What Mumsnetters thought of children's book Cogheart by Peter Bunzl

A lovely book suitable for boys or girls with likeable main characters, & some baddies to hate, wishing for them to get their comeuppance. The fox & other mechanicals make the story different from a lot of other children's literature. There is a lot of drama, & even murder in the plot. Love the illustration of London 1896 at the front, & small pictures at the start of each chapter, & of the all important letter. I would recommend the book, & feel sure the author Peter Bunzl will get the recognition he deserves.

I really loved this story. It took me a while to get into it, but once, I did, I didn't want to put it down. There were plenty of twists and turns. I was able to spot one of these twists (after reading the letter) but one twist before the end was very surprising.
The characters are likeable - that is the say the heroes and heroines. Lily is a wonderfully brave heroine, and set about the task of finding her father with relentless determination. Her friendship with Robert is well described. He seemed a weaker character at first, but when the chips were down, he showed his mettle. The villains were appropriately wicked. We loved the mechanicals and Malkin, the mechanical fox - quite a character in his own right. I was conjuring up images of these in my head, so good were the descriptions.
The setting was also well written. Bunzl has created an alternative Victorian world with airships, mechanicals and evil villains. He's not afraid to let a few characters die along the way either. His creativity is astounding. Where will he go from here?
A truly classic adventure!

Yes. I really enjoyed this book couldn't put it down and I know my grandaughter and her mum will too.....Quite captivating, riveting, gripping and thrilling..many thanks for our free copy.

What an adventure - I have been reading this book with my (nearly 8 year old) daughter, she is a confident reader and needed a challenge. This certainly fits the bill. The book is quite dark & emotionally challenging - I read ahead so that we could talk about some of the issues in the story i.e loss of parents, fire, organ donation - was a great conversation starter!!

I applied for a copy of this book for my daughter but as an adult - I also really enjoyed the book. When my daughter has finished (has about 40 pages left!!) we will be passing it on to my son who is 12 - as I think he will really enjoy it.

It's great to have a story for kids with a bit of grit, harsh realism but written with a humerous edge. The book flowed with ease. It was "Ironman" for kids. Will certainly be recommending this to family/friends and look forward to more titles.

It’s official, my daughter says this is her new favourite book!

I applied for this book as the synopsis told me it was perfect for her, she is 9 and loves a mystery with a keen interest in inventors. The cover alone would have made me buy the book but adding mystery and mayhem to a dark Victorian landscape made it even more enticing.

She liked the way it was written with Malkin the fox and Lily having their own stories that are then combined to create an exciting, fast paced adventure with cliffhangers to keep you reading. There are some sad parts with deaths and a mangled body at one point so would not recommend it for anyone younger than her, but would definitely suggest it as a class reader for her age group and up.

Her favourite character is Malkin as he is interesting and funny, and she likes the idea of having animals who can talk to you, even if he is mechanical. She was happy with how the story finishes without leaving any loose ends, but at the same time making you think ‘what if they had done this?’

The glossary of uncommon words at the back of the book was a great idea and DD even enjoyed reading the acknowledgements! In her words ‘I like to know who has helped someone write their story’

She is already looking forward to the next story so I hope she won’t have to wait too long!

This fast-paced adventure kept me gripped as the children try to find out what has happened to Lily's father. I particularly enjoyed the references to mechanicals - robot workers - and mechanimals- mechanical animals including Malkin, Lily's brave pet fox. Some interesting thoughts on whether mechanicals can have feelings. I liked the spin on Victorian times very much - although I wasn't quite sure the heroine would be wearing tights! Highly recommended.

I have been away but was so delighted to come home to find this book in the post box I will read it myself before passing it on to my grandaughter to read... many thanks ..loved the little book eraser...I will be back again once I have read it.

This book is set in a steampunk version of Victorian England. It features a great heroine in Lily whom readers should be able to identify with and admire. The story is exciting and filled with interesting characters. Great Stuff!

My son has just started reading this he is really enjoying it so far it is keeping him busy and he says the story is good with a great plot very interesting may have to have a read when he's finished as he can't seem to put it down

This book set in Victorian England takes you off on a thrilling adventure with a mixture of villains, heroes, A talking Mechanical Fox!! Well it all adds to the excitement. Along the way we travel by Airship and meet gun toting Men in shadows. The plot thickens huh!! well your gonna have to read it to find out more.

Brilliant! There's no other word for it, an exciting, nail biting adventure, I'm sure it'll become a classic of the steam punk genre. Thanks, Mumsnet for the opportunity to read it. I've now passed it on to my niece, I'm sure she'll love it too. It's well written, highly absorbing and even makes sense, which isn't always the case with young people's literature, if I have any reservations it's that Robert, the lad in the tale, suffers most and is seen to be a bit of a wimp who has to overcome his phobias, which might not bode well for young male readers.

Received my copy yesterday - looking forward to reading it!