Girls Who Invented Christmasre-evaluates how we think of the Santa story and how, for all this time, we might have been getting it just a bit wrong... So prepare for a truly funny, fresh, fizzing and feminist celebration of the true story of Mrs Claus and how its two formidable female protagonists bring this sparkling story to life. The first half of the book serves up the creepy elements – the forbidden room that Seren is told never to enter, a past tragedy, shadowy corridors and sinister servants – that are essential elements of any good Gothic novel. Nach zwölf Jahren im Waisenhaus wurde Stella von ihrer Großtante Grace aufgenommen. Als diese verstirbt, muss Stella sich ihren Zukunftssorgen stellen. Doch auf der Beerdigung der Großtante sucht ein Rechtsanwalt den Kontakt zu dem Mädchen. Er überreicht ihr einen Brief von Stellas Taufpaten, Captain Arthur Jones und seine Frau Lady Mair. Das Paar hat sich in diesem bereiterklärt, nach Graces Versterben Stella bei sich aufzunehmen.

About Catherine Fisher

Catherine Fisher has a way of writing children’s/teen books that is just engrossing. I never want to put them down! I wish more of her works were released in North America. These books are beautifully written with detailed descriptions that make it easy to envisage a country manor house in Wales 100 or so years ago. You can tell that the author knows a lot about the myths and legends from this area and as always the Fair Folk and their magic seems beautiful but with an undercurrent of cruelty and fear. So why has she been brought to the house – and does the talking bird have anything to do with Tomos’ disappearance? Woven within the tale are strong messages about friendship, family, belonging, empathy and resilience. Many of these messages come out through the actions of Seren and the choices that she makes.

Seren has never been loved and cherished; first as an orphan in an institutional orphanage and then when living with a bedridden relative, she has always been neglected and mostly ignored. But the mechanical bird is put to one side for the moment when Seren discovers that Tomos has gone missing and that his parents have moved away from the house to deal with their tragic loss. A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth.The tone changes when Seren and her crow companion turn detective to solve the mystery of Tomos’ disappearance, and now Fisher throws in a supernatural twist that takes the plot in a different direction. Young Seren Rhys stands on the cusp of a new life. Unfortunately for her, the train to her new life is late.