LoveReading4Kids Says
You can absolutely guarantee that any new Frank Cottrell Boyce adventure will keep you and the young readers you give it to, absolutely entranced until the last page.
He has performed his writing magic ever since his Carnegie medal winning Millions first appeared and real magic, the sort practised by magicians, is at the heart of this story. The protagonists are cousins Nathan and Middy who share an obsession with magicians.
Middy is all about practising her skills and Nathan is the born showman and together they are the Wonder Brothers (don’t ask!). Older cousin Brodie is supposed to be looking after them, but all he cares about is his giant rabbit, Queenie, who turns out to be the real star of the show. Together they are on the track of the Blackpool Tower, gone missing since superstar magician Perplexion’s last ever show there.
Alternatively narrated by the cousins and the world-weary Las Vegas Police captain trying to find out how and why they are alone in Las Vegas, this is a story that genuinely has you suspending disbelief amidst the laughter. Full of wonder and fascinating facts and stories about magic and brim full of brilliant characters that you are reluctant to leave, this is masterful storytelling. Steven Lenton weaves his own magic with the illustrations to complete this perfect treat.
Reviewed by Joy CourtJoy Court is co – founder of All Around Reading, having previously managed the Schools Library Service in Coventry, where she established the Coventry Inspiration Book Awards and…
More reviews by Joy Court About The Wonder Brothers
‘Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you don’t believe in magic. I bet you will by the time you’ve heard what happened to us.’
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The Wonder Brothers Synopsis
‘Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you don’t believe in magic. I bet you will by the time you’ve heard what happened to us.’
Cousins Middy and Nathan love magic. The on-stage, cape-swirling, bunny-out-of-a-hat kind.
For Middy, it’s all about patience and practice. She uses magic skills to help her out of tricky situations.
Nathan is a show-off and a total danger magnet, he is drawn to the sensation, spectacle and audience.
So when the famous Blackpool Tower dramatically vanishes the night of the Grand Lights Switch-On, showman Nathan announces live on TV that they will magic it back home.
With a stick of rock, a spangly cape, and a bit of misdirection, they end up lost in Las Vegas, home to the grand master of illusion, Perplexion, ‘Legend of Magic’.
Full of tricks, twists and deceptions, the delightful Nathan and Middy will keep you guessing until the very end.
About This Edition
| ISBN: |
9781529048308 |
| Publication date: |
20th July 2023 |
| Author: |
Frank Cottrell-Boyce |
| Illustrator: |
Steven Lenton |
| Publisher: |
Macmillan Children's Books an imprint of Pan Macmillan |
| Format: |
Hardback |
| Pagination: |
263 pages |
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About Frank Cottrell-Boyce
Waterstones Children’s Laureate 2024–2026
A World Book Day Author 2019
Frank Cottrell-Boyce is an accomplished, successful and award-winning author and screenwriter. His books have been shortlisted for a multitude of prizes, including the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Whitbread Children's Fiction Award (now the Costa Book Award) and the Roald Dahl Funny Prize and Millions, his debut children's novel, won the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2004.
Millions was was later turned into a film by Danny Boyle and it features in the Book Trust’s 100 Best Books List for 9-11 year olds.
Frank is also a successful writer of film scripts and was the official scriptwriter for the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Olympics, playing an important role devising the ceremony with Danny Boyle. He is also a judge for the BBC Radio 2 500 Words competition. You can read a great interview with Frank and one of his fellow judge, Francesca Simon here!
He has also created a fantastic trilogy, written with his trademark wit, warmth and sense of story, based upon Ian Fleming's novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, comprising Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Flies Again, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon.
His novel The Unforgotten Coat won the 2012 Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
On winning the prize Frank Cottrell-Boyce said: “It would be amazing to win this award with any book I'd written but it is a special joy to win it with The Unforgotten Coat, which started life not as a published book at all, but as a gift. Walker gave away thousands of copies in Liverpool - on buses, at ferry terminals, through schools, prisons and hospitals - to help promote the mighty Reader Organisation. We even had the book launch on a train. The photographs in the book, were created by my friends and neighbours - Carl Hunter and Claire Heaney. The story was based on a real incident in a school in Bootle. So everything about it comes from very close to home - even though it's a story about Xanadu!
“Being shortlisted for the Guardian Prize gives you a particularly warm glow because it is awarded by a panel of your fellow authors. Past winners include my childhood heroes - Alan Garner, Leon Garfield, Joan Aiken - and contemporary heroes like Mark Haddon, Geraldine McCaughrean and Meg Rosoff.”
He lives with his family in Liverpool.
Read our feature In conversation with Frank Cottrell-Boyce, the new Waterstones Children's Laureate for 2024-26
You can find out a bit more about him and his Chitty Chitty Bang Bang triology at uk.chittyfliesagain.com
More About Frank Cottrell-Boyce
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