Find out what Mumsnetters thought of children's book The Painted Dragon by Katherine Woodfine

[SorchaMumsnet]

Introducing The Painted Dragon - a fast-paced historical adventure for readers aged 9+.

When a priceless painting is stolen, dauntless young detectives Sophie and Lil find themselves faced with forgery, trickery and deceit on all sides.

Be amazed as the brave duo pit their wits against this perilous puzzle and marvel at their cunning plan to unmask the villain. It's their most perilous adventure yet!

The Painted Dragon is the third installment in The Sinclair's Mysteries quartet. The other two books are the bestselling The Clockwork Sparrow, and The Jewelled Moth. The final book will be published this autumn.

We ask all winners to share their child's thoughts about the book on this discussion thread. However, you don't have to win a free book to take part in the discussion - you're welcome to grab a copy of The Painted Dragon and answer the questions below.

We've added some questions about the book to lead the discussion. You can, of course, add any other thoughts on the book.

Everyone who gives detailed feedback on the book by end of day, Monday 27 March will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Love2shop voucher:

-What did your child think of the characters?
-What did your child think of the historical setting?
-Would your child read other books by this author - e.g. the rest of The Sinclair's Mysteries?

This giveaway is sponsored by Egmont

Book giveaways T&Cs apply

Isn't Oliver, 9, really enjoyed the book and was his attention was definitely caught by the colours/ illustration.
He enjoys the horrible history books so he enjoyed that it was set in the past .

My son has just started reading this. He is really interested in who stole the painting and how detectives Sophie and Lil are going to solve the mystery. My son has not read any book from this era so it will be interesting to see what he thinks. So far he says its good.

this book is no way a classic like the famous five but as its good points the characters are well rounded and kids found them interesting, the setting didn't really gel may be there just a little to young at 5 and 9 for the historic setting as both know very little about that period in history ,but they still enjoyed all the sleuthing, my be a book to put aside till there a little older to be reread

My 8 year old son enjoyed this book. When I asked him why he said the writing was really 'good and exciting... she uses lots of strong adjectives'. So that has at least told me what they are trying to get them to do at school! I already have the first 2 books and he is keen to read those now, even though he didn't give them a second glance before because they are not the typical books he would read (lacking in monsters, ninjas, and bum jokes) so his horizons have been broadened at least.

Interesting setting and characters too - very easy to keep the reader engaged with use of illustration too

An intriguing mystery. My son loves stories which are rich in adventure and filled with plots. Lots of historical details. Definitely recommend this enjoyable book!

My daughter really enjoyed this book she has passed it to a friend to read and is in the look out for more titles by this author, she loved the settings g and the lived that it was set in a era that's she did not know much about she found it really intresting

DD enjoyed the characters particularly the main girls. She like Jacqueline Wilson's historical books so was familiar with that age of setting. She liked the dragon pictures.

A bit to advanced for my eldest yet, so we will come back to it later

My son absolutely loved this, very different to what he is normally into. Would definitely buy another from this author again

Thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it an easy read. Passed it on to niece.

My niece thoroughly enjoyed the book, she became very absorbed in it and it was difficult to get her to put it down, it makes a nice change from her and her brother being stuck on the Xbox all day .

Review from child in Year 5:

My 9 year old son has started reading this book. He got excited at the beginning as there was action and adventure in chapter 1. Unfortunately, immediately from chapter 2 the fact that the author is jumping from one time period to another, it confused him and made him less excited about finishing the book. He hasn't finished reading it yet!

She loves it

9 year old borrowed this and subsequently the previous 2 novels. She is keen on historical fiction and mystery stories so this suited her perfectly. I love the covers for this series and found the books well crafted and fast moving for a child. Below are her thoughts.

-What did your child think of the characters?
The characters were really well written and felt as if they were real and could be my friends. Everybody was equal to each other in the story. I didn't like Connie at first and thought she might have had something to do with the stolen painting. My favourite characters were Leo and Jack.

-What did your child think of the historical setting?
I really enjoy reading books from other times so this was great. I like to hear about the Suffragettes so I was really pleased that they were in this story. I like this type of book because you learn history while reading the story.

-Would your child read other books by this author - e.g. the rest of The Sinclair's Mysteries?
I got the other 2 books to read and they are really exciting too. I can't wait for the new book to come out and I am going to buy all the books as I want to read them again.

My son is a very keen reader. He just turned 11 and he usually likes books that are a bit magical/superhero-ish and that feature male main characters. This was a bit of a change for him.
As it turned out, he absolutely loved The Painted Dragon. He was reluctant to start it, but when he did, I found him reading it with a torch in his room after lights out because he said it was 'just so good'! He loved the characters and the setting, but mostly he was hooked by the story. We immediately ordered the other 2 books, which he is also currently enjoying. Thank you for helping to introduce my son to a new genre!

They love the illustrations but haven't read it yet.

My granddaughter loved The Painted Dragon, like the book cover the story grabs their attention from the beginning. You feel as though you are there alongside Sophie and Lil investigating and the determination to find the thief. Her favourite character was Lady Viola Tremayne who was supportive of Leo and without her she would never have got to The Spencer Institute. There were scary parts where she is pushed on to the tracks and the not being believed by the policeman and station guard adds to the drama. She liked the introduction of Jack, Lil's brother and he must be part of any new adventures. My granddaughter couldn't wait to get to the end which is brilliant to see. A great book to introduce mysteries and crime solving.

No read yet but think my grandson would like this.

I was really hoping to finish this book before I wrote the review but have 31 pages left!!

My son was reading it but was so slow I picked it up and have read it myself.

I love the fact that it's set in "olden times" as my son said. The characters are really believable and the storyline is really very good. I am wondering what happens next and although I have read the vast majority of the book I still want to find out how it pans out for the characters.

This may be a child's book but I will be going on Amazon to buy the other two.

Thank you for sending this book to me, it's a really good read.

My Niece loved this book.

This is my DD's review (age 11): I have only read the first chapter but I am already hooked. I've got the first book but didn't finish it as I got bored. This one is tense and credible and you start to get a sense of the characters and their surroundings. There was a lot of unnecessary language used in the first half of the previous book; however this chapter is straight to the point and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of the book.

An interesting read, but I didn't feel that I engage with all the many characters. There were a lot of themes & historical contexts that I felt could have been better explored if the author focused on a just few characters. I also couldn't quite believe that in spite of not being believed by the police, the girls still managed to get a Detective Agency floorspace (even if sidelined for romantic issues by the unconventional American department store owner)

I particularly liked the links to historical features like the Suffragettes but it would have been even better if there were more brief historical notes (e.g. the Suffragettes & Mrs Pankhurst, perhaps what particular disability one of the characters had & connections with particular areas of London & where to find more information if interested). There was a note that the Art school was based on the Slade School of Fine Art & about the big department store being fictional.

I felt that there was a lot of mention about the plots from previous stories as well as dramatic scenes between the main character & the nemesis/bad guy, It felt a bit too much like a blatant ad for both the past & future books of the series.

Though DD read it, it didn't seem to capture her interest in the long term.