Malamander (An Eerie-on-Sea Mystery)

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Damned is used occasionally. For example, Eels says, “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that bleeding-heart Peter stand in my way, even from beyond the grave.” Eels uses the egg to replace Captain K’s hook with a “red crab pincer” and then turns the malamander body into multiple sea creatures. “Captain Kraken’s body trembles and ripples, then collapses into a mass of squid and jellyfish and sea slime.” Herbie says, “I need to get some work done, or Mollusc will have me stewed and served up as today’s special.”

We’ve had the pleasure of working with Thomas in our short story “No Man’s Land’ and we are pleased to have created resources for his AMAZING book Malamander.

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In Eels’ house, Herbie sees “an empty bottle of whiskey” on the floor near Violet. She insists she did not drink it and asks him, “Do you think I drink whiskey?” A man has a “large iron boat hook, ending in a long gleaming spike” for a hand. He is called “Boat Hook Man.” Herbie explains that the rumor is that the diner owner “came here as a young man and saw a mermaid from the end of the pier. Heard her sing. No one ever recovers from that.”

I would have liked to see more determination and better decision making in the main characters; however, all the characters in general are funny and interesting. While eating at the diner, Herbie notes, “Outside, where the sea mist is gathering, someone screams.” Herbie and Violet see Boat Hook Man head for the beach, “his long, hooked spike dangling like a weapon.” However, they never find out where he was going, because instead they find Mrs. Fossil, a townsperson, “clutching one arm and sobbing with pain.” Her clothes are “torn to shreds” and “there are angry red marks on her skin.” She had been bit by something with what she calls “teeth like needles.” She passes out. Captain K, also known as Boat Hook Man, wished to “live forever” and the egg granted that wish. The egg responds, “But if you lose [the egg], your wish shall become your curse.” Captain K’s “wounds closed up as soon as they opened, and his injuries healed.” Your KS2 class will read the chapter, The Grand Nautilus Hotel and answer the following questions about the characters. Don’t be shy about asking someone to read your story, if you aren’t sure about something. Writing is meant to be read, so involving readers while you are still writing can really help.Mrs. Fossil receives treatment for her wound and reports that she “can already move [her] fingers again.”

Eels tells Boat Hook Man, “It’s not my fault you didn’t have the wit or the will to use the egg properly.” We have differentiated this resource to cater for both Year 5 and Year 6 classes and categorised the questions.

Twelve-year-old twins Maudie and Arthur’s world comes crashing in when their explorer dad is reported dead in his mission to get to South Polaris, and they race to restore the family name.A real edge-of-your-seat Victoriana romp. It just needs space. It’s a wild animal, after all, and like any wild animal, it just wants to be left alone." Violet’s history becomes a large part of the story. She was “found abandoned” as a baby. Her parents left behind only “two pairs of shoes . . . left neatly on the harbor wall.” There were also “footprints in the sand, leading from the harbor wall to the sea.”