Rumblestar

Abi Elphinstone's Rumblestar is a sky-high magical adventure for 10 year olds about a boy who plans every minute of his day and then tumbles into a kingdom in the sky that looks after our weather.

What happens

Casper Tock is eleven and lives by his timetables. He spends Thursday afternoons crouched in the lost property basket to keep out of the way of two bullies. His to-do list usually has just one thing on it (grow up quickly).

Meanwhile hurricanes are battering the country every few days and nobody can explain why.

Then Candida follows Casper up to the turret flat where his family lives. He squeezes into a broken grandfather clock to get away from her. When the door opens again, he's standing on a staircase in the clouds.

Waiting there is Utterly Thankless. She's barefoot, always being sent out of class and VERY sure that Casper is the criminal who's been meddling with Rumblestar's marvels (drops of rain, snow and sunlight in their purest form). She'd like to drag him up the steps by his ear or his hair, whichever hurts more.

Then there's Arlo, a blue dragon about the size of a fist who rides in her overalls pocket. He has a bad chest, which makes breathing fire a bit of an effort, and he sobs at the thought of an unhappy ending. Who wouldn't want an Arlo?

The magic is so inventive. There's a tree that grows excuse notes for anyone who's late home, and giants asleep under the bridges (sneeze and you might get squashed). Casper is anxious and polite and keeps looking round for a grown-up. Utterly never thinks before she speaks. Their squabbles are very funny.

It's worth knowing that the bullying at the start is racist. Candida tells Casper he's not the right colour or class and sneers at his mum's cooking. The storms are serious too, with news of hundreds of casualties in London. A child who'd find either of those upsetting might like to read the first chapters with you. For plenty of readers, though, it's exactly what makes them root for Casper.

A short prologue covers the history of the kingdoms, so nothing else needs reading first.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Saving Neverland is another Abi Elphinstone adventure with a list-maker at its heart. Martha is ten, keeps a checklist of every job that keeps her little brother safe, and has decided it's time to grow up. Then Peter Pan turns up at the bedroom window that never shuts.