The Secret Of Platform 13 (2001) - Plot & Excerpts
These are third grade student reviews!MAEVEThis surprisingly twisty turny tale is about a fey, a magnificent wizard, a magical garden lady, and last, a floating eyeball (or an Ogre if you would be so kind.) They all live on an island in peace until someone no one knows steels the baby prince and everyone is dreadfully sad. This is when the story really begins…No one except the rescuers know what’s in the world of London. The King and Queen make the rescuers set out to find their long lost son. On the way, they meet a family of horrible selfish people…the Trottles. Now this is the problem; the Trottle family kidnapped the King and Queen’s son! Do you think the rescuers can save the day and bring back the long lost prince? This is a good book and if you read it I hope you enjoy it! I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars!MAKPlatform 13 is an old platform at King’s Cross Station in London’s Underground Railways that holds old secrets mostly forgotten by the public. It includes an old doorway-the cloakroom’s doorway-that leads toward a magical island and inside this doorway was a ‘Gump’ that’s apparently a portal that takes you to this so-called ‘Island’. Once the King and Queen of the Island had a baby that three nannies took care of. Then they mistakenly get permission to take the baby-the Prince, Raymond-on an adventure to welcome people through the Gump. The nannies selfishness lured them to go through the Gump to get some stuff to eat but then when one of the nannies was waiting outside to let the other two get the food, the baby got stolen by a rich but selfish and fat lady that had wanted a baby that never came. The nannies went back through the Gump at the last minute so when they noticed Raymond was missing it was too late! Nine years later, rescuers arrived through the Gump from the Island to rescue Raymond-the prince-and take him back to the Island. They did not know what big adventures awaited them. Read this book by Eva Ibbotson that I rate 2 stars, though, and that’s because this book could have more explanations about what’s going on at the Island and in London. Hope you enjoy the book and write a review that gives this book 5 stars!CASSIEAn ogre, hag, fey, and wizard have really set themselves up for an adventure! One night, the most evil person ever, Mrs. Trottle, snatched the baby prince. They must rescue the long lost prince who had lived on a magic island where mermaids and people live together in harmony. And so the race begins to get him back. Will the super bunch save the day or will evil prevail forever?I recommend this book for people who like a short read. But I think the book could have a less predictable ending . I rate it 2 stars out of 5.NINAThis surprisingly great tale includes a group of rescuers from an unknown mysterious island. They are assigned an amazing adventure to rescue a stolen baby prince. The thief of the little prince is very greedy and is hard to track down. Can a fey a wizard an ogre and a hag rescue the long lost little prince? tI think The Secret of Platform 13 is a great book because it takes place on a magical island and has a lot of suspense! The big idea of the book is that good fortunes come from good acts and misery comes from evil deeds. READ THIS AMAZING BOOK TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!MALINThe Secret of Platform 13 is a four-star book! It is about a hag, a wizard, a fey, and a young ogre who embark on a journey into the regular world from a mysterious island with a king and queen. They have to save the prince of the island. A mean lady named Mrs. Trottle stole him when he was a baby. As the king and queen weep, the rescuers search franticly for the prince. But is a spoiled boy going to make a good prince? You should read this page-turner if you want to experience an awesome book full of mystery and adventure!RAINAHThe Secret Of Platform 13 is a delightfully witty book about a gump, planted in Kings Cross Station right in the heart of London. A gump is a magical portal that transports you to a mystical island where you can forget your troubles. There you will find a queen and king and a whole lot of magical creatures who all get along in peace. One day, a baby prince is born. When the queen asks her best nannies to take care of the prince, he gets stolen from the EVIL Mrs. Trottle. She takes him to live with her but the news gets around quick back at the island. Now it is up to a group of misfit immortals to rescue him. A wizard, a fay, a hag, and an ogre make their way to London to retrieve him. But when they see him in action, they are very surprised that he is not the perfect prince like they had hoped. Even worse, they can’t convince him to come back to the island! Will they succeed or will the island fall into eternal sorrow? I give this fantastic book 5 stars! If you want a good page-turner, put down this review and pick up The Secret of Platform 13! You’ll thank me later!
Ibbotson, Eva. The Secret of Platform 13. Illustrated by Sue Porter.Penguin Group/Puffin Books, New York, 1998.Originally published by Pan Macmillan Children’s Books, Great Britain, 1994.231 pages. $5.99 ISBN 0-14-130286-0 (pb.)Grades 2-4; Ages 7-10None but the ghosts of Platform 13 know of the existence of a door called the gump. Hidden behind the gentlemen’s cloakroom at King’s Cross Station, this portal between worlds opens only for nine days every nine years. Beyond the gump lies the Island: a secret, mystical place where humans and magical creatures live peacefully together. The Island’s existence is shielded by a pleasant, sweet-smelling mist created by the sighs of magical creatures call mistmakers. The King and Queen live in a simple house on the seashore. Their home is always open to anyone who needs shelter, be they magical creatures, animals, or humans. When the Queen has a baby boy, the inhabitants of the Island look forward to watching him grow into a brave and fair ruler like his parents. But when the little prince is just three months old, the gump opens and in the minutes just before it closes he is kidnapped by a horrible human woman named Mrs. Trottle. For the next nine years the Islanders mourn the loss of the prince and plan his rescue. Not wanting to draw attention to the Island or alarm the prince, the King and Queen send an unlikely group of rescuers whom they feel they can trust to pass as humans. A wizard named Cor, a fairy named Gurkie, an ogre named Hans, and a very young hag named Odge make up the group sent out to bring the prince home. Assisted by the ghosts who haunt Platform 13, they seek Raymond Trottle, the long-lost prince. Along the way they meet young Ben, a servant in the Trottle’s household, who attempts to assist them in their quest. But, Raymond doesn’t want to return. As the King and Queen worry, the rescuers grow more desperate, and some of the more menacing Island creatures insist on sending a much more malevolent rescue party. Time is running out.Plain black and white illustrations are interspersed among the short, simple chapters. Perfect for reading aloud, even the youngest readers can enjoy this quirky tale. Although the ending is predictable, the story plays out in ways the reader will not foresee and there is plenty of humor along the way. Ibbotson creates both endearing characters worth cheering for and contemptible characters readers will love to hate. A fairly straightforward plot line with a few twists and a little suspense, The Secret of Platform 13 is a nice, uncomplicated introduction into the genre of low fantasy.
What do You think about The Secret Of Platform 13 (2001)?
Eva Ibbotson writes this tale about The Secret of Platform 13. This fairly well written novel follows rescuers through a portal between the magical world and the real world in an attempt to retrieve a stolen child.This book fails for two primary reasons, while being well written, it somehow wasn't engaging. There is no concern for if the characters live or die. Do they succeed or not? Doesn't matter. Couldn't care less. Problem number two was predictability. From the introduction of a character into the novel I knew how the book would end. It was then just a matter of how we get there. Predictability is a forgivable sin, if the journey is enjoyable enough. This one wasn't. There are better fantasy books out there for the same demographic.
—Johnny Bennett
I'm a big fan of Eva Ibbotson's writing. Her stories are at once old-fashioned and timeless, and unravel across the page with such ease. Her worlds seem so real. It feels like she has a cast of thousands in this book, but they pop up so naturally (and purposely) that it just tends to add to her world building and what I find so enviable is how she able to give each character a backstory, a life, with such few words. She is a master storyteller.The other thing that I adore about this book is all the fantastic names. Odge Gribble, the name of the young hag, is a perfect example. Ooh! I want to steal that name. Fans of Harry Potter might call foul because of some of the similarities, such as a secret portal at King's Cross Station and the good child who is forced to live with the greedy spoiled brat. However, This book predates Rowling's first Harry Potter book. If anything, this would make good additional reading for young fans of fantasy who want to explore the genre beyond Harry Potter.
—Lee Födi
Oh, oh, oh, my love for Eva Ibbotson utterly continues. The Secret of Platform 13 is furiously magical and madly inventive. It's the story of a hidden island, wrapped away from the 'everyday' by magic and mists (mists made, fyi, by the *most* amazing creation ever - mistmakers, seal-like creatures who produce mist every time they hear beautiful music). The island is accessible through a secret door on Platform 13, Kings Cross which opens briefly every nine years. The island is desperately missing their Prince, kidnapped when the island last opened, and now they're going to get him back. It's a rescue mission, haphazard and chaotic and dizzily funny, and it doesn't run smoothly! Ibbotson's beautiful skills with magical and mysterious creatures remains ineffable. She writes with a loving, brilliantly inventive touch and isn't afraid to inject darker overtones (the Harpies, for example, are amazingly unnerving).I love Ibbotson, and if you've not discovered her before, this is an excellent starting point. The parallels between The Secret of Platform 13 and Harry Potter are inescapable (Platform 13 was printed first, fyi) and I'd reccommend The Secret of Platform 13 for readers who are searching to discover the 'new' Harry Potter series. There's a lot of life in the old dog yet.
—LH Johnson
