Pages & Co: Tilly and the Bookwanderers

Author: Anna James Illustrator: Paola Escobar Publisher: HarperCollins Children’s Books ISBN: 9780008229863

THERE is nothing quite like getting into the thick of things in a good book – unless it is quite literally getting into the thick of things in a good book.

And I’m not talking about an overactive imagination either. I’m talking about certain people’s special ability to enter into the story physically. Now, wouldn’t that be cool?

Welcome to Pages & Co, a bookshop owned by Tilly Pages’ grandparents. She is raised by them after her father’s death and her mother’s mysterious disappearance.

The lonely orphan finds comfort in her many books. Of course, she never expected her favourite characters to suddenly appear in the flesh in her gransparents’ shop.

Until one day, first Anne of Green Gables, and then Alice from Wonderland come to visit, and Tilly’s bookish adventures became very real.

Not only does Tilly discover that she can follow Anne and Alice into their thrilling worlds, but she also realises that she can actually enter into any story she chooses.

As she learns about how special her grandparents are and her own unique background, Tilly is determined to use her new-found ability – called bookwandering – to help solve the mystery of what happened to her mother. But danger may be lurking on the very next page ...

This is the author’s debut novel about the magic of books and the power of imagination, and it is definitely intriguing enough to keep the young ones entertained. – K.K. Wong