Magical Mischief [Paperback]

Anna Dale (Author)

Book Description

Hardbattle Books is no ordinary bookshop. Magic has settled there in every corner and over the years has brought chaos to Mr Hardbattle's life and driven away most of his customers. His livelihood threatened, Mr Hardbattle is finally forced to take action. Together, Mr Hardbattle, the resourceful and down-to-earth Arthur and Miss Quint embark upon a quest to find a new home for the magic.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Anna Dale: 'The writing is fresh and vivid, with many humorous touches' The Children's Bookseller 'Dale nimbly ties together the spidery threads of the story in a beguiling denouement' Publisher's Weekly Praise for Spellbound: 'I was reminded of two other distinguished writers as I read this - Enid Blyton and C.S. Lewis. The story has that same magical edge about it, with its well-formed imaginary creatures and their world ... [it] would work well as a bedtime story or as a book for a pre-teen to read by themselves' Thebookbag.co.uk Praise for Magical Mischief: 'Reminiscent of the work of classic authors such as Enid Blyton, E. Nesbitt and Mary Norten; Anna Dale's books are full of warmth and humour ... A fantastical tale full of wonder, it's sure to appeal to pre-teen independent bookworms as well as younger readers who enjoy sharing a book at bedtime' Aldershot News & Mail

About the Author

This is Anna Dale's fourth book for Bloomsbury. Whispering to Witches, her first book, sold in twenty-five languages. Anna Dale lives in Southampton.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books (June 7, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1408800438
• ISBN-13: 978-1408800430
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,486,297 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Magical Mischief, Anna Dale, September 21, 2010

By 

Tom Hampstead "Tom" (Sunshine Coast, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magical Mischief (Paperback)

Magical Mischief
By Anna Dale

Book Review:

Anna Dale is not new to magic. She has already published two other books "Whispering to Witches" and "Spellbound" and this substantial novel will increase her reputation in this subject area. Anna gets into the story early and in the first two pages we are presented with Mr Hardbattle's dilemma. His bookshop stinks! Of course there is no shortage of opinion about what he should do to overcome the problem and he consulted a lady who is an expert in handling magical issues. Mrs Trinket gave him some advice but the thing which had most effect on Mr Hardbattle was her statement that this magic has had a hard deal at his shop and this could be why it is playing up. This statement he took to heart and he started to make friends of the magic.
The book has a style that is fun to read. The plot moves quickly and the reader is presented with new situations, new people, different opinions and all of these of course, have new things for the Bookshop Proprietor to consider and deal with.
The plot thickens when Arthur, who appears to be a magic junkie, enters the scene and is given the task of relocating the magic but this job is much harder than Arthur thinks and he has to work with Lady and Lord Smythe-Hughes to solve the problem. Magical Mischief is located in England and carries with it the customs of that country and the quirks of the English get a good airing.
I have given this book 4 stars. Most children will enjoy it but it will have special appeal to those interested in England and those who like to get their teeth into a good "kids novel".

Reviewed by Tom Hampstead author of the soon to be published "The Kingdom of the Two Great Houses"