The Highland Falcon Thief (Adventures on Trains, 1)

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The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have... This leads me to my other problem, which is that Lenny is basically a pointless character. She jumps to the Red Herring conclusion and then the kids have no other conversation about it being someone else, never look into anyone else. And then, she's separated from Hal at the integral point - never gets curious about the obvious clue she has access to (that Hal eventually uses to solve the mystery), which btw is *very* out of character for her. I expected her to have gone through everyone's luggage. Hal doesn't talk to her about his suspicions, he never consults her etc... He just swoops in, says "I know who did it, you'll see..." and then goes on to solve the case. The Super Miraculous Journey of Freddie Yateswritten by JennyPearson, illustrated by Rob Biddulph (Usborne)

After what seemed like forever, a copy arrived and jumped straight to the top of my reading queue! And deservedly so, it was great. I looked forward to getting to the illustrations, so I could see exactly what Hal was seeing. It was especially fun when he was drawing the other passengers. I felt like you could glean a better impression of their character through that. Adventures on Trains is a major mystery series for young readers, from bestselling authors M.G. Leonard and Sam Sedgman. Beautifully illustrated by Elisa Paganelli. Cum unchiul lui urma să fie la bordul Highland Falcon, un regal tren cu aburi pentru a scrie un jurnal de călătorie, Hall îl însoțește în acesta călătorie. I liked how his Uncle gave Hal the freedom to explore and enjoy the train on his own without hovering over him. That freedom gave Hal the confidence to interact with a lot of different people.As suspicions and accusations run high among the passengers, Harrison begins to investigate and uncovers a few surprises along the way. Can he solve the mystery of the jewel thief and catch the culprit before they reach the end of the line? Hear whispers in the dining car, find notes in the library, and unknown passengers among the luggage as you help Harrison to solve the mystery aboard one of the world's grandest trains. When Hal reluctantly accompanies his Uncle Nat on the final journey of the Highland Falcon, an iconic royal steam train, he is anticipating a dull, uneventful trip - but Lenny, the train driver’s daughter, is a huge rail enthusiast and has stowed away, determined not to miss the experience of a lifetime. The two new friends have great fun exploring the train and observing the passengers, including an eccentric Countess with her five boisterous dogs, a glamorous film star and guests of honour, the royal prince and his wife. Which takes me to the problems I had with the book. As much as I found the writing engaging and any time I set out to read one chapter I'd read six I felt like in the end the plotting let me down. This is a mystery plot that could have supported an adult novel (a thief is moving through the upper classes stealing jewelry and now they are on a train - jewelry starts going missing, is it the same thief? What are they on the train for?) I could definitely see the influence of Christie in the planning of the plot and setting here and kept having to remind myself this was a kids book and the plot couldn't get nearly as interesting as it would in her books. There are many high profile and super wealthy persons in this train and the women wears expensive jwellery. And one by one the jwellery starts disappearing.

Hal is going on a trip with his Uncle Nat while his mum goes into hospital to have a baby. He’s not happy about it all – partly because of worries and wanting to be there for his mum, but also because trains are BORING and the trip will be BORING…right? Sponsors Capita Reading Cloud have over 30 years’ experience providing innovative software for schools and colleges. Today they support thousands of schools worldwide with managing their libraries, engaging their students and promoting reading for pleasure. The Highland Falcon Thief is the first book in a brand new series - Adventures on Trains. I do like trains, and I like mysteries, and I like mysteries set on trains, so already I knew I was going to have fun with this one. And reader, I had so much fun! The Story of the Blue Planet, Andri Snær Magnason, Julian Meldon D’Arcy, (translator), Áslaug Jónsdóttir (Illustrator), (Pushkin Press)Ik ben blij dat ik dit boek heb gevonden bij de bibliotheek want mijn hemel wat was dit een heerlijk snel boek zeg. Spannend maar ook bergen treinen (ik hou van treinen, ik weet niet alle details van treinen zoals Oom Ben of Lenny, maar ik hou van naar treinen kijken, de details zien, de verschillende manieren hoe het werkt, en meer). Ik zou echt wel mee willen gaan in de trein, want wat een droom was dat zeg, een panoramawagen, een bibliotheek (met een geheimpje), en nog veel meer. Heerlijk hoe de schrijfster, of eigenlijk Alex, ons door de trein leidt en ons steeds weer iets nieuws laat ontdekken.

I have found that being involved in the UKLA judging process has reignited my enthusiasm and I have been so impressed by the diversity and richness of what is being written for young people. I have found powerful texts which really resonate and encourage the students I teach to explore new texts, or perhaps to rediscover the joy of reading”. Ruth Kidman Teacher Judge First stop is The Highland Falcon Thief, a breat hless train journey full of deceptions, puzzles and clues to solve. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on the next stops in this thrilling series, Kidnap on the California Comet, Murder on the Safari Star and Danger at Dead Man’s Pass. What makes reading this book even better are the illustrations. There are beautiful illustrations throughout the book.

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The story was perfectly crafted. I doubted every person on the train at least once, including characters that I thought could not have done it. The big reveal at the end took me completely by surprise, and I gasped on several occasions because of the information we found out. I loved the final scene, where Hal, our main character, reveals how he figured everything out. It felt very Hercule Poirot-esque, and I loved every second of it. I first heard of this series when Gavin, from How to Train Your Gavin on YouTube, mentioned it in a Book Haul video. I was instantly intrigued.

There are also specialist categories for Reluctant and Dyslexic Readers that can make a real difference to those who struggle with their reading. The Highland Falcon Thief can be read as a stand-alone novel, or enjoyed as part of the Adventures on Trains series. Join Hal and Uncle Nat on the next stops in this thrilling series, Kidnap on the California Comet and Murder on the Safari Star. Now is the Time for Running, Michael Williams, (Tamarind Books, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books)

Firstly, this book feels like a love song to all the train lovers. I do not like trains but you can tell from reading this book that the author truly loves trains, passionately. By the end of this book, even I fell in love with trains just by reading this book. 😂 This is such a lot of fun. I went into The Highland Falcon Thief thinking well, I am ancient and absolutely have no interest whatsoever in trains, and I came out and realised that I loved it. There is a scene, for example, where they fill up the train with water (this is a thing!) and it is pretty much one of the best scenes I have read for a long while. It's breathless, visceral and genuinely good storytelling - and one that actually made me look up steam-trains on Youtube for the first time in ever. I also found the characters really interesting. Hal starts the journey as quite an anxious, timid boy. He's worried about his mum having a baby, and he's shy around this group of eccentric adults. However, through the course of the story and with his determination to solve the mystery he overcomes this shyness to climb moving trains, speak to a room full of adults, and hopefully solve a crime. His uncle Nat is the strong guiding hand that Hal needs, ever present yet always calm and collected. And Lenny is the daredevil, the companion to bring out the brave in Hal. They all work so well together. The first book in the Adventures on Trains series - The Highland Falcon Thief - was published in 2020 and went on to win multiple awards including Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Then Hal spots her. A girl that shouldn't be there; a stowaway. Who is she and what is she doing here?