The Secrets of Droon 20 – In the Ice Caves of Krog

Tony Abbott's In the Ice Caves of Krog is a snowy fantasy adventure for 7 year olds about a boy whose magic suddenly gets much stronger than he can handle.

What happens

Eric, Neal and Julie have a secret. There's a staircase in Eric's basement that leads to the magical world of Droon. They've had plenty of adventures there already (this is book twenty), and Eric has wizard powers.

Now those powers are going haywire. He freezes a cup of water at school, pulls the bathroom door off its hinges and zaps a slice of pizza to dust. Worst of all, his sparks have turned silver. Then it starts snowing so hard that school closes early. Did he do that?

Down in Droon, Princess Keeah's magic harp has started singing warnings. An ancient beast called Krog has woken in the frozen north and is burning villages. So off they go, with Max the spider troll and Rolf, a big furry knight who gets lost even when he's pointing the right way.

The harp keeps singing riddles about where to go next, and working them out is half the fun. Neal is very pleased with himself when he cracks one ("I'm a genius!"). Your reader can have a go at guessing too.

There's a lovely feeling of a quest getting harder as it goes. Friends go missing one by one. There's a riddling iceman on an ice bridge, and a warm castle full of everybody's favourite food that turns out to be a trap (Neal sees doughnuts, Julie sees corn chips).

Eric learning to control his magic is the heart of it. Keeah tells him real power is knowing when to use it and when not to, and that idea really matters once Eric is finally face to face with Krog. It's a nice thought to leave a young reader with.

It's exciting and occasionally spooky, with faceless shadow creatures called wraiths hissing in the snow. The jokes never stop for long, though. If your child loves a puzzle as much as a monster, this one works well.

What to read next

If you'd like to go right back to the very beginning, The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet is where Julie first spots a little door under Eric's basement stairs.