Once in a Blue Moon reviewed in Kirkus

Great review in Kirkus  of  Once in a Blue Moon by Miranda Twist, a brilliantly funny  book for children, nine and older. This just published book for children is about magic going wonderfully and dangerously wrong. Once in a Blue Moon is Miranda Twist’s first book for children. She says that humour is her natural element. ‘I so enjoyed creating the twists and turns in this story. It’s great that so many  readers have enjoyed it too.’  In once in a Blue Moon, a host of strange creatures , including a troll and a six legged dog appear unexpectedly in an ‘ordinary’ garden. Beyond the garden is a wood, and in the wood strange things are happening because it’s Grandpa Yo Yitsoo’s birthday and he’s having a pirate party to which everyone is invited, everyone except Grandma Yo Yitsoo  with her wicked and scrumdiddlyumtious cup cakes that can shrink people and creatures in a matter of seconds.

Here’s what Kirkus said:

‘An ill-used imagination conjures up some serious big-time baddies in this charming English import.

It’s bad enough when your sister is the family do-gooder, but now she can perform magic as well? And not just any magic either, since Lucy now has the ability to invent any creature from scratch. When a magic wood behind their home grants Henry’s sister this awe-inspiring gift, he soon learns that she’s in danger from her own creations. The garingay want to steal her away, the yo yitsoo are on the prowl, and dangerous cupcakes are shrinking their victims at a frightening rate. Solving this puzzle means figuring out a way to un-invent the worst of the creatures before Lucy is stolen once and for all. Part of the book’s charm is that it reads like a highly logical stream of consciousness with a bit of dream logic thrown in for spice. A mad-dash fever dream of a book peppered with magic, fancy, and just a little bit of soul.’

Once is a Blue Moon is an engaging story, the writing is crisp and the ideas are original. A debut author who  has a lot to offer.