The Forgotten Five 1 – Map of Flames

Lisa McMann's Map of Flames is a supernatural adventure for 10 year olds about five kids alone in a jungle hideout, with a treasure map that bursts into flames when you open it.

What happens

It's the first Forgotten Five book, and it starts on a very sad day. Birdie Golden's dad has just died. His last words to her are "find your mother".

The five are the children of supernatural criminals. Their parents fled to a hidden beach after a heist went wrong. A few years ago seven of the adults went off into the world and never came back, which left Birdie's dad, Louis, looking after everyone.

Now it's just the kids. In her dad's crate Birdie finds a note with a confession. He moved the gang's hidden stash without telling anyone, and he's drawn a map to it. He wants her to find her mum in the city of Estero, across the bay, and give it to her.

The trouble is, nobody wants to go. Seven says the beach is home and they've been through enough. And Birdie isn't sure she should tell anyone what the note says (lying to her best friend feels terrible).

Each of them has a power, and they're great fun to meet. Birdie talks to animals, including her tiny pig Puerco. Seven's skin works like camouflage, so nobody ever sees him coming. Brix bounces, and his scrapes heal in seconds. Cabot hasn't got a power yet, but she can make something useful out of anything.

The story moves between them, so you hear each kid's own worries. Tenner's dad was a bully, and he's quietly scared the others think he's rotten too. Who hasn't worried about what people think of their family?

Worth knowing before you hand it over

The book opens just after a parent has died, and the children have dug his grave themselves. There's a LOT of grief in these first chapters. There's also a memory of a dad slapping his son, and the parents were thieves who weren't always kind to each other.

For a child who's lost someone recently, that opening could be hard going. If your reader likes real feelings alongside the powers, they'll probably be hooked by these five and their burning map.

What to read next

If they're after another group of five raised in hiding with powers of their own, try The Dragonet Prophecy. Clay and four other young dragons have grown up in a cave under a mountain, waiting on a prophecy that says they'll end a war.