Bewitched Kids Corner {18} – The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson

Posted 1 August, 2014 by Pushy in Bewitched Kids Corner, Blog, Book Review, Bookworms, Meme, Pushy / 3 Comments

by Adam J. Epstein, Andrew Jacobson
Genres: Adolescence, Animals, Dragons, Unicorns & Mythical, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Fiction, Friendship, Middle Grade

Happy Friday, and welcome to the latest installment of our monthly feature
where we review Children’s books.

The Familiars

the familiars
Written by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson and Illustrated by Peter Chan and Kei Acedera
Amazon / B&N / Indiebound / Goodreads

Is the kingdom’s fate in the hands of an orphan cat?

Running fast to save his life, Aldwyn ducks into an unusual pet store. Moments later Jack, a young wizard in training, comes in to choose a magical animal to be his familiar. Aldwyn’s always been clever. But magical? Jack thinks so and Aldwyn is happy to play along.

He just has to convince the other familiars the know-it-all blue jay Skylar and the friendly tree frog Gilbert that he’s the powerful cat he claims to be.

Then the unthinkable happens. Jack and two other young wizards are captured by the evil queen of Vastia.

On a thrilling quest to save their loyals, the familiars face dangerous foes, unearth a shocking centuries-old secret, and discover a destiny that will change Vastia forever. Their magical adventure an irresistible blend of real heart, edge-of-your-seat action, and laugh-out-loud humor is an unforgettable celebration of fantasy and friendship.

 

Magical For Any Age

Since my little foxes were born, I’ve been longing for the day when they would be old enough to read my classics:  Tolkien, Rowling, Weis & Hickman.  And for the past 8 years, they have whole heartedly resisted all inklings of fantasy, high or low.  So, it was with an insane amount of self restraint that I made myself remain nonchalant when my son picked up The Familiars by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson a few months ago.  “Oh,” I said casually, “that looks interesting.”  Then I waited until he’d headed off to the counter to start my fist-pump dance that had the other library patrons wondering if I was experiencing a seizure.

This series is a wonderful entree into the fantasy genre!  Centered around a trio of scrappy animals, who must learn to trust themselves as much as each other, this series is both filled with adventure and a few moments that were just scary enough for my soon-to-be third grader.  There’s also chatter about it becoming a movie, which I think would be fantastic.

Fun and fantastical, this is a great easy ready and a perfect first “long” book for younger readers.

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Lover of words and authors; absolute fan girl of books! Give me a good story, with characters I can love (and hate) and I'll follow you anywhere. Sing me a song of worlds I can dream of, and I'll listen forever.

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