Matt McAvoy Book Review

Another magical outing for the kids of White Stone Town in Wales, their third in this series, and in my opinion this may well be the best of the three, if only for its pure educational value.  Don’t get me wrong, all the books in the Magic Islands series, aimed at the 8-12 age group, are fantastic sources of information about the planet and the environment generally, but while the earlier two books were much more explicitly cautionary tales about the environment, and the dangers of man-made climatic catastrophes, The Land of Now and Then focuses arguably more on the general natural history of the planet itself.  As a result, it is, in my opinion, a much more wholesome offering, with wonderful helpings of fact and archaeological evidence.  There is also a little more time spent in the less fantastical real world of the children Megan and Stefan, along with their friend Trevor, this time lucky enough to be going along with them for the ride.  I like this one a little more, I have to say, because I loved learning about dinosaurs as a kid, and it is nice for the long-suffering children of today to have the same opportunity to discover the past, rather than endlessly watching the future.  For pure entertainment and educational value, this is a great offering.

The usual gang are all there: wizard Ambrosious, the two witches and the mischievous (far less evil, this time around) Purple Wizards, but there are some great new ones, too, in this land which time, literally, forgot.  Dinosaurs and other extinct creatures – including those consigned to ancient myth – inhabit The Land of Now and Then, getting up to all sorts of silliness to get time back – and it is great stuff.

I’ve really enjoyed this series by Irene Edwards.  I don’t know what her plans are regarding its future, but in my personal opinion this would be a delightful way to end the saga, if indeed it works out that way.  Whatever comes next, if it’s as good as this, I’ll be looking forward to it very much.