Barbara Else

Jasper is turning twelve, but for some reason his parents won’t tell anyone his real age. They keep him inside most of the time and won’t let him go to school. But when he tells them that he spotted Lady Gall, the Provisional Monarch of Fontania, try to poison his little sister Sibilla, they gather up the family and bolt. What do they know that they’re not telling him?

When he gets left behind, Jasper ends up boarding a strange boat called The Traveling Restaurant, whose crew consists show more of an eclectic duo, Polly and Dr. Rocket. The longer Jasper travels with these two, the more secrets he uncovers about who they are, who his family is, and who really ought to be ruling over Fontania. He also discovers why Lady Gall has outlawed magic – and where it went when it became illegal.

Brave the storms and the pirates, the monkeys and the downright rude orphan girls, with Jasper as he journeys on the ship that’s known in every town as the Traveling Restaurant…and find out why it’s much more than what it seems. show less

(7.5) A light-hearted, entertaining romp through the well-to-do suburb of Remuera, in Auckland. I found this particularly amusing having grown up in what was then the more working class, neighbouring suburb of Ellerslie. Kate Wildburn, wife to gastric surgeon Richard and mother to three grown children discovers a tell-tale receipt in her husband's pocket - he is having an affair. She sets off on a course of retribution aided and abetted by her wayward sister and close friend. I enjoyed the show more portrayal of the predictably, bad-tempered Richard who was both irritable and offensive in his manner to his wife and children. It struck a chord with me, in both setting and it's illustration of family life. show less

The fabulous cover of this book was what first caught my attention. I knew that anything with a cover that great must be wonderful and my expectations were fulfilled. Frequently hilarious, this enchanting tale is told in three parts: ‘Breakfast on the Travelling Restaurant’; ‘Lunch with the Secret Prince’ and ‘Barbecue with the True Crown’. Twelve-year-old Jasper, a seemingly ordinary boy, lives in the kingdom of Fontania with his mother, Lady Helen, and his father, Dr Ludlow, a show more scientist. Since the mysterious circumstances of ‘The Great Accident’ when a scientific experiment went terribly wrong and destroyed the Eastern Lake and the magic maintaining an ideal kingdom, the tyrannical ruler or ‘Provisional Monarch’ Lady Gall, has been in charge. Jasper's father has to work in a laboratory all day making something called 'beauteen', a kind of botox that is injected into Lady Gall to keep her looking young and beautiful.

After Jasper’s Uncle Trump turns up, his parents suddenly flee the city, leaving him behind. Later he finds that they are imprisoned and his sister Sybillia kidnapped. Jasper seeks sanctuary on a ship called ‘The Travelling Restaurant’ crewed by feisty Polly and old Dr Rocket. The restaurant provides food delights which during their travels Jasper often uses as bribery against Lady Gall’s cabbage and bean fed guards. Rocket and Polly assist Jasper in his quest to find Sybilla and overthrow Lady Gall, the usurper who secretly plans to become Queen. Encountering fierce storms, hungry pirates, whirlpools, and troublesome monkeys they sail around the coast and islands of Fontania.

Cover artist Sam Broad has designed wonderful fold-out maps for inside the front and back of this book. A most wonderful and fantastical voyage, very enjoyable. show less

Jasper is just an ordinary boy who lives in a place where the monarch is oh so adorable! Or that's what everyone says in fear so they don't get taken away. He doesn't understand how people do that. He also doesn't understand why his mother keeps on telling everyone that he is ten instead of twelve. And then he sees Lady Gall put something in his little sister's mouth and everything goes haywire after that. He's left alone and ends up going on a ship with a restaurant that has an odd set of show more people that he soon finds out are not only odd but important. They're against Lady Gall taking the crown but I don't even they would have expected this much trouble from an ordinary boy like Jasper. Stealing orphans, bribing pirates, and you the reader discovering that this isn't just an ordinary boy after all.

Well this one took me awhile so you know it wasn't as captivating as it could be BUT that doesn't mean it was bad. It actually was pretty good. Another "I didn't expect" type of book. I would just say it is for a certain type of reader. It's a journey but I thought there would be more action less talking. Jasper is very likable and I felt sorry for him because everyone kept calling him plain and he was anything but. He loved his sister very much and his sister was a toddler so that's love! I know I shouldn't say this but it was too long. The average middle schooler is not going to keep there attention on this book for that long. Again it's a certain type of reader. An actual READER. Someone who likes to read a lot. So other than that this book was a unique one. The plot was a great one with an evil monarch wanted to take over who was kind of reminiscent to the one in The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in A Ship of her own Making. I'm happy that I finally got to finish it and it ended nicely.

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