Losing the plot by Annaleise Byrd

Basil and Terry are neighbours, but they have nothing in common.  Terry is passionate about sport but needs help with his reading to improve his schoolwork.  Basil is an avid reader, so he is roped in to help Terry every Saturday morning, a task he is not looking forward to.  They begin by reading from an old copy of The complete Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, and when Basil accidentally opens a magic portal, Gretel lands in his bedroom asking them for their assistance.  She needs them to help her to find Hansel, who is missing from his fairytale and must be found before disaster strikes fairytale land. She transports them to Fairytale land, and they must unravel the mystery of Hansel's kidnapping or face Deep Trouble (which is an unknown punishment, but scary nonetheless). Filled with all the witches, princesses, princes, conmen and troublemakers from all the fairytales you can think of, readers will be amused by the antics of these characters when they are not in their particular stories. Basil and Terry are well developed through the story and come to appreciate each other through their experiences together, proving that the even the most unlikely children can become friends.

This is a very entertaining story revolving around fairytales and the characters in them.  It gives the reader a completely different perspective on these stories.  It will even appeal to some older readers and would be a great read aloud in class.

Themes: Fairy tales, Grimm Brothers, Folklore.

Gabrielle Anderson