Rupert Kingfisher

Cute children's story. It's extremely predictable - girl with Talent is forced to work for mean nasty relative, discovers Magical Shoppe, her talent is allowed to flower, and she uses it (and her relative's greed) to Conquer. The setting and the style are pleasant, and there's some really amusing bits; there's also some large loose ends (where does the reviewer come in? Why does he, apparently for the first time, actually appreciate a chef's work - what's his link to Madame Pamplemousse? and so on). Mildly enjoyable to read once. I could see a child being entranced by it - but it doesn't offer much to an adult (or, at least, to me).… (more)

This is an absolutely delightful time-travel adventure for younger readers getting their teeth in to chapter books. It was an absolute delight from start to finish -- high stakes (the spirit of Paris is at risk! our protagonist, Madeleine, is threatened with imprisonment for the rest of her childhood), high energy (an average of one near escape per chapter), quirky, and fantastical. The language is lush. The world building is spacious, and yet detailed, with each environment economically sketched. The characters are lovely -- a little caricatured, as might be expected from urban fantasy for middle school (in some ways, it reminded me of the best of Roald Dahl), but every named character had their own features.

There are a number of incidental features that I love. The characters last names are all food -- I didn't recognise one, so had to look it up, with Google Translate providing the entertaining 'Norway lobster' as the English. The historical/mythical beasties are all ones that an average middle class kid might be expected to know, but enough detail is given that familiarity is not required. And while the protagonist, Madeleine, ends up lost and alone, things start to look up when an adult is involved, and it is not Madeleine's responsibility to solve things, just to be the helping hand when required. And when things get tough with both Madeleine and Camembert (the cat) in danger, Madame Pampelmousse sends Madeleine out of danger because "I can save him, but then I can't protect you". Too many of the children's books I've read have adults as capricious, dangerous, and unhelpful, and I don't want that children never be exposed to the idea that adults can be forces for good.… (more)