“Flapping fluttermice!” You fear for young Toby Bean as he boards more broomsticks for adventures with the witches in Sally Doherty’s second tale of high adventure, “Toby and the Wizards of Wildhaven” (Soaring Skies Publishing).
And that’s the point of it, I guess. Sally and her superb illustrator, Sara Jane Docker, aren’t just whistling up any old fairytale but making their readers worry about what might happen to their main character. You want him and his new friends in the witch world to come out alright in the end!
All the while Toby lives with pangs of conscience about his poor mum, who he has left at home in bed with M.E. while living in straightened circumstances – after she lost her job when that strange factory across the way burned down in the first book.
These are lessons for life and Sally has a mission both to entertain and to show her army of readers aged between nine and 12 how they can stoke up their imaginations and enjoy fabulous worlds out there. And maybe, just maybe, they will want to accept some more unusual challenges when they get older.
On the way, Sally treats us to a dazzling array of new words to cover most situations. Try tasting new foods ‘tibtabs’, ‘lectilites; and ‘gringles’. You may not like them. Put ‘Enlargio’ into your pipe and smoke it!
In this book, the wizards are waiting to be found. No spoilers from me! And another tale of Toby Bean is promised soon.
Sally is kindly donating £10% of her author's profits to the ME Association. That’s another excellent reason to buy it!
The book is available from Amazon HERE. If you use EasyFundraising to benefit your favourite charity, first go to our ME Association page HERE
Sally Doherty lives in leafy Surrey with her husband and three-legged (but speedy) rescue dog. After studying French and German at university, she worked for a year in London before unexpectedly falling ill with M.E. Being stuck at home and often in bed for seventeen years, however, has lit a cauldron of stories bubbling inside her imagination. The first book in this series, TOBY AND THE SILVER BLOOD WITCHES won The Book Bloggers' Novel of the Year Award 2022.
Find her at her website – www.sallydohertyauthor.com
Tony Britton
Senior Fundraising Consultant, The ME Association
tony.britton@meassociation.org.uk Mob: 07393 805566
