The Bookwanderers

The Bookwanderers  

Anna James
Philomel/Penguin, 2019 304 pages
Grades 3-6

Fantasy
Pages & Co. series

Tilly lives above Pages & Co., the bookstore that her grandparents own and operate. Her mother disappeared a long time ago and she has no knowledge of her father. One day, while wandering through the book store, she meets a friendly girl with red hair. Could it really be Anne of Green Gables? Next she meets Alice, of Wonderland fame. What is happening? It turns out that she, as well as the rest of her family, are Bookwanderers, folks that can travel between the pagers of books. Naturally, Tilly can't wait to jump into the pages of some of her favorite tales. Anne takes both Tilly and her friend Oskar into her story and the two kids begin their journey. Once back and their talent discovered, they must learn the rules, as book wandering is dangerous. A whole bookwandering underground is revealed and Tillly and Oskar are welcomed into the secret society. As they perfect their skills, they fall into dangerous situations, evil librarians, and family secrets. The truth behind Tilly's mother--and even her father—come to light as the friends ask the right questions and jump into perilous situations and unstable stories. 

 A bibliophiles dream, this new series from across the pond will have the imaginations soaring of book nerds everywhere. Who wouldn't want to travel into their favorite books? It is impossible to read this titles and not spend some time thinking about what book you would wander into. James picks classics, which, though maybe not a modern kid’s first choice, may bring readers to the originals. Tilly and Oskar are likable characters with non-traditional families, to whom many readers will relate. The setting is contemporary, yet reading it has an old fashioned, comfortable feeling, similar to sitting by a cozy fire with a mug of hot chocolate. The story contains mystery within the magic, as the friends discover the whereabouts of Tilly's mother and uncover the truth behind the evil librarian. The evil librarian's reveal scene was of Scooby-Doo proportion and will offer readers closure with no dangling threads. Luckily, though, Tilly and Oskar's adventures continue in two subsequent volumes, one released in May and the other to arrive next week. The perfect tale for book lovers everywhere, hand this one to fans of The Land of Stories and The Book Scavenger.