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

[SorchaMumsnet]

Cogheart is a Victorian adventure filled with murder, mystery, mayhem and a dash of steampunk. Head to the giveaway page to apply for your copy!

When Lily's father disappears after a routine Zeppelin flight, she is determined to find out what happened. Helped by her friends - the local clockmaker's son, and a wily mechanical fox - she must travel to London to get to the heart of the mystery.

Readers aged 9+ will love this inventive tale - apply for one of 50 free copies of Cogheart by Peter Bunzl now.

We ask all winners to share their thoughts (and their children's thoughts) about the book on this discussion thread. However, you don't have to win a free copy to take part in the discussion - anyone who has read Cogheart can post their feedback here (and you can buy the book now).

Everyone who posts on this thread before 21 October will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher.

This giveaway is sponsored by Usbourne

Received my copy yesterday - looking forward to reading it!

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.

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.

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 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!

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 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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

Loving this. Im half way through and just want to know whats happening, but my 7 year old daughter is trying to read it at the same time! Already recommended it to so many people and buying for the school library.

a very well written book nice mix of being set in Victorian England and all the mechanical animals and some villains, yes there death but that's here in the real world too not just on the printed page got the kids thinking and asking questions

Such a brilliant book. I was hooked by Chapter 1and didn't want to put the book down. Adventure, mystery and tragedy has me racing through the book to get to the ending which did not disappoint!

I thought my DD would really enjoy this book as she loves historical fiction and adventure/mystery stories but unfortunately she's struggled to get into it. I think she found the mechanicals a bit too freaky and it's maybe too dark for her liking.

I think it's a great book though which will appeal to lots of other readers, just not my DD!

Cogheart is a great adventure book, and one I have enjoyed starting to read. The characters are beautifully set out and you can help but fall in love with Malkin. Its lovely to find a new and very different book and one that keeps you interested all the way through. I will love sharing the adventures with my son 11 as I know he will love it too.

Thanks so much for Cogheart! I've been reading it with my 7 year old who loves the excitement and adventure!
Lily is a wonderfully plucky heroine but the most favourite character award goes to Malkin the mechanical fox!
The language is fabulously imaginative, the plot is packed with fantastic twists and turns and the cast of characters is full of amazing automata!
It's a big hit in our house!

Thanks for the book and the rubber. My dd collects rubbers so she was very happy to find this enclosed with the book.

Here is what my 11 yr old says:

I love the ideas of how there are mechanical machines like the fox. At first I didn't understand the first bit but as I read on the book became really interesting. My favorite character is The mechanical fox Malkin. Overall I would give it a 4 star!

A rollercoaster adventure!! A bit of everything here and a dollop of history and mystery too! Much enjoyed by all I have to say!

Interesting premis for a book.

a cracking read which made you want to keep turning those pages

I applied to review this book because I thought it would be a suitable one for by 10 year old grandson. He likes, mystery, magic and adventure – all contained in this book.

It is set in the Victorian era, before electricity and computers, where steam powers the world. Clockwork mechanisms are made by specialists, and wind up servants have been invented. There is a rumor that a perpetual motion machine exists, and someone is willing to kill to obtain it.

Lily, her friend Robert and her mechanical pet fox Malkin are being pursued by evil villains who are after the machine, and involves many adventures, ending with an exciting air ship battle.

I liked the mechanical servants with their strange oaths – “Cogs and chronometers” – “Clockwork and cam-wheels” – “Steam and steel”. Lily thinks of them as her friends, they seem almost human, except they have to be wound up! She comments that humans have a soul, but you can’t take it out and inspect it, so why not robotic servants.

This is a story of adventure and suspense, a real page turner. In the end the perpetual motion machine is found in quite an unexpected place, and the villains defeated!

My grandson liked the book so much, he kept it for himself instead of donating it to the school library, it certainly had his seal of approval.

Firstly thank you for my copy of Cogheart. I read it before passing it to my son and loved it. He's 12 and 3/4 of the way through and is liking it too. Loved that it was set in Victorian England, and the idea of mechanical machines was pure brilliance, what an imagination! More twists than a corkscrew and lots of mystery too. A superb book that I would never have thought of reading so thank you again for the win, it's opened my eyes to a new genre of reading material (even if it is written for youngsters!)

I read and finished it and really enjoyed this book.
I think it's good for all ages and types of readers.
It's an easy read, has a nice pace and a good adventure.

Back again ...this book is now in Prince Edward Island Canada (home of Anne of Green Gables) with my grandaughter, she is due to stay again in England in a couple of weeks I will see what she thought of it and post again