shopping cart
Save up to 30% on our Staff Picks
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Guests | December 7, 2009

Theodore Gray: IMG The Cornucopia of Home Science



Reading old books of science experiments for children, it's easy to become nostalgic for the days when you could buy jugs of sulfur and mercury at... Continue »

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy: Children of the Red King, Book 3 (Children of the Red King #03)

by Jenny Nimmo

Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy: Children of the Red King, Book 3 (Children of the Red King #03) Cover

ISBN13: 9780439545266
ISBN10: 0439545269
Condition: Standard
Dustjacket: None
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $5.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Ollie Sparks needs the help of Charlie Bone! This semester at Bloor's Academy brings a few changes. There is a new art teacher, Mr. Boldova, and a new student, Belle, who lives with the Yewbeam aunts and seems to hav a strange power over them. Emma and Charlie soon discover Mr. Boldova's secret identity: He is the older brother of Ollie Sparks, the boy who lives in the attic of Bloor's Academy. Ollie had always been prying into matters that didn't concern him, so Ezekiel Bloor made him invisible. When Charlie and his friends find him, Ollie is alone and hungry. They promise to make Ollie visible again with the aid of his brother, Mr. Boldova. Can Charlie and his friends save the invisible boy?

Synopsis:

This semester at Bloor's Academy brings a few changes. There is a new art teacher, Mr. Boldova, and a new student named Belle, who lives with the Yewbeam aunts and seems to have strange power over them. Emma and Charlie soon discover Mr. Boldova's secret identity: He is the older brother of Ollie Sparks, the boy who lives in the attic of Bloor's Academy. Ollie had always been prying into matters that didn't concern him, so Ezekiel Bloor had made him invisible. When Charlie and his friends find him, Ollie is alone and hungry, so they promise to help him become visible again.

Synopsis:

The third book in the Children of the Red King series. Charlie and his friends find an boy in the attic who is alone and hungry, and they promise to make him invisible again.

Synopsis:

In the ruins of the castle of the Red King, Charlie and Tancred discover a tree-girl who asks for their help in restoring her to a real girl. Meanwhile, Emma discovers that the invisible boy living upstairs in the attic is her older brother.

About the Author

Jenny Nimmo's love of books was evident at an early age. At nine years old she had already read all the books in her school junior library and begged for permission to join the senior library. Jenny realized early in her childhood that writing stories could be as much fun as reading them. So her years of writing and thrilling her friends with creepy stories began. But before Jenny established her career as a writer, she worked in television adapting other people's stories for television programs. When she tried her hand at writing her own television program, her producer suggested that with some added length it would make a wonderful novel.

Jenny Nimmo conducts a simple life of writing. She lives in an old water mill in Wales and begins her day of writing only after the chickens, rabbits, and cats have all been fed! She writes her stories out in longhand, editing as she goes. Then, once her manuscript is complete, she types it up on an old typewriter for her publisher's review. During the summer she puts down her pencil to help her husband run a children's summer school at their home.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
Shoshana, February 20, 2007 (view all comments by Shoshana)
+ Some character development and interesting plot twists

- Generally emotionally superficial; action somewhat illogical and inconsequential

This is the third book in the Children of the Red King/Charlie Bone series. I'm ambivalent about this volume. On the positive side, we learn more about Charlie's history, the Bloors, and the legacy of the Red King. While many of the images and events, such as talking to a giant magical snake, resonate heavily with Harry Potter, it's also true that there are a limited number of motifs from which to choose when drawing on mythic imagery. Skarpo's reappearance has some unexpected twists, and Billie's character is fleshed out and made more complex.

On the down side, the book suffers from the flaws of the previous two in the series, which are in my reviews so I won't reitterate most of them here. While there is some effort at character development, the children all seem flat and the adults even moreso. The adults are cruel yet highly ineffective, raising the question of why they are still in charge. The plot is often illogical (for example, Ollie's explanation of why he never left the Academy; Mr. Bodova's sudden return to normalcy) or inexplicable (why Ollie never contacted his family) or insufficiently prepared for (Venetia suddenly is described as someone who makes magical clothes). I understand why Ollie might not want to be invisble, but it seems like an invisible boy could be very useful in the battle against the Bloors and the wicked endowed. As was the case in the second book, plot elements are discarded after they are nominally resolved. This lends a picaresque air to the enterprise and works against finding any satisfaction in a long story arc. Events are disconnected from each other and thus largely inconsequential. What of the knight and his casket from the first book? What of the dagger the villains hoped Charlie would pick up in the second book? What happened to Henry? While I hope that these questions are ultimately answered, I don't see much evidence that they will be. I think it is unlikely that the many dangling elements will be resolved by the end of the series.

Oddly, multiple official reviews of this book repeat the statement that Mr. Boldova is a new art teacher. However, he was introduced in the previous book. Also oddly, the paperback edition begins with a statement that the Red King's time twister can be dangerous and unpredictable; however, this has nothing to do with this volume, and appears to have been accidentally transposed from the second book. This contributes to the impression that these books are under-edited.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(13 of 21 readers found this comment helpful)

Product Details

ISBN:
9780439545266
Author:
Nimmo, Jenny
Publisher:
Orchard
Subject:
General
Subject:
Action & Adventure
Subject:
Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic
Subject:
Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General
Subject:
Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Fantasy
Subject:
General Juvenile Fiction
Subject:
Action & Adventure - General
Subject:
Schools
Subject:
Boarding schools
Subject:
Fantasy & Magic
Subject:
Fantasy
Subject:
England
Subject:
Magic
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Series:
Children of the Red King
Series Volume:
03
Publication Date:
June 2004
Binding:
Hardcover
Grade Level:
Children/juvenile
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Yes
Pages:
432
Dimensions:
8.25 x 5.50 in
Age Level:
09-12

Other books you might like

  1. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Indigo's Star

    Hilary Mckay
  2. $6.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Heartbeat

    Sharon Creech
  3. $3.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  4. $3.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Chasing Vermeer

    Blue Balliett
  5. $5.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Peter and the Starcatchers

    Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
  6. $4.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    The Star of Kazan

    Eva Ibbotson

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.