Ahh, an sci-fi, adventure story written for younger readers. We have some suspension of time, some old world/new world clashing, and some jolly 1950's Britishisms. After enduring the dullest, rainiest summer holiday imaginable, Ben and Rachel are thrilled to discover a vault in their overgrown ba...
Maybe I am being a tad harsh with three stars it did keep me turning the pages and I liked the story but it was very 'kiddy' I know it is a children's book by it was recommended by a adult customer of mine so I thought what the heck. The story flows along nicely but it's all just a tad too conven...
The walls and ceiling of Jenny’s room rushed away from him, stretching out to the size of a football stadium. He knew, of course, that nothing had gotten bigger at all. It was just he—along with Josh and Jenny—who’d gotten suddenly a lot smaller. Danny stood up carefully, trying to sort out his w...
This door should certainly have been locked—but it was ajar. Petty opened it and pulled Josh and Danny through with her before any other visitors or staff could come in and see them. It was gloomy behind the door. It smelled of warm, damp vegetation. The hairs on Danny’s arms and neck stood up. H...
He swam on toward the beach, loving the way the sunlight dappled down through the warm waves and made ever-shifting patterns across the seabed. And he still hadn’t even needed to take a breath! This was so amazing! He and Josh should just forget about giving the S.W.I.T.C.H. spray back to Petty a...
“Wheeeeeeee!” Charlie had quite got over her near death experience and was hugely enjoying the fun. So were Josh and Danny. Their back legs were immensely powerful and catapulted them about a foot and a half with each push off. “Oooh—yum!” said Charlie, halfway through a leap. Danny glanced acros...
snapped Miss Mellor. Everyone in the class froze and widened their eyes. Then they looked around for the culprit. The room was silent. “That scrapey, scratchy noise! It’s really irritating,” went on Miss Mellor. She put down her spelling test grading, stood up, and folded her arms. “Don’t know, m...
called out Miss Mellor as the bell went. “Don’t dawdle in the playground. Get back inside and get into your PE clothes as soon as the bell goes again.” Josh groaned. With everyone going so fast today, there was no way he would be able to get out to the playground and get back in again and put on ...
It knocked them off the shelf of hair and on down through the dark pipe. Plunging down in a whirling, spinning cascade, Josh felt his legs flapping about in all directions. He prayed that a leg wouldn’t snap off. Then there was a brief, brilliant flash of light. They shot out of the end of the do...
“But, Danny …” he spluttered, between a series of high-pitched chirrups and clicks, “you’re so pretty!” Danny smacked Josh in the face with his tail and scurried under the door. On the other side, there was a cliff of concrete. Followed by another cliff of concrete. And then another. A staircase....
Sniff! I’ve found Danny!” gasped Josh. He landed under the picnic table in a spray of dust and grass seeds. “Good!” said Sniff. “Not good!” said Josh. “He’s in a jam! Worse … he’s in a jam jar. He’s stuck inside it with the lid on. I can’t get it off. And he could change back into being a boy at ...
Josh said, glaring impatiently up at Danny. “I’ll never see anything if you keep waving it about!” He bent his head back to the lens of the microscope that he’d placed on the air hockey table and peered again at the magnified marble, held between Danny’s magnified thumb and forefinger. On the way...
The earth beneath it seemed to dissolve away. A red glow and a gassy smell rose up from it. Then suddenly—flames leapt up! Danny shrieked. Josh bellowed, “JUUUUUMP! Jump NOW! Before it’s TOO LATE!!” Danny was on a little shelf of ground with the computer booth just behind him. The shelf was begin...
cursed Petty. The last spray had done nothing. It should have been either ToadSWITCH or the antidote, but so far the two frogs and the great crested newt were still sitting there, having a little chat and most definitely not S.W.I.T.C.H.ing back to two boys and a girl. She shook the bottle and pe...
BOTH OF YOU!” shouted Tarquin. He shook the spray bottle and stamped his foot. “COME OUT OF HIDING! I’LL TELL YOUR MOM! I WILL.” Still there was no movement or sound around the yard. Tarquin had already looked behind or under everything he could see. There was no sign of Josh or Danny. He knew th...
They gazed at the glass cube with its holographic lizard. “But,” said Josh, after a while, “there’s no such thing as a dragon. We know you can do spiders. But they’re real. Dragons are just make-believe.” Josh knew a lot about wildlife. For an eight-year-old he was really quite an expert. He was ...