Nine and a half year old Dotty Parsons is seriously unimpressed! In the wake of her parents' tragic death in a freak firework accident, not only has the feisty little Welsh girl been sent to live in ‘deepest, darkest Yorkshire’, but it seems her new home is beset with strange noises coming from the chimneys. The eccentric old cook says it must be jackdaws nesting. But that can't be right...can it?
This highly acclaimed spellbinding fantasy adventure is a must-read for 8-12 year olds. Children who enjoy magical fantasy adventures will love this book. Dealing with universal themes of childhood loneliness, loss, family, friendships, justice and the triumph of good over evil - all handled with a delightful lightness of touch that gives the book an almost bygone era feel. Laced with just the right amount of gentle humour.
Described by reviewers as "Secret Garden meets Diagon Alley", DOTTY and the Calendar House Key is the first book in The DOTTY Series. Dotty’s second big adventure, DOTTY and the Chimney Thief, is due out in 2016.
Assessment:
Recently orphaned, nine-year-old Dotty Parsons moves to the Calendar House and is caught up in chimney sweep magic and the quest for a lost key. This straightforward fantasy presents a mismatch between the intended audience's reading level and the book's often challenging language. The plot moves along well, and characters are believable, but Dotty is unconvincing as a child whose parents have just died. Still, charming details of the house and magic should engage younger readers.
Date Submitted: June 13, 2016
Dotty and the Calendar House Key has truly fired my daughter's imagination for the first time since Harry Potter. Beautiful written and exciting. The Secret Garden meets Diagon Alley. Fabulous!
I really liked the book. It was a bit scary when Dotty found herself in Uncle Winchester's private study. But most of the books I read are a bit scary so that was okay. I would read the other books in the series. Go Team Dotty!
Dotty is just nine and a half years old, entirely too young to have lost both her mother and father. Now she's been carted off to her Great Uncle Winchester's creepy old mansion, the Calendar House, far away from her childhood home and her best friend Sylv. The two friends Skype, but it's just not the same as when they once spoke to each other through the paper-thin partitions of their building with a glass pressed to the wall. Dotty can't help but get the heebie-geebies whenever she hears odd sounds coming from within fireplaces which are scattered throughout the Calendar House. The cook assures Dotty that what she's hearing is just jackdaws nesting in the chimneys, but Dotty can't help but wonder if it's really something else. As Dotty explores her new home she discovers hidden secrets within the Calendar House.
Author Emma Warner-Reed has penned a magnificent children's book with suspense that builds as young readers are drawn into the mystery surrounding Dotty's new home. Dotty and the Calendar House Key is highly recommended for home and school libraries and has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.
Literary Classics is pleased to announce that the book, Dotty and the Calendar House Key by Emma Warner-Reed, has been selected to receive the Literary Classics Seal of Approval. The CLC Seal of Approval is a designation reserved for those books which uphold the rigorous criteria set forth by the Literary Classics review committee, a team comprised of individuals with backgrounds in publishing, editing, writing, illustration and graphic design.
Dotty is just nine and a half years old, entirely too young to have lost both her mother and father. Now she's been carted off to her Great Uncle Winchester's creepy old mansion, the Calendar House, far away from her childhood home and her best friend Sylv. The two friends Skype, but it's just not the same as when they once spoke to each other through the paper-thin partitions of their building with a glass pressed to the wall. Dotty can't help but get the heebie-geebies whenever she hears odd sounds coming from within fireplaces which are scattered throughout the Calendar House. The cook assures Dotty that what she's hearing is just jackdaws nesting in the chimneys, but Dotty can't help but wonder if it's really something else. As Dotty explores her new home she discovers hidden secrets within the Calendar House.
Author Emma Warner-Reed has penned a magnificent children's book with suspense that builds as young readers are drawn into the mystery surrounding Dotty's new home. Dotty and the Calendar House Key is highly recommended for home and school libraries and has earned the Literary Classics Seal of Approval.
Literary Classics, an organization dedicated to furthering excellence in literature for young readers, takes great pride in its role to help promote classic literature which appeals to youth while educating and encouraging positive values in the impressionable young minds of future generations.To learn more about Literary Classics, you may visit their website at www.clcawards.org or www.childrensliteraryclassics.com
