
The Train of Dark Wonders
by Alex Bell
Interest age: 9 to 11
Reading age: 9+
Published by Rock the Boat, 2023
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
-
Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup
by Andy Sagar
-
Explorers on Black Ice Bridge
by Alex Bell, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic
6 to 12 years
-
A Most Peculiar Toy Factory
by Alex Bell, illustrated by Nan Lawson
6 to 12 years
-
Explorers on Witch Mountain
by Alex Bell, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic
6 to 12 years