At about the same time that everyone was reading about Harry Potter, Charlie Bone came upon the scene. This was great for librarians for multiple reasons. When children were waiting for the next Harry book or movie to come out and they wanted something similar to tide them over, Charlie was an option. Much like Harry, Charlie is endowed with a bit of magic – he can hear what is going on in pictures, paintings, photographs. Eventually, he even learns how to travel into the pictures. Because Charlie is identified as being endowed, he is sent to Bloor’s Academy where he meets other children who are different like himself. Think Hogwarts.
We quickly discovered another benefit of the Charlie Bone series. It is deceptively large. The books look every bit as thick as a Harry Potter tome; however, they are actually only about half as long due to line spacing. So here we had a series that we could recommend to younger siblings or reluctant readers who were not prepared to tackle Harry just yet.
We can also thank Ms. Nimmo because there are eight books in the series! One more than Harry has. And now, I am pleased to announce that she has begun a prequel of sorts!
I have read all eight of the Charlie Bone books. I’ve reviewed one which can be found here. Rereading the review, I find that I was disappointed. One of the reasons I mentioned for my disappointment was that I really wanted to get to know the Red King. There was always a lot of talk about the Red King. He sounded like an interesting character and yet he never appeared with any kind of solidity in the books. He is important because all of the children with endowments are descended from him. And yet, even they don’t know a whole lot about him.
And now, I have in my hand, a series about the Red King. YEA!! In book one of the series, we learn who the Red King is and where he came from. We learn about his parents and their secret kingdom. We even find out that he has a sister. The book explains how he became a magician and where is magic comes from.
Even better… we find out how the Flames, three cats named Aries, Leo and Sagittarius, were created.
And we discover where Harken, the bad guy, came from too!
My favorite part about this new series so far, is that it is more of a fantastical story. Charlie Bone was always grounded in the present much like Harry. They live in our world, but with a little bit of magic that goes a long way. The Red King’s land is clearly our world, but there are more fantastical creatures in it that make it seem otherworldly.
You can bet, I’ll be looking for book two!
Oh, and, before I forget, it is Charlie himself who is helping to write these Chronicles with his Uncle Paton. The Red King drew pictures in caves and Charlie can talk to him through the paintings! Clever.
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