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Marie Basting Books

Trust me, the fairy tales have it so wrong.

Dingy towers and wicked step-mums are the least of my worries: it’s the boredom that will kill me. Honestly, apart from the endless supply of cupcakes, being a princess is pretty rubbish.

I used to think about locking myself in a tower and throwing away the key. Thank the good goblin I discovered BMX. If it wasn’t for BMX, nothing would have changed …

A brilliantly funny adventure from a fantastic new voice for readers aged 7+

Follows a pampered but rebellious princess as she travels from another world, finds her true talents in BMX and brings her brand-new powers back home

For fans of Enchanted – with even more laughs!

This is the second in the series of Livi’s adventures, but it works well as a standalone read, as there is plenty of backstory to explain it all.

It is a wonderfully bonkers book, taking Roman and Greek mythology and using it as the basis for madcap escapades, mixed up with modern situations too. I particularly liked the extensive glossary and use of historical terms throughout the text. My favourite part was the collection of objects, and I don’t think it would spoil the plot to mention that Alan Titchmarsh’s secateurs are amongst them. Any book that can make adults as well as children laugh and learn, has got to be a good one.

Livi is such an entertaining narrator, and her bluntness is her strength. The illustrations and cover by Flavia Sorrentino are a delight, hinting at the story at the start of each chapter as well as bringing some of the characters to life. This is definitely the sort of book to make a great read-aloud and companion text for any Romans topic.

With this brilliant mash-up of LARPing (Live Action Role Play) and ancient history, Marie Basting will have children giggling and learning Latin while they do it! Silvia lives with her Dad in a small cottage by Hadrian’s Wall, where he plans on realising his dream of creating a LARP of epic Roman proportions. The only problem is, as Silvia realises, no one is really going to turn up when he’s not done any advertising. However, when Silvia gets sucked back in time and finds out she is actually one of a large and infamous mythical family, it turns out all of Rome will be coming!

Full of Ancient Roman trivia and Latin asides (with a handy glossary to make sense of them at the end of the book), the story of how Silvia discovers her true demigoddess identity won’t fail to hook in enthusiasts of all things Roman. The plot is fast-paced and contains a particular blend of pre-teen contemporary lingo. For children already familiar with and enjoying a topic on Ancient Rome, it’s a fun read, and may well be a hit with reluctant readers.

If you are looking for a quirky, fun (and just a little bit silly!) addition to classroom shelves for a topic on Ancient Rome then look no further!

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