Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Magical, gods, quest, mythical creatures.
Children’s book title: Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm.
Children’s author: Ash Bond.
Genre: Children’s fiction, fantasy.
Published by: Piccadilly Press.
ISBN: 9781800786806.
Recommended for children aged: 9-14 year-olds.
First published: Hardback April 2024.
This children’s book is ideal for: Children who enjoy fantasies set in mystical realms.
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Our review:
Twelve-year-old Peregrine Quinn is staying with her godfather while her mum, Penelope, is working abroad. This isn’t a problem as Daedalus Bloom’s stories of his life as an immortal are epic and, of course, she loves him and his flower shop/clinic. Things change when Peregrine discovers Daedalus was actually telling the truth and they weren’t stories at all!
With the portals between the Terran and Cosmic Realms suddenly closed Daedalus rushes off and promptly disappears without a trace! Joined by Rowan Strong, a dryad or nature spirit, Peregrine is soon hunting for her godfather in places she had no idea were real while avoiding those who want to stop her from finding Daedalus at all costs. Even if Peregrine does manage to discover what’s happened so far she has no idea how to get any of them home!
Our verdict:
This is a fast-moving middle-grade novel which draws the reader in quickly and takes them on an exciting dual-realm adventure. Peregrine and Rowan work really well together even if everything is completely new for one of them while the other is spending only her first day as a temporary librarian! Things, of course, don’t go according to plan, even when they actually have one, but both of them are written in such a way that cheering them on is easy right from the start.
Although this book could be a first venture into the fantasy genre as everyone is easily relatable, curious readers will want to be able to access descriptions of the mythical inhabitants of the Cosmic Realm fairly easily. The scenes set in London didn’t lack anything in terms of adventure and merged well with everything else.
Although this is aimed at readers from 9 to 14 years old I think the vocabulary and writing style will suit those closer to the suggested upper age limit in this group best.
Teaching points and book club discussion ideas:
- The main protagonist, Peregrine Quinn’s godfather, Daedalus Bloom, keeps secrets which leads her into a dangerous situation that would have been less shocking had he explained some things honestly.
- This could be useful in PSHE lessons when discussing when a secret is a good thing, when it’s best to keep things to yourself, at least for a little while, and when you should always tell a grown-up or a child what is going on.
Many thanks to Piccadilly Press for the review copy.
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If you like Peregrine Quinn and the Cosmic Realm by Ash Bond you might also like: our reviews of The Memory Thieves by Dhonielle Clayton, Mia and the Traitor of Nubis by Janelle McCurdy, The Thief of Farrowfell by Ravena Guron, The Rescue of Ravenwood by Natasha Farrant, Song of the Far Isles by Nicholas Bowling and The Magician’s Map by Mikki Lish and Kelly Ngai.
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