Blog Tour stop for this magical and immersive adventure for young children
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"After all. Donkey's can't talk! can they?..."
Synopsis
Kim and Leon live on a farm in Suffolk, England.
Kim is a schoolboy and Leon is his pet donkey.
A rainy day encounter leads them on an adventure far away in Africa.
Along the way there are dangers, and fears about who can be trusted.
There is also the threatening presence of a slave ship, looming in the bay.
Who can be trusted? Is there a way back?
Barnaby Allen has managed to combine a beautifully written story of suspense with an immersion in history. In addition the book comes with tasks of writing, acting and drawing - including that of designing the cover. These can be used for private pleasure or for a shared reading of the book within a class. Happy reading!
My Review
My boys and I were very lucky book reviewers when this tale landed as we had been sent two books!
One was the "easy read" version of this book and the other the standard version, but even more intriguing the standard version came with a blank cover!
A quick read later and I realise that the author has not only written a delightful story for young children he has also created an almost full immersive adventure that readers can take.
The standard cover is left blank for the children to create and colour there own for the book, inside each version almost every chapter has pages that ask the reader a questions and invite them to write draw or create art in the space provided.
In this story we meet Kim who is very board in the school holidays, when one day he discovers that a donkey named Leon on his parents farm can talk! not only that the magical Leon can fly! and he offers to take Kim on his travels.
From Suffolk to Africa we are involved with Kim and Leon's adventures with pirates and slave traders, on beaches, ships and through the jungle, this delightful read not only offers adventure but even more fun as you undertake each little activity.
Through this book we wrote letters to Kim, drew Donkey ears, made up a quiz, examined facts, and designed African jewellery.
This book is a fun and engaging read for any young child but this book I think would work perfectly in a class room, and teachers looking for a book that the whole class can get involved in, look no further!
We all enjoyed our time reading and creating with Kim and Leon, we used one book in our house and the other is been past to my youngest son's class so they can take part in this magical adventure too!
Author Bio
Barnaby Allen was born in Suva Fiji, as his father was working there for the British Crown.
He was introduced to literature by his mother, who liked to recite poetry and had a gift of telling engaging stories.
As an adult Barnaby Allen worked in education in several countries mostly teaching English.
He loved travel, classical music, discussions, current affairs, Pacific affairs, family, good food and board games.
Barnaby’s children also had the benefit of Barnaby telling stories to them and making the characters come alive with acting out different roles.
Purchase Links
Blog Tour
Thank you to the Publisher and Author for sending me an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this novel and for the opportunity to review these works.
All reviews are my own unbiased opinion.