Read The Secrets of Droon 5 – The Great Ice Battle free for 7 days. £7.99/month after - less than a paperback.
Tony Abbott's The Great Ice Battle is a Droon adventure for 7 year olds about a whole city frozen solid by an evil sorcerer's curse.
Eric, Julie and Neal share a brilliant secret. A little room under the stairs in Eric's basement turns into a rainbow staircase down to the magical world of Droon. However long they're away, no time passes back home.
They've been before, so they know all about Lord Sparr, the sorcerer with creepy purple fins behind his ears. Now Eric keeps having cold, shivery daydreams about him, even on a hot summer's day. That can only mean one thing. It's time to go back.
They arrive in Jaffa City just as snow starts falling out of a clear sky. Within minutes the fountains, the trees and even the people in the market are frozen. Then Eric makes a mistake that he feels really terrible about.
It's fast and full of noise. There are Blams and Crrracks all the way through, red wolves in a cave and a wizard's helper who's a spider with four arms. Neal is the joker of the group, forever grumbling that he KNEW they'd end up going back into that cave.
The best bit might be the hiding. To escape Sparr's big red Ninn warriors, the friends dunk their faces in a barrel of sugar so they look frosted over, then stand as still as statues. Would your reader be able to keep a straight face?
Princess Keeah is a great character too. Her magic keeps fizzling out just when she needs it, and she has to learn to trust herself.
There's plenty of peril, with frozen friends, arrows flying and a sorcerer throwing lightning bolts, but it never tips into too scary. It's more exciting than frightening.
If your reader beats themselves up when something goes wrong, Eric is a nice hero to have on their side. He owns his mistake and throws everything into putting it right.
If this is their first trip to Droon, The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet is where it all begins, with Eric grumpily cleaning out the basement and Julie spotting a little door under the stairs.
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