Tempest and Thomas are captured by a sorcerer who wants their magic, magic the two children didn’t even know they had. Set in 1726 we meet a world fascinated by magic.

I took this on holiday and I spent some lovely time sitting in the garden in the world of Tempest and Thomas. The reviews were amazing. I decided to order a copy for the school library, and as soon as it came I popped it in my bag and took it home. When it was announced that there was a new MG book I knew I needed to read it. The illustrations bring the book to life, as always you can see the pictures in your mind, but to have the illustrations brings the characters to life. You are able to invest more in these characters, and you are able to recall more information about them. There were only a few characters in this book, which I always enjoy more. To make matters worse I even brought a chess book for kids home from my library, but even that didn’t help! I have tried to learn to play chess before but I couldn’t get the hang of it. Using the Clockwork Queen they hatch a plan to rescue her father using chess as their secret weapon.Īs a non chess player I found this idea a really interesting concept. After he is imprisoned by Catherine the Great, a ruler from the seventh century Sophie joins forces with friends to rescue her dad. In this book Sophie has inherited the love of chess from her father. This is based on the true story of a machine called The Mechanical Turk.

Books by peter bunzl