book cover

The Train of Dark Wonders

by Alex Bell

Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 9+

Published by Rock the Boat, 2023

  • Adventure
  • Coming-of-age
  • Fantasy

About this book

Bess thinks the Odditorium is the best museum in the world. Pops has spent years filling it with the weird and wonderful things he collected on his travels. He even turned the ballroom into a swamp for a 12-foot-long white crocodile called Blizzard. 

But visitor numbers have dropped lately and there are bills to be paid so, when Pops dies, Uncle Norman wants to sell the exhibits. But it’s Bess who has inherited the strange museum and she is determined to save it.

The first problem is finding magic beans to feed the whispering flowers. They have started to eat the walls so soon there will be no Odditorium left to save. Then Bess finds an unusual-looking train ticket among Pop’s things. Could it be the key to the Odditorium’s future? 

In this charming fantasy adventure, Bess takes a ride to the Land of Halloween Sweets on a remarkable train meeting a host of peculiar people and creatures including a ghost cat, goblins, miniature mermaids with razor-sharp teeth and a tiny bat called Mish who enjoys swimming in jam.

She also learns important lessons about self- acceptance, friendship and being happy with who you are.

More books like this

Share this page Twitter Facebook LinkedIn