A fantastic start to what is obviously going to be a brilliant new series from a bestselling and award-winning author, this was literally unputdownable!
A fast moving and actioned packed time travel adventure that also revels in loads of historical and geographical detail (in this case of Ancient and modern Egypt) that will fascinate and inform as well as entertain. It is also so refreshing to see an adventure where the relationship between parent and child is so positive and where the parent does not have to ‘disappear’ but is very much a partner.
Sim’s martial art teaching Mum has moved them around a lot, but he is currently enrolled in the local school and enjoying the company of his friend Nelson, while they live in the caretaker’s flat at the Sir John Soames Museum in London. When some sinister strangers appear at the museum one night and his Mum reveals that she can open doors into time, he finds himself on a dangerous quest to locate the golden heart scarab of Nefertiti before the mysterious Council of Keys claim it and capture him. But he has Nelson helping him from London and is accompanied by a newly found and formidable cousin, Jeopardy as he begins to understand the true nature of the powerful gift that runs in his family.
The internal logic of the time travel with the use of music and musical instruments as a means for opening the time doors works particularly well and it will be fascinating to see where the next adventure will take Sim, Nelson and Jeopardy. At the end of this instalment there is a feature which will be particularly loved by teachers! Nelson’s Time Traveller’s Diary which records the factual settings and historical period of each door they travel through and a wonderfully explanatory Key’s Guide to Ancient Egypt. Highly recommended.
Epic, blockbusting adventure meets the mystery of time travel in Hunt for the Golden Scarab, the first title in the Time Keys series by bestselling award-winner M. G. Leonard. Perfect for children of 9 to 12 and fans of Adventures on Trains, Beetle Boy and Twitch. Illustrated in black and white throughout by Manuel Šumberac.
Sim and his mum never live anywhere long. When dangerous strangers appear one night, Sim discovers why. His mum has been keeping secrets: she has the power to open doors in time.
Running for their lives, Sim and his friends are determined to outwit the sinister Council of Keys and be the first to find Nefertiti's lost tomb and a powerful door to Ancient Egypt. They must piece together long-hidden clues if they are to solve the mystery of her golden heart scarab. Can they find it before the Council finds them?
'Utterly transporting, meticulously researched and a complete triumph of imagination . . . readers are going to fall in love with this brilliant new series.' A. F. Steadman, bestselling author of Skandar
'Classic and fresh - a breathtaking adventure' Eoin Colfer, bestselling author of Artemis Fowl
Author
About M. G. Leonard
M.G. Leonard has made up stories since she was a girl, but back then adults called them lies or tall tales and she didn't write them down.
As a grown up, her favourite things to create stories about are beetles, birds, and trains. Her books have been translated into over forty languages and won many awards. She is the vice president of the insect charity Buglife, and a founding author of Authors4Oceans.
She lives in Brighton with her husband, two sons, a fat cat called Kasper, a dog called Nell, and a variety of exotic beetles.
M.G. Leonard has a first-class honours degree in English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies from Kings College London. She is the author of Beetle Boy and is still overcoming her fear of all things creepy crawly. She works in London as the Senior Digital Media Producer for the National Theatre, and previously worked at the Royal Opera House and Shakespeare’s Globe. Leonard spent her early career in the music industry running Setanta Records, an independent record label, and managing bands, most notably The Divine Comedy. After leaving the music industry, she trained as an actor, dabbling in directing and producing as well as performing, before deciding to write her stories down. Leonard lives in Brighton with her partner and two sons and her pet rainbow stag beetle.
