Thea Stilton Special Edition # 4: The Cloud Castle product reviews

This is another book of Thea Stilton's we have to review, this has been written by my 10 year old daughter.

The five Thea Sisters named Collette, Pamela, Nicky, Violet and Paullina show an interest in Journalism and they want to write stories about fantasy worlds. Their friend Will Mystery tells them that the Cloud Castle is in danger as they clouds are disappearing, so they set out to discover why. After a bit of research, the girls discover that they have to head to a snowy land to find the secret cave where the Airavata The Elephant lives who can send them up to the Land of Clouds by his seven magical trunks.

The secret cave is hidden and after getting inside, it was like a maze, where the girls must work out which way to go to find the Elephant. They eventually find the elephant after squeezing through a crack in the walls of the cave, the elephant is very surprised to see them but is willing to help them get up to Cloud Castle cause he can see they really want to help.

The girls have to solve riddles and games set my mythical creatures on their trek through the Land of Clouds. As they get closer to a tower they can hear crying from a high window by Ariette the fairy who has been locked in the tower by Queen Nephele who believes that Ariette has stolen the thread of clouds. Ariette tells them she is weak as the Queen has taken her crystal which gives her strength, so the girls find her a crystal necklace which gives the fairy powers to get out. They then altogether try to solve the mystery of the missing threads (clouds), which eventually is solved by the girls (didn't want to spoil the plot).

My daughter enjoyed this story because riddles were all different; some were really funny, some rhymed and some were brain teasers. The creatures were really well detailed with their own unique homes which were based on their colours. A great book which really interested my daughter and of course, her imagination. I highly recommend to all young readers, especially girls who are into fairies

Mr Five saw this book in a pile of books I was considering to review. He picked it out as a must read. He is a Geronimo Stilton fan and this obviously has flowed over onto the Thea Stilton books as well. Don't let the fact that the book is about the Thea Sisters stop you from considering that boys might want to read the book too. Mr Five has a vivid imagination and doesn't mind whether he is reading about boys or girls, if the story is exciting, he is interested! I have got to say that I have found it hard to actually read this book to him as he now has a strong interest in books, thanks very much to all the Geronimo Stilton books we have read together. Although the book is probably aimed at girls around 7-10, it has worked well for my Mr Five, who is an avid reader.

While he was reading the book, I asked him what he liked most about it. His reply was that he loved the fact that he could read it and understand it. The storyline is engaging and he is familiar with the style of writing. Because of this, he was able to follow the story and decipher any unknown words within the context of the text. I am so happy to see him loving books and I can see him reading many more Thea Stilton and Geronimo Stilton books over the next few years.

The Cloud Castle had an attractive, hard cover and stands out as a book the the kids and I would pick off a half to read. The style of the book is very familiar to us now as we have read many Geronimo Stilton and and a few Thea Stilton books. We enjoy the fact that the text has variations in the colour, font and size. It makes it interesting for the kids to look at, even if they are not ready to read the words yet. The language in the book is appropriate to children and inspires them to use interesting words when speaking and writing. I love the fact that many illustrators have been involved in the creation of the characters in the book, yet it all ties together so beautifully that one would never guess that the same artist hasn't created all of the illustrations.

Mr Five liked the signs names on the lamp posts as he read through the book. It is interesting to note that children do notice all these little things as they read. They are the extra fun bits which really add to the reading experience for them. He also liked the maps throughout the book where he had to work out what each part of the diagram was by referring to the numbers on the page.

The storyline is full of magic and imagination. It is the type of book that I like my children to enjoy as I think it is good, clean fun and helps them to develop their own sense of creativity and imagination.

The chapters are a good length. Mr 5 was able to read one or two by himself each night. The length was quite manageable. It also means that when I read chapters to him, I can decide how many I do based on the amount of time I have. If I let Mr Five, he would sit up all night reading the book. He really loved reading it.

I can't wait until Miss Three is ready to sit and listen to this book as she loves the world of fairies and other mythical creatures. I know that she is going to be a huge fan of this book.

We are already huge fans of Geronimo Stilton in our house and I think this book has now created quite an interest in the Thea Stilton books as well. This is another book that I would highly recommend to young readers.