Blog Tour, Give Away, and Review: The Magic Warble by Victoria Simcox

 

Book Stats:

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Paperback: 276 pages

Publisher: Two Harbors Press (January 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1935097172

ISBN-13: 978-1935097174

Genre: Children’s Fantasy

Review by Shellie:

Kristina is a smart girl on the verge of being a teenager, but is essentially still a child. She is slightly awkward, wearing mismatched socks and a bit of an outcast at school. Her best friend is her rat, Raymond.

On the last day of school before Christmas vacation her teacher gives her a mysterious present – an unusual and light filled globe. She dismisses it until she falls into another realm through her family’s laundry shoot. There she discovers that she is in fact in the possession of a “Magic Warble”. It will save this fantastic realm from a very evil and heartless queen and she alone is responsible for replacing it in its rightful spot.

As the story enfolds Kristina will be helped and hindered by others on her journey. These characters are a displaced prince, a jealous fairy, misguided gnomes, conflicted dwarves, talking animals, monsters with horrible breath, and some of the friends whom at school view her as a wall flower - whom have also been pulled magically into this world.

This Magic Warble is a sweet introduction to fantasy for preteens and younger, especially girls. I can see a young person enjoying it by either reading it themselves or having it read to them. There are pictures strategically placed within the writing which is good for a younger reader helping them visualize.The language is mild and easy to follow. There is only a slight amount of violence, a few clichés, and one generalization that I noted about women mentioned. The main message is clearly of a moral nature, and the author succeeds in supporting the belief that faith is important. It is a lovely and mostly light story. I give The Magic Warble 3.5 stars.

For more information on The Magic Warble and Victoria Simcox please see Layers of Thought’s Preview for the book.

Amazon purchasing links are as follows US/UK/Canada and for The Book Depository in Euros.

Now for the Give Away!

Contest Info:

To enter you must:

• be a subscriber of Layers of Thought – google or facebook
• comment
• include in the post your email so that I can contact you

You can do none, any, or all of the below for 1 extra entry point each. All entries may be included in one single comment. Good Luck!

1. Blog it - side bars are great - please provide links
2. Tweet it  – provide links please
3. Friend on Twitter
4. Friend on Goodreads
5. Friend on Book Blogs
6. Friend on Glue  - new to glue? have questions? let me know.

This giveaway is International. Contest ends Sunday January 10, 2010 at 12 pm US Pacific time. Winner will be posted on Monday January 11, 2010. Thanks for entering!