Most Wanted by Kate Thompson (Greenwillow Books, 2010) Nominated for the Cybils by Anamaria Anderson. (All opinions are my own, and are not meant to reflect those of the entire panel.)
Interested in ancient history? The civilizations of Greece or Rome or Egypt? Then you'll enjoy this tautly written tale.
From the flap copy: While making his daily deliveries, a baker's son suddenly finds himself holding a stallion's golden lead. Soon the boy discovers that this isn't just any horse. It's the most powerful creature in all of Rome. What will the mad Emperor do if he finds the boy with his prized horse? Cut off his head? Or worse?
As you can see, this is a plot-driven story. Cleanly written, it moves fast and also has some energetic artwork that really works well with the narrative. It would be perfect for a 2-4th grader who enjoys action, horses, and history.
The author, Kate Thompson, lives in Ireland and is a prolific writer. I enjoyed my visit to her website.
Have a marvelous middle grade Monday, everyone!!
Don Vito: "You're not middle anything. You're top grade. Top grade, you hear me? Anybody else call you this middle thing, and I bust some knee caps. Capice?"
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
This is going over really well with my 7th graders studying Rome. I bought two copies, and they are never on the shelf!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad someone is taking the Greek/Roman lead and writing it for younger children. Sounds like a great read. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun read for younger middle grade readers. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteI think my son would like this one. Thanks for the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I think my son AND daughter would both enjoy this one. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, I love Kate Thompson's other books (The New Policeman, etc), but haven't read this one yet. Funny, it seems to be called WANTED in the UK, not MOST WANTED. I'm not surprised to hear it's cleanly written -- she's an amazing writer!
ReplyDelete