The Children of the Red King fantasy series for ages 8 and up is very inventive and a little dark, much like Roald Dahl’s books or Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.
Children of the Red King #1: Midnight for Charlie Bone (4/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
A magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy to read.
The fabulous powers of the Red King were passed down through his descendants, after turning up quite unexpectedly, in someone who had no idea where they came from.
This is what happened to Charlie Bone, and to some of the children he met behind the grim, gray walls of Bloor’s Academy.
Charlie Bone has discovered an unusual gift—he can hear people in photographs talking! His scheming aunts decide to send him to Bloor Academy, a school for geniuses where he uses his gifts to discover the truth despite all the dangers that lie ahead.
Children of the Red King #2: Charlie Bone and the Time Twister (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
The second book in the Children of the Red King series, TIME TWISTER offers more magical fantasy that is fast-paced and easy to read.
January 1916:
Henry Yewbeam and his younger brother, James, have been sent to stay with their cousins at the Bloor’s Academy.
It is one of the coldest days of the year, and all Henry wants to do is hide from his mean cousins and play marbles. He finds a nice, long hall and begins to roll his marbles. Then he discovers a marble that doesn’t look familiar to him.
Suddenly a series of strange events takes place. Henry begins to disappear. He quickly scribbles on the floor GIVE THE MARBLE TO JAMES, and then he vanishes from the year 1916.
Children of the Red King #3: Charlie Bone and the Invisible Boy (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
The third book in the Children of the Red King series, CHARLIE BONE AND THE INVISIBLE BOY offers more magical fantasy that is fast paced and easy to read.
This semester at Bloor’s Academy brings a few changes. There is a new art teacher, Mr. Boldova, and a new student named Belle, who lives with the Yewbeam aunts and seems to have strange power over them.
Emma and Charlie soon discover Mr. Boldova’s secret identity: He is the older brother of Ollie Sparks, the boy who lives in the attic of Bloor’s Academy. Ollie had always been prying into matters that didn’t concern him, so Ezekiel Bloor had made him invisible.
When Charlie and his friends find him, Ollie is alone and hungry, so they promise to help him become visible again.
Children of the Red King #4: Charlie Bone and the Castle of Mirrors (4/5 stars, currently priced at $5.99)
Over 3.4 million Charlie Bone books in print!!!
Charlie’s power is taking on a new dimension as he meets a new cast of characters, including Mr. Pilgrim’s replacement, Tantalus Ebony, and the mysterious new student Joshua Tilpin, who appears to be magnetic.
But Charlie isn’t the only one dealing with changes . . . Billy has been adopted by a child-hating couple called the O’Gres, who carry a gray bag of oaths wherever they go, pressuring Billy to sign an oath of obedience, and locking him behind a force field in an odd place called The Passing House.
Will Charlie be able to rescue Billy and uncover the mystery behind Joshua’s power?
Click here to browse the full Children of the Red King series.
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