By Katya Balen (author) , Rachael Dean (illustrator) Part of the The Thames and Tide Club series
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The mudlarkers of the Thames and Tide Club are about to face Squidmageddon in a funny and fast-paced adventure for young treasure hunters.
When the director of the mudlarking museum goes on holiday for a week, he leaves three members of the Thames and Tide Club – Clem, Zara and Ash – in charge. They’re determined that nothing will go wrong on their watch, but they haven’t planned on an invasion of squid who will stop at nothing to take over the world … Join the club and dig for treasure in the wildest adventure you could imagine!
Praise for The Thames and Tide Club: The Secret City;
Bursting with quirky characters and imaginative world-building elements, this is the start of a delightful young fiction series. Clem and her friends live in a friendly community, and the warmth of that group infuses the whole story. Short chapters and fun illustrations bring huge appeal for readers who are keen to dive into engaging but accessible stories - BookTrust
Clem and the sparring twins Ash and Zara are part of a diverse group of mudlarkers who search the shores of the Thames for artefacts and rubbish, and frequent the mudlarking museum, a place of hot chocolate and mystery. Finding a strange object endangers both London and the river, and the three have to enter a fishily named underwater London (Codvent Garden but still Finsbury Park), and meet a self-important snail, menacing eels and a petulant porpoise to put things right. This is the first of a series by the Carnegie Medal-winner Balen. The fun is in the sometimes satirical tone, the lively detail in both text and illustrations, and unexpected phrases: 'A frankly terrifying china object, shaped like an evil kitten'; 'Tower Bridge swayed like a dandelion in the wind' - Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week
Who doesn’t love a good fish pun? Or even a bad one, for that matter. In this brilliantly briny adventure story, Clem and her mudlarking pals are plunged into the secret world of underwater London … This is Katya Balen’s first series for younger readers, following the success of her novels for older children, such as October, October, which won the Yoto Carnegie Medal last year. She is clearly delighting in the daftness of gangster eels and stroppy porpoises, but retains the sensitive style that is her trademark. The action bobs along with the help of black and white illustrations and maps of this secret underwater city by Rachael Dean. Although there is an environmental message, it is never pushed too hard, less a dreary lecture and more a gentle undercurrent that bubbles beneath all the magic and mudlarking. There is much for young readers to enjoy. Dive in - The Times Children's Book of the Week
Balen doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects and her books all embrace weighty themes within gently suspenseful plots. In The Thames and Tide Club , however, she’s writing for younger readers (the recommended age is seven-plus), and the pace is notably brisker as the story plunges us straight into a highly imagined fantasy, much of which takes place underwater - The Telegraph
Balen’s writing also contains a simple poeticism: 'Everything looked very familiar. The shapes of the buildings were exactly like the ones above water … but the more she looked, the more she could see signs that the city was falling apart. There is a gentle, but never overbearing, moral about protecting the environment; and the combination of short, suspenseful chapters and engaging illustrations by Rachael Dean make this a book that even less confident readers are likely to enjoy - Daily Telegraph Children's Book of the Week
Balen launches a new series for slightly younger readers with this wildly imaginative romp set on the banks of the River Thames … Packed with piscine puns and lovely descriptions, this is a watery wonder - Daily Mail
Katya Balen is an award-winning author of books for children. Katya's debut novel, The Space We’re In , was published in 2019 and was highly commended for the Branford Boase Award. Her second, October, October , won the Yoto Carnegie Medal. Her third novel, The Light in Everything, was published in 2022.
When she’s not writing books, Katya likes to scroll through dog-rescue websites, bake, and attempt to keep all her house plants alive. She lives in London with her partner and their dogs Raffi and Mouse.
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The mudlarkers of the Thames and Tide Club are about to face Squidmageddon in a funny and fast-paced adventure for young treasure hunters. When the director of the mudlarking museum goes on holiday for a week, he leaves three members of the Thames and Tide Club – Clem, Zara and Ash – in charge.
The LoveReading4Kids Editorial Team have read and reviewed The Thames and Tide Club: Squid Invasion and determined it is suitable for children aged 7-10 years old
The Thames and Tide Club: Squid Invasion features in the following genres: Adventure Stories, Children's and Young Adult Fiction, Children’s, Teenage and Educational, Crime & Mystery, Featured Books for 9+ readers, Recommendations, Featured Books for 7+ readers
Paperback. £6.29, down from the £6.99 cover price. In Stock.
The Thames and Tide Club: Squid Invasion was written by Katya Balen and published by Bloomsbury Childrens Books an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
The Thames and Tide Club: Squid Invasion has 136 pages
Yes it is part of The Thames and Tide Club series
£6.29, reduced from £6.99. In Stock.
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