Monday, November 7, 2016

The Secret Series

The Secret Series, Pseudonymous Bosch

Don’t you love a clever series?  Especially one written for children that gets their attention from page 1, and written by the loveliest pen-name I have come across. 

Book 1: The Name of this Book is Secret starts with a bold black page with the words “Warning: Do not read beyond this page!”  Then there is a warning, “are you sure you want to know this secret?  It might be better not to?”  Then Chapter 1 is written all is x’s:  “xxx!”  xx xxx.   “Xxxxx.   Xxxx.”  Xxxx xxxxx xxx.   Then there is a following apology that chapter 1 gave all the real names and places of the book, so it had to be kept secret.   It’s great.  What a clever way to get your attention.   What then unfolds in the story of Cassandra and Max-Earnest as they uncover a magician’s secret diary and a hundred-year-old mystery.  It’s written in a chatty, let-me-tell-you what happened style, with the author occasionally breaking out of the role of narrator to tell the reader something extra or make a funny comment.  It’s clever, funny and well-told.

Miss 11 devoured all 5 books in The Secret Series very quickly.  I have just enjoyed book 1, I may not bother with the rest myself – but I do think kids will like them.

1 comment:

Chris said...

Thanks for the recommendation. My 8 year old is really enjoying the first book and it's always good to know of another series!