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The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson
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The Secret of Platform 13 (original 1994; edition 2001)

by Eva Ibbotson

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,526405,810 (3.84)86
Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a giant ogre on their mission through a magical tunnel from their Island to London to rescue their King and Queen's son who had been stolen as an infant.
Member:stephxsu
Title:The Secret of Platform 13
Authors:Eva Ibbotson
Info:Macmillan Children's Books (2001), Paperback, 208 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:jfic, fantasy

Work Information

The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson (1994)

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Showing 1-5 of 37 (next | show all)
A forgotten door on an abandoned railway platform is the entrance to a magical kingdom--an island where humans live happily with mermaids, ogres, and other wonderful creatures. Carefully hidden from the world, the Island is only accessible when the door opens for nine days every nine years. When the beastly Mrs. Trottle kidnaps the Island's young prince, it's up to a strange band of rescuers to save him. But can the rescuers--an ogre, a hag, a wizard, and a fey--sneak around London unnoticed? Fans of Roald Dahl, Lewis Carroll, and E. Nesbit will delight in this comic fantasy.
  PlumfieldCH | Sep 21, 2023 |
Saw browsing at the Carle book shop

Every nine years, for nine days, the portal between the world as we know it and the Island opens. The last time it opened, the three-month-old prince was stolen; now, nine years later, the King and Queen assemble a curious rescue team to get him back. An old wizard, a fey, a one-eyed ogre, and a young hag pass through at King's Cross station, and with the help of some friendly ghosts, find the kidnapped prince at the Trottles' home. But there are TWO boys in the household: one kind and diligent, one completely spoiled (see also: Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley). As the nine days rush by with little progress - the rescue team wants to convince the prince to come willingly, not bop him on the head and drop him in a sack - suspense ratchets up. Delightful, enchanting, how am I only discovering it now?? ( )
  JennyArch | Feb 23, 2023 |
Good fantasy YA novel. First one I've read of this author, but one of my daughters once told me she was good. Has a bit of a Rowling flavor. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
While the review indicates this is a 2019 read, I have read it every year since.
I read this often to my younger brother when we were both little kids, and he had some trouble reading, when it first came out. We loved this book. I checked it out again today and hoped I'd still find it wonderful, and I do. I had lots of happy memories of reading it for the first time come back, and laughed at jokes I didn't get as a kid. I still want to be Odge, but also now I would like to be Gerkintrude. I still want to see a seashell-shaped bathtub with violet- and rose-scented crystals in small dishes. I want to see the magic show! Oh, that was my favorite part of the book this time around. What wonder. What splendor. I was entranced, just imagining it, and Raymond's reactions often ruined everything. I didn't cry at the sad parts, though, this time. However, the scary parts were a lot scarier. The mistmaker was still wonderful. I laughed at some of the things the adults did, thinking I'd do the same. I was glad at how much I'd remembered, and how much the book still holds up for me as an adult. I plan to reread it every year. ( )
  iszevthere | Jun 23, 2022 |
Very Roald Dahl in style.
  rakerman | Jul 25, 2021 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Eva Ibbotsonprimary authorall editionscalculated
Porter, SueIllustratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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For Laurie and for David
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If you went into a school nowadays and said to the children: 'What is a gump?' you would probably get some very silly answers.
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But it was the other bodyguard that was the most feared and famous one in London. Doreen Trout was Bruce's sister, but she couldn't have been more different. She was small and mousy with a bun of grey hair and weak blue eyes behind round spectacles. Doreen wore lumpy tweed skirts and thick stockings - and more than anything, she loved to knit. She knitted all day long: purple cardigans and pink bootees and heather mixture ankle socks... Clackety-click, clackety-clack, went Doreen's needles from morning to night - and they were sharp, those needles. Incredibly sharp.

There are certain places in the human body which are not covered by bones and someone who knows exactly where these soft places are does not need to bother with a gun. A really sharp needle is much less messy and scarcely leaves a mark.

Bruce was costing Mrs Trottle a hundred pounds a day, but for Soft Parts Doreen, as they called her, she had to pay double that.
p. 118
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Odge Gribble, a young hag, accompanies an old wizard, a gentle fey, and a giant ogre on their mission through a magical tunnel from their Island to London to rescue their King and Queen's son who had been stolen as an infant.

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Book description
Under Platform 13 at Kings Cross Station, there is a secret door that leads to a magical island...It appears only once every nine years. And when it opens, four mysterious figures step into the streets of London. A wizard, an ogre, a fey and a young hag have come to find the prince of their kingdom, stolen as a baby nine years before. But the prince has become a horrible rich boy called Raymond Trottle who doesn't understand magic and is determined not to be rescued. 'This kind of fun will never fail to delight.' - Philip Pullman.
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