It's hard not to like a book in which one of the main characters is a talking toothpick!
Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo is the first in the Leven Thumps series, of which there are now 3 books + a companion (as is oh-so-trendy these days). This is a typical fantasy book, with classic elements: an orphaned boy living a miserable life who suddenly finds he has to save the world; magical sidekicks; a villain to defeat; and, yes, a talking toothpick.
Leven Thumps is exciting from the get-go, and it never really lags. I would have loved this book as a child, but as an adult I kept having to tell myself to quit being so analytical. There were scenes that seemed to have been added purely for comedic value that I started to find distracting by the end.
Any fans of Harry Potter will likely enjoy Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo. I've read a couple of chapters to my kids at bedtime and they both seemed to enjoy them. We'll probably read the entire book for bedtime once we finish the Spiderwick Chronicles (which I'll write about after we've finished all 5 books).
4 comments:
Somer,
I felt the same way about Leven Thumps. It reminded me a little of Lemony Snicket books with all of the little asides and jokes. It wasn't exactly my style, although I did enjoy the story. But my 7 and 10 year-old sons loved it. I think the 4th (and last?) book in the series is coming out this fall.
I've also heard the author has another book coming out this summer that is not realted to the Leven Thumps series, but don't know any details.
I'm glad to know it wasn't just me. I do plan to read the others, I think, but we'll probably do them as bedtime reads, which I think helps with suspending the "adult" mindset, if you know what I mean. I'm interested to see what the non-Leven Thumps book will be like! I love Obert Skye's use of words.
Good point. Reading to my kids at night is still one of my favorite things. Even though they are all big enough to read to themselves now.
Mine are 9 and 11 and we still read at bedtime every night, with no signs of stopping yet! :-)
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