Bravepaw and the fangstone of Flintfall by L.M. Wilkinson. Illus. by Lavanya Naidu

All is not well on the Island of Alluria, there is a crack in the heart of the island allowing Curseworms to enter. Titch, a mouse living on the high plateau, discovering she is the reincarnation of the ancient hero Bravepaw, has taken up the Heartstone staff and driven them away from her home and from Rottwood Mire, but the Darkness cannot be defeated while the Heartstone staff is incomplete and the friends Tich, Huckleberry and the warrior squirrel, Briar, need to find out more about the Gems of Harmony from the great library at Lexhelm. They are flown to Lexhelm by Earna, the Eaglebear and they ask head librarian, Master Sticklepin, about the prophecy. It seems that every 100 years the Dreadroot Monster stirs and Bravepaw must subdue it before it enters Alluria through cracks in the earth. They discover that as well as the Clawstone they have, they must find the Fangstone, the Dreamstone and the Songstone before the Heartstone staff is complete and can defeat their enemies. The friends set out to find the Fangstone and along with physical challenges Bravepaw must trust her instincts in making difficult decisions.

This is the third in the Bravepaw series but there is enough information for a reader to pick up the story so far. Along with black and white illustrations, the highlighting of some words on most pages, using bold print, or capitals or different fonts, breaks up the blocks of text for younger, and less confident readers but does affect the continuity.  At under 200 pages each volume in the series is within reach of most readers. There is plenty of action and adventure with an interesting cast of characters; I particularly liked the lavender wolf. Our heroes find out that being fluffy and cute is not always a good test of character and that being brave is not enough without the support of trusted friends.

Themes: Fantasy, Adventure, Animals, Friendship.

Sue Speck