Wednesdays in the Tower

Gr 4–7— Princess Celie and her family live in a castle that rearranges itself. In the first installment (Tuesdays at the Castle) readers learned that Castle Glower can grow, shrink, and relocate rooms and may have an intelligence of its own. Celie, an excellent atlas-maker, rarely gets lost indoors. However, after she finds a large egg in a tower, she can never locate the room when she tries to show it to anyone else. Weeks later, when a snuffling and hungry griffin hatches, Celie is grateful for the castle's help in hiding him. As Rufus grows, Celie's brother Bran and others eventually get in on the secret. They spring to the defense when Rufus, Celie's family, and the castle itself are threatened. Experienced audiobook narrator Suzy Jackson's charmingly accented delivery keeps the tone friendly and lively as Celie, Bran, Rufus, and others push back against Wizard Arkwright and figure out the history of the castle and its relationship to griffins. The ending clearly indicates a "Thursday" book to come. This is an enjoyable, non-bloody choice for tween fantasy fans in most libraries.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX