The Bickery Twins and the Phoenix Tear

Abi Elphinstone's The Bickery Twins and the Phoenix Tear is a magical rainforest adventure for 10 year olds about two very rich, very rude twins who can't stand each other.

What happens

Fox and Fibber Petty-Squabble have been brought up by parents whose family motto is to stamp all over other people's feelings. Mum sells skincare that doesn't work. Dad sells sauces that make people ill. And the twins have been told that only one of them will inherit the business. The other gets posted to Antarctica.

So when Fox suspects Fibber has a brilliant plan in his briefcase, she steals it and runs. In a dusty antiques shop, an old man called Casper Tock presses a glowing marble into her hand. He says it's a phoenix tear, and that the magic has chosen the twins to save the world. It hasn't rained anywhere for months.

A few minutes later they're both on a steam train with bright green smoke, plants growing through the floorboards and no driver. The ticket inspector is a ghost in a loincloth who wants to know whether they've brushed their teeth. And it's heading for Jungledrop, a secret kingdom where the world's rain comes from.

The imagination in this is wonderful. There are armchairs called snugglers that change to suit your personality, flowers with clock faces in the middle and a talking guidebook to the jungle. Fox's snuggler turns into a furry beanbag that tries to hug her, which she's never been given in her life. Who knew a beanbag could make you want to cry?

That's the heart of it, really. Fox is rude to everyone because she's built a wall round herself. She's sure she has no talent and that nobody loves her. Fibber is suddenly acting strangely too, and neither twin knows what the other is up to.

The Petty-Squabble parents are cartoonishly awful (they only had children in the hope of making money). It's played for laughs, but a child who's sensitive about unkind families might notice it.

It's the second book set in the Unmapped Kingdoms, but everything your reader needs is explained along the way. If they love big, lush fantasy with a funny voice and a lot of heart, this is a great pick.

What to read next

If they want more Abi Elphinstone, try Saving Neverland. Martha is ten, sure that growing up means giving up on fun, and her new bedroom has a window that hasn't shut for over a hundred years.