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Children's books

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MNHQ

April Chapter book of the month: Mariella Mystery: The Ghostly Guinea Pig by Kate Pankhurst

20 replies

ShadeMumsnet · 02/04/2013 13:28

Introduce your children to a fearless girl detective with our April chapter book of the month - Mariella Mystery: The Ghostly Guinea Pig by Kate Pankhurst. Star of the story is Mariella Mystery, a nine-year-old who can unpick even the most perplexing problem before breakfast. When her teacher spots the ghost of a dearly-departed pet guinea pig, Mariella knows it's down to her to solve the puzzle.

Mariella Mystery: The Ghostly Guinea Pig is the first title in a new series perfect for children aged 7+ and for fans of Clarice Bean.

We're giving away 50 copies of Mariella Mystery: The Ghostly Guinea Pig. If you share your thoughts on the book below, we'll also enter your name to win one of 10 copies of A Cupcake Conundrum: Mariella Mystery 2.

OP posts:

AnonymousBird · 03/04/2013 11:28

I've applied!!! Fingers crossed....

Hopezibah · 06/04/2013 20:45

I love the sound of this. Me and my son read clarice bean books and ruby redfort book together so this sounds just like the sort of book that he (and me!) would love.

Jenerate · 07/04/2013 17:08

Mariella sounds like a great character - using her brains to solve puzzles. Must get this to read.

MNHQ

RachelMumsnet · 12/04/2013 14:34

We've just heard that the fifty books have now been sent out and we'll be notifying the winners. Please do report back to this thread and let us know what your dcs think. Thanks

AnonYonimousBird · 12/04/2013 14:55

OOO, here's hoping!

katb1973 · 12/04/2013 17:55

Got a copy yesterday, thanks Mumsnet. I sat down to read it straight away and absolutely loved it!!! With brilliant use of different illustrations, charts and fonts, it's definitely eye catching and for young readers will hold their attention. The storyline is entertaining and without giving too much away, the mystery of the ghostly guinea pigs is cleverly wrapped up explaining all the mysterious goings on. I'm giving this to my niece who's going to love it.....it's definitely a girls' book. If your target audience is a confident reader, but not yet ready for Harry Potter, this is the perfect book to entertain and encourage independent reading. There's also loads to discuss with an adult so would be perfect for shared reading. Highly recommended.

ilovezumba · 14/04/2013 17:23

My daughter is 7 yrs old and starting up a book club with her friends , this sounds like a great book to start with!

gazzalw · 17/04/2013 10:24

Thank you for the copy Mumsnet! Have been reading this as a bedtime story with DD (7). It is a very appealing style for a 7 year old because it is in a quirky format - lots of pictures, diary style text, not densely texted, short chapters. All in all makes for a much 'lighter' approach to literature particularly for the more reluctant readers of this world.

DD loves the storyline and accused me of cheating because I guessed the bottom line (well I have been on this planet for a long time and detective stories are one of my favourite genres!)!

Although I thought it entirely suitable for 7 year olds girls (but not so much for boys!) it wouldn't go down in history as one of my favourite types of books, but then it wasn't written with me in mind . I could see its appeal but I just found it rather too 'light' and a bit daft really!

creambun · 17/04/2013 10:29

Thank you for our Mariella Mystery book. I was going to have a quick look through the book myself before my daughter read it, but she hasn't stopped reading it since it arrived! She finished it this morning - after spending every spare minute she had reading! My daughter is 8 and a very good reader, but she's not quite confident enough for longer, older chapter books yet. She has always loved reading but just recently I've really struggled to find her books that aren't too fairy/princess based and aren't too 'grown-up'. From what she's told me about this book (and she hasn't stopped talking about it) it sounds very funny and she loved Mariella. Looking through the book the illustrations and different layouts make the book look very appealing and not too daunting. There seem to be lots of different styles of writing - diaries etc., so the book is great for helping my daughter develop her own writing skills as well as being good fun to read.

This book has really captured my daughter's imagination and she was delighted to hear that there was a second book in the series. Hopefully there will be lots more to come too. Think I might go and read it myself now...

gazzalw · 17/04/2013 11:22

Ha at your comments about reading it yourself Creambun! DW and I always choose to read DD bedtime stories that we would be interested in ourselves! So the formulaic fairy ones don't every make it to our involvement!

gazzalw · 17/04/2013 16:54

Is Kate Pankhurst a relative of the suffragette Pankhursts? If so, this book about feisty girl detectives makes even more sense ...

AnonYonimousBird · 17/04/2013 17:43

Oh boo hoo, it seems we didn't get a copy!

shellywkd · 28/04/2013 10:35

My daughter loved this book and read it in three days. She liked the layout and said the pictures were great. Now if I don't win a copy of Mariella Mystery 2 I will have to buy one.

MNHQ

LaraMumsnet · 01/05/2013 15:13

Congratulations to Katb1973, creambun, gazzalw, AnonYonimousBird, ilovezumba, Shellywkd, Jenerate and AnonymousBird because you have all been selected to receive a copy of, Mariella Mystery 2: A Cupcake Conundrum, I will DM you with more details.

jennyn8545 · 01/05/2013 21:25

Thanks mumsnet, I gave the book to my neice, who was thrilled :)
Niamh (my niece) is a keen reader, and at aged 9 i think the book was very age appropriate. The story itself kept her reading and her over all verdict was, "way cool"

BrittaPie · 01/05/2013 22:30

DD1 (6yo) loved the book - she kept reading it instead of doing things like getting ready for school though

I haven't seen her that gripped to a book, ever, and she loves reading, so this was a whole new level...

helcrai · 02/05/2013 09:49

DD1 age 7 managed to read the book by herself and loved it. She wants to be a detective when she grows up so appealed to her from the start!

Jenerate · 14/05/2013 14:35

Read the book very quickly once I started it. Good story and characters, and I especially liked the layout, and the different page designs for different aspects of the story. I also loved the little explanatory notes - great fun. I will pass it on to my friend's 8 year-old - I am sure she will love it!

carolinecordery · 14/05/2013 23:51

DD is called Mariella! She is nearly 5- is she still too young for these?

bettybooboo1 · 09/06/2013 08:33

DD loved the book and wanted to review it herself - "I am 6. I really liked the ghostly guinea pigs. Arthur was funny. I liked the mystery girls thanks .

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