Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7556 in Books
• Published on: 2006-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780439545303
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From School Library Journal
Grade 5–8—In the fifth installment (Orchard, 2006) of the series by Jenny Nimmo, Charlie Bone has a whole new set of mysteries to figure out—and his father is still missing. The boy discovers that the shadow from the portrait of the Red King that hangs in his school has disappeared, and everyone's pets are vanishing as well. Charlie meets Naren, a strange girl who claims to know the whereabouts of the pets. As if this wasn't enough, Charlie's mother seems to have forgotten about his father and fallen in love with an enchanter. Charlie needs his friends now more than ever if he's finally going to get to the bottom of things. To fully understand the characters and situations, the books should be read in sequence. Narrator Simon Russell Beale gives each character a distinct and recognizable voice. A must for science fiction/fantasy collections where the previous volumes are popular.—Traci Glass, Southeast Regional Library, Gilbert, AZ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
Jenny Nimmo is an award-winning author who lives with her painter husband in a converted mill in Wales. Ms. Nimmo's books include The Snow Spider, winner of the Smarties Prize, and Griffin's Castle, short-listed for the Smarties Prize, the Carnegie Medal, the Whitbread Award, and the W. H. Smith's Mind Boggling Award. The Owl Tree won the Smarties Gold Prize Award for six-to-eight-year olds.

From AudioFile
Fifth in the Children of the Red King series, this story will keep listeners immersed as 12-year-old Charlie Bone, endowed with the gift of entering into photographs, contends with mystifying events that are occurring. Evil forces are determined to keep Charlie from discovering the truth about his long-lost father. Even though several of the major characters are young children, Simon Russell Beale does an excellent job portraying the numerous voices; each is distinctive and instantly recognizable. His emphasis, intonation, and occasional sound effects adeptly underscore the plot twists. Accompanying music is fitting, dramatizing a ghostly atmosphere and contributing to the suspense. M.H.N. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Back to form!
I felt that the last book, The Castle of Mirrors, was missing some of Ms. Nimmo's usual "zip". It felt like there was a bit of hesitancy in her writing. Of all the books, I enjoyed that the least. However, in The Hidden King, Ms. Nimmo is back to her wonderful, enjoyable form that has made this series so pleasant and charming.

New characters continue to appear, old ones remain and rivalries still exist. A tremendous secret is uncovered - well, several, to be honest. Quite a bit is at stake here, and there are several threads that need to be managed and I found her management to be deftly done.

In earlier reviews I had voiced a concern that the books always revolved around children that the Bloors/Yewbeams didn't want to be found. That stopped in the last book, and continued here. There are no lost children...but someone else is lost, and we know why. In this instance, it makes sense - and that's so important in art. Things need to make sense, because if they don't, not many people will buy the book.

The momentum has returned...and while I said my mouth was dry after finishing the last book, it is nearly drooling in anticipation for the next book. What a magnificent ending! This is an excellent series for its intended audience, blending in the right amount of mystery, intrigue, with a firm understanding of what is right and what is wrong.

Simple But Satisfying
Charlie Bone and the Hidden King is another in a series of fun books to read. Jenny Nimmo is skilled in her storytelling.

The plot is simple, straightforward, and compelling enough to get the reader to the end of the book with ample satisfaction. The Hidden King adds extra elements about those who are endowed with the introduction of the existence of other academies for descendants of the Red King throughout the world.

The battle with the shadow, the continuation of the search for Charlie's brain wiped father, and the introduction of just enough new characters who are good and evil make this book another in the series that leaves the reader begging for the next book to be done sooner.

It is easy to see that Jenny Nimmo is skilled because when her Charlie Bone books come out I put them off as long as I can because I know that once I start reading, I will read the book straight through and then I will have to wait FOREVER, or it seems like forever for the next installment. The fact that I approach these books knowing I will love them and then finish wanting more proves that Nimmo has a gift.

I hope Charlie Bone goes on forever and that Jenny Nimmo gets a movie contract for screenplay adaptations of the series that rivals JK Rowling's deal.

Great Installment to the Series
Took me longer to get around to reading this than I would have liked. However, as always Nimmo's writing is very easy to read, so I zipped through the book. Charlie and his friends (allies) have more of the Red King mystery to unravel this time around. Finally things are happening that I had been anticipating since the first book. (I won't spoil the book for anyone, but I was really happy with the results).

Some great new characters are introduced, who will really add some layers of complexity to other dynamics down the road. The villian of this book--doesn't seem to do as much as he threatens to--Charlie is very effective at stopping him, it seems. Shades of gray are really seen in this book too--which goes really well with the title, characters act in ways you might not have expected them to in the past.

I really love this books, they aren't hard to read and are a much lighter story than alot of their contemporaries (Harry Potter etc). I'd say great for anyone above 3rd grade or there abouts. A very fun series, and clearly Nimmo has more to tell,so I will be eagerly awaiting the next book.