A Clock of Stars: The Shadow Moth

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Miro is the prince in the world they come to and he becomes a more major character as time goes. I enjoyed seeing him but I do think he and the sisters are a little simple at times, likely because it’s aimed at children, and they come across a little two dimensional at moments. I would have liked a little more thought and depth on them, but I did like their blossoming friendships. The fight won’t really go on for too long and after dealing a bit of damage, we’ll be at the end of the fight/ J’ai adoré l’univers et les personnages qui pour le coup ont chacun leur propre caractère et surtout leurs défauts!

Daarnaast gaan ze zich ongelooflijk kunnen herkennen in de hoofdpersonages, twee jonge zusjes die dankzij de schaduwmot terecht komen in een wonderlijke wereld. Welk kind droomt er nu niet van een magisch avontuur, ook al betekent dat dat het af en toe een beetje gevaarlijke wordt? En welk kind herkent het nu niet dat je af en toe je zus (of broer) wel achter het behang zou willen plakken (tot je samen een spannend avontuur beleeft, natuurlijk)? The characters are slightly underwhelming however they have grown from the previous book which made me start to like them, although the jury is still out on Imogen. Miro's character development was the best. It gained a lot of layers with the addition of royal schemes, horrifying monsters, and the nitty gritty of adventuring.Contrary to popular belief, the Big Dipper is not a constellation but asterism – which is a pattern of stars recognizable to observers from Earth. Asterisms may or may not be part of a constellation. Some asterisms like the Diamond of Virgo, also known as the Great Diamond, are made up of stars from different constellations.

Could the monsters, that descend on the city each night, be terribly misunderstood?Could the king have a dark secret that’s destroying the kingdom?Strangest of all, can little sisters sometimes be useful? The story begins with a little girl, called Imogen, who follows a moth into another world. The place she discovers is populated by monsters and bears and a prince who lives in a tower.But Imogen is followed too… by her annoying little sister. Before she gets home, Imogen must learn to sort the truths from the myths and the outright lies.

Hailed as "the arrival of a modern classic", the synopsis reads: "As the irrepressible Imogen follows a silver moth to a door in a tree – and through it into another world – children everywhere will wish they could follow in her footsteps…" Just as in it's description, this book is indeed best for fans of Narnia for this too has a secret magical door that takes this adorable duo of sisters Imogen and Marie to a land that garners more surprises (and dangers) than they could fathom. It's been a while since I have enjoyed a book so much. It reminded me a lot of Philip Pullman's Northern Lights trilogy. Suddenly, they are trapped and it’s all Marie’s fault. But on the other side of the gate, there is a new world, different to theirs. A world where they meet Miro, a boy dressed in weird clothes, claiming he is the prince of this kingdom. A kingdom, where dangers lurk at night. Auch wenn das Buch ja eher ein Buch für jüngere Leser ist, dachte ich mir, wenn ich nach leichter Lektüre suche, ist das nichts Schlechtes. Und prinzipiell fand ich die Geschichte auch gar nicht so schlecht, die Idee war wirklich gut, doch ich muss sagen, dass mir die Umsetzung nicht soo gefallen hat. Vermutlich lag das daran, dass ich nicht so die Zielgruppe bin, doch das hat mich bei manch anderen Büchern nicht unbedingt gestört. Hier war es aber so, dass ich mit den Figuren etwas meine Schwierigkeiten hatte. Auch wenn ein altersentsprechendes Verhalten natürlich klar ist, fand ich trotzdem, dass mir die Beziehung zu den Figuren etwas fehlte, ich konnte sie nicht so richtig aufbauen. Und das fand ich wirklich schade, denn die Welt an sich war sehr schön und die Handlung im Grunde auch, auch wenn ich sie etwas sehr vorhersehbar fand. Es gab dadurch für mich etwas wenige Überraschungsmomente, die nötig gewesen wären, um die Geschichte etwas aufzupeppen.

Imogen and her little sister Marie are not perfect children. They fight and yell, and are rude and obnoxious to each other, to their mum and to their grandmother. These sisters, who become the heroes of the story, are introduced as rather tiresome and disagreeable characters. Inside this room are three gaps for cog cubes and two switches, one on either side of the middle gap. Pull the switch on the left and the cube cog will open up from the ground. Next, pull the switch on the right to open a few obstacles in the puzzle area.This book is a sensational book and I highly recommend anyone who is a fan of adventure and excitement should read this book. I went into this book not having read the first but as an experienced reader, I caught on to what I had missed and I would like to say that Francesca Gibbons is an incredible writer. This book is absolutely mind-blowing. Secret treasures and stones are part of Drakomor’s hoard hidden throughout his castle chambers. The most valuable of these is the Sertze Hora, the heart of the Klenot Mountain which he’d stolen long ago, and whose absence has caused the slow death of the forests and the skret that escaped and now live there. It is this theft that caused the schism which darkens the Kingdom. I loved that Gibbons has examined the effect of returning home from a fantastical journey, examining how that may affect those who experienced it. Imogen describes her 'worry creatures' which are her fears, and those feelings or thoughts that she struggles to voice to those around her. This examination of mental health is fantastic for young readers. It shows that it is normal to have some difficult feelings sometimes, but it also provides hope. Without wanting to give anything away, this tale also provides the message that you don't always have to be large to make a difference.

And when danger threatens the kingdom and the crew are getting ready to save it, you start biting your nails. I watched their friendship grow and loved it. What I loved the most was watching Imogen get closer to her little sister Marie. That special sister bond was beautiful! Francesca Gibbons’s writing is so captivating, the world building phenomenal and the action suspenseful. Dit boek is in alle opzichten een typische kinderboek. Het verhaal zit barstensvol kleurrijke en unieke karakters, op een prachtige manier getekend door Chris Riddell, die weliswaar niet heel gelaagd zijn, maar die hun rol wel allemaal met ongelooflijk veel verve spelen. Ik kan me heel goed voorstellen dat de kinderen ongelooflijk gaan genieten van de held die eigenlijk helemaal niet zo'n held is (of toch wel?), van de boze stiefmoeder en van de verwende jonge prins die denkt dat de hele wereld om hem draait.Ook in dit deel verweeft auteur Francesca Gibbons haar gevatte schrijfstijl voortdurend door het sprankelende avontuur. Korte hoofdstukken en vanzelfsprekende perspectiefwisselingen maken dat je het boek niet kunt wegleggen en daarbij regelmatig hardop grinnikt. Ik las 'Achter de Bergen' met een zucht uit en snak acuut naar boek drie. schade fand ich auch, dass ich zu unserer Hauptprotagonistin Imogen keine richtige Bindung aufbauen konnte. Irgendwie hatte sie etwas an sich, was mich gestört hat, mit ihr bin ich leider bis zum Schluss nicht komplett warmgeworden. Chris Riddell’s amazing illustrations fuel the imagination, leaving us longing to know what happens next. Because neither the celestial poles nor the direction of the Earth’s rotation axis change, any stars and constellations close to one of the celestial poles will be observable from some latitudes throughout the year all day long. I can't highlight how much I love seeing Chris Riddell's illustrations, they are so beautiful and really captures the characters and scenes that Francesca has created, although I wish there were more sprinkled throughout, but then again I'm just a big fan of his work.