I have pretty much always read the kiddos a story before they go to sleep. When they were ready for me to start reading chapter books I was so excited.
I am, and always have been, a very avid reader. Part of the reason I once took a job in the city was so that I would be able to read on the train. I figured being able to read aloud to the kiddos would mean I would get to read some more awesome books as well as revisit the classics and my own favorite books from childhood.
But I found most of the books my kids were picking up were painful to read. A series with the same (crap) story over and over, books that were dumbed down to a ridiculous level and books I remembered being great when I had read them as a kid that were hard to follow or boring when I read them aloud.
I jumped at the chance to try a book that looked a little different when I was offered a chance to review The Grimstones-Hatched by Asphyxia.
We have loved The Grimstones series. By we I mean all of us.
We have all been taken by the story and I have enjoyed reading it aloud as much as the kiddos have enjoyed listening to it.
There are pictures all the way through the book which really help tell the story as well and are particularly great for visual learners or younger ones listening in. The marionettes and sets featured in the books were handmade by Asphyxia herself and they were toured as a performance before Hatched was made into a book.
In Hatched you first meet Martha Grimstone and her family. Martha lives with her Mama, Grandfather, Aunt Gertrude & August. Her Mama is a seamstress who is still morning the death of her husband (Martha’s father) who she visits in his crypt every day. Grandfather Grimstone is a healer with an apothecary that Martha is desperate to learn more about. Grumpy Aunt Gertrude runs the inside of the house and takes care of Martha’s lessons. And August tends to the gardens & home and looks after Grandpa Grimstone’s healing herbs.
Martha herself dreams of one day becoming Martha the Magnificent and fills her diary with ways she is going to discover her special talent as well as her sadness about her mother’s grief, her frustration with Aunt Gertrude and her desire to learn from Grandpa Grimstone.
So what will happen when she decides to perform a spell to make a baby?
Hatched had us riveted and we couldn’t wait for more books in the series to be released!
The books are gothic fairy tales bought to life. They are funny, quirky, a bit dark and so much more interesting than most of the same old same old chapter books around for kids of that age. Featuring the marionettes through the book really helps to tell the stories and love the characters. They have been a big hit in our house.
You can check out more about The Grimstones here and you can order books directly from the shop.
There is always interestimg stuff going on on their facebook page too.
Disclosure-I was given one copy of Hatched to review. No payment was asked for, offered or received. We loved the books so much we paid for the other two ourselves! All opinions are my own.
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I *have* to get these for Annie!
Fab! I’m always hunting for decent books for Kira that aren’t horribly formulaic, too basic or too complicated. Ta!