I am not usually ‘into’ children’s books, probably because i haven’t been a child for a long time! Since coming into the book selling trade i have heard lots of similarities drawn between new ‘Christian’ childrens books and stuff like Harry Potter, this ALWAYS bugs me! So it is cool to see & have read something that stands alone as a great book, by a great author without those comparisons being made.
G. P. TAYLOR is the author of the best-selling novels Shadowmancer and Wormwood, which to my shame i have not read! tut tut! Before taking up writing full-time, he was an Anglican minister in the village of Cloughton, North Yorkshire. His books have sold over three million copies worldwide. Thats the author, what about this book?
Firstly, i love how it looks, the artwork is superb and the novel/graphic novel combination works really well. In a nutshell the book is about three children: mischievous identical twins Sadie and Saskia Dopple, who live in an orphanage, and Erik Morrissey Ganger, a boy who works in the orphanage. The twins are separated when Saskia is adopted by Muzz Elliot, a wealthy woman who is at the center of a murderous plot, and long-lost family treasure. Sadie and Erik run away from the orphanage on a quest to find Saskia, who has discovered the murder plot and is trying to stop it. “Faced with madmen, wild dogs, treasure seekers, and an otherworldly visitor with a secret message, the trio must decide who to trust—and what to believe—if they are to survive long enough to find each other again.”
All in all this is a great book, and while its aimed at the juvenile market ie: 10-14 ish, i would say it will appeal to a much wider audience. Check out the official website here.
The UK publisher & distributor for the book is Authentic media who i have mentioned on my blog before. From time to time i will mention or review products and not tell you where to buy them, so as not to cause any conflict of interest with my employer. The purpose here is to let you know about a great product within the ‘Christian’ market and make you aware that there are publishers out there like Authentic who are working hard to get the best books, music & resources for the ‘Church’ into our hands.
Stay tuned for more of this kind of thing, i genuinely am excited about some of the stuff i have to tell you about soon!
I read Shadowmancer a while ago, thought it was excellent! Although this one’s for kids i might take a look; sounds like a good story.
I was listening Russel Moore the other day ask Justin Taylor about Christian fiction. Taylor responded with something i thought was brilliant. We need to be sure that we get more excited about Jesus than the characters & story in fiction.
Its great to enjoy a good story, but Jesus ought to be better.