Book Blitz Time ~ The Adventures of Isabelle Necessary by Martii Maclean ~ Review
Morning all,
Welcome to the Book Blitz for The Adventures of Isabelle Necessary by Martii Maclean! It was a book I had the chance to read, and boy it was a fun book, you can read my review after this introduction.
Next to the review I will also tell you about the book and the author.
Shall we start?
First up thanks to Rachel/the author for giving me the opportunity to read this book! All my opinions are my own, and not influenced by a free book.
Meet Isabelle, or as she is being called by people, Isabelle Necessary. She is a sweet girl with a big heart and an even bigger passion for adventure and doing all the fun things you can imagine you may do when you are a child. Tree houses, riding a pony (though this was a one time thing), sand castle (or should I say sand mermaid) building, eating delicious muffins, riding a bike on a course made by all the kids in the neighbourhood, and more! Her adventures are quite magical, and remind me a bit of Enid Blyton stories, or other writers from the past. There are no cellphones or computers to be found, if the kids want something they have to go home and ask, if they get stuck they have to do creative ways to get out. I loved it!
The book has several chapters each featuring a new adventure by our girl. In the beginning I thought each would be a separate story, given how it was written, but there is continuity. For instance she meets a girl named Nin, and we see her back later on. And then there are other characters and stories that connect.
I felt sorry for Isabelle, her parents are always away on to their next adventure. Sure, she has fun with her aunt, and living at her place, but I still wanted to shake the parents for just barely being there for their child. It is at these moments I always wonder why people take kids if they know they probably won’t be around a lot. 😐
Isabelle has a big heart and she is always helping people. Small things, but also with bigger things. Plus, she shows great responsibility. Like that time when she was taking care of the shop? Even if she made a mess, she cleaned it up. She even stopped herself from getting an ice cream because she made a mishap with some ice creams of customers.
The book is also illustrated, and while I did like the illustrations, they did add something, at times the proportions were a bit off. Characters looked weird next to each other, the tree house which was said to have a wonderful view was only a bit higher than 2 metres in the illustrations, and there are a few other things. Kids may not notice, but I do, and I do want to mention it in my review.
I flew through this book, and had fun reading it. Isabelle has a wonderful life, with friends and family surrounding her, and endless adventures.
One gutsy eleven-year-old, a cool beach town, a hilarious crew of friends and oodles of adventures.
Once upon a beach, there was a girl called Isabelle Necessary. A girl with an unusual name and a rather extraordinary life. She roams around a sleepy beach town with her loyal team of friends. Follow Isabelle, Tammy, David, Nin, Draino the cat and Champ the wonder dog as they navigate one sticky situation after another and figure out how to turn a frog into a movie star, deal with a never-ending milkshake and escape being trapped in a lighthouse.
The type of book that brings back childhood memories and captures the essence of being a free-spirited kid.
Perfect for teachers and educators as the book comes with a teacher’s resource guide and student maker kit by Isabelle Necessary herself. Middle-grade reading level.
Martii Maclean lives in a tin shack by the sea, catching sea-gulls which she uses to make delicious pies, and writing weird stories. She likes going for long bicycle rides with her cat, who always wears aviator goggles to stop her whiskers blowing up into her eyes as they speed down to the beach to search for mermaid eggs. Or how about this…
Martii Maclean writes fantastical, adventurous tales for children and teens and sometimes adults. She was born in Sydney, Australia and now lives in Brisbane with her husband Trevor and her cat Minerva. Her work as an educator and librarian, allows her to share her love of stories and of story-telling with many young people. This inspires Martii to create thought-filled stories that explore the wonderful world of ‘what if’. Find out more about Martii and her stories at www.martiimaclean.com
Rachel’s Random Resources