Reviewed by Debbie Douglas
Early Readers are great books designed specifically for children aged 5 and over who are ready to move on from picture books and move their reading journey onto the next step. They are beautifully illustrated with not too many words on a page but enough of a story to keep the child engaged.
Miranda the Castaway is about a little girl who gets marooned on a desert island. It is the enchanting story showing how Miranda overcomes each problem she faces as it arises until she finds one problem she just can’t fix. Craig particularly enjoyed how Miranda figures out how to get the water from the spring to her treehouse. The story can be used to explain lots of things in life, not giving up, making the best of things and to reinforce that we need each other – it is a very sweet story written by the author of the Katie books.
The books pictures are fantastic with lots of lovely detail to captivate the child’s attention and Craig enjoyed pointing things out on the pages such as the snake about to eat a bird (he is such a boy!). I was worried that this book would be too girly for him but it wasn’t at all and this book will appeal to both boys and girls.
This was a great book for us as Craig is at that stage where reading at school is that bit harder. I felt this book gave us a bit of fun back as he enjoyed picking out the words he knew. I think Craig’s only complaint was that it ended too soon. Praise indeed!
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £4.99 (paperback)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
