Elastic Island Adventures: Port Mugaloo

Description

Four children, Kiri, Jed, and twins Emma and Ethan, discover an `elastic' island that can send them pinging across the ocean to a variety of tropical island destinations. Their last destination spelt trouble, so this time the children are determined to have a relaxed and safe time when they visit Port Mugaloo on MugaMuga Island. But Ethan falls into a pond and becomes invisible - and the only one who can help them is King Shiny. But King Shiny has gone missing looking for the long-lost royal treasure, so they enlist the help of Mrs Quokka and travel across the desert on a seven-humped camel into very dangerous territory to find him. But have the children made a mistake in trusting Mrs Quokka? They soon learn that quokkas might be famous for their `quokka logic' but mostly it doesn't make any sense! The second in an exciting series of books for children, a fantasy action-adventure set in the South Pacific!

Karen McMillan lives in New Zealand and is the author of 17 books, published in nine countries, a mixture of fiction, non-fiction and children's books. Karen has a Diploma in Professional Writing and an Advanced Diploma of Applied Arts (Writing). Love Bytes was originally published as Love in Aotearoa by Random House and the book was short-listed for the Ashton Wylie Book Award in 2005. Everyday Strength represented New Zealand in the Gourmand World Awards 2018 in the Health and Nutrition category. She is also the author of the popular Elastic Island Adventure series for children, that is in early development to be made into a series of animated movies. Karen is the resident book reviewer on The Cafe TV3, and appears regularly in the media. She has been a speaker at many festivals and events, including the Going West Festival, the Devonport Arts Festival, the Tauranga Arts Festival, and Brisbane Book Week (with thanks to Creative NZ Funding) . Karen has written articles for a variety of different publications and from time to time she undertakes ghost-writing projects. She has also volunteered for many years for her local hospice, writing articles that promote the life-affirming work that they do. Karen is a breast cancer survivor. www.karenm.co.nz

'From Karen McMillan comes Port Mugaloo, the second in her Elastic Island Adventure series aimed at kids aged 8-12. Her stories about four children going off on holiday on their own and having adventures are reminiscent of the Famous Five but these are more fantastical and told with a quirky sense of humour.' Grownups.co.nz 'This second book, aimed at readers between eight and 12-years-old, is as fast-paced as its predecessor Jewel Lagoon. McMillan has paid great attention to continuity so both stories flow together seamlessly. She once again perfectly pitches the story at her audience. It is a great book for those who are newly independent readers. McMillan draws on the familiar to make sure those readers feel competent and confident. It's also a nice book to read aloud. Parents won't be bored, with the book ripping along at a break neck speed. Shorter chapters keep the story manageable for a spot of bedtime reading together. With deeper themes about friendship, working together, positivity and perseverance, it could also spark some nice conversations with your younger readers.' NZ Booklovers 'Miss Eight was all but bouncing off the walls with excitement when she learned that I had the second Elastic Island Adventures book for her to review with me. By the time the children arrived on MugaMuga Island, she was completely immersed in the story and ready for plenty of action and fun. She was especially intrigued by the inclusion of Unputdownable Book of Mugaloo, which had chosen Emma to be its guardian. Miss Eight rather fancied herself as its guardian instead of Emma! Quokka logic plays an important part in the story - the name derives from Mrs Quokka's penchant for sharing pithy sayings, some of which are funny while others are completely meaningless. However, the inhabitants of MugaMuga Island hold them in the highest regard. Her other talent is for making lemon cake which appears to be everyone's favourite food. Not only does the lemon cake recur throughout the book, there is even a recipe at the end - and, of course, Miss Eight had to try it as soon as we had reached the last page. Mrs Quokka is their guide on the quest to find King Shiny, who has gone missing. Miss Eight was entertained by the antics of her two offspring. Because Mrs Quokka is a marsupial, they live in her pouch and pop up every now and then. The baby Joey, who occasionally emerges with his orange rattle, is cute - but the addition of his older brother, Jase, who is the epitome of a sulky teenager and leaps out of the pouch wearing his headphones and does his best to avoid any chores, is a stroke of genius. I found I was laughing along with Miss Eight every time he grumbled about being told to do something. The other thing that made Miss Eight laugh was the idea of a Blong-A-Gram. That the story has a happy-every-after ending is a given. As Miss Eight said, every child should have a copy of this book because you get to read the story and enjoy it, but then you get to make the cake as well. Now she cannot wait to read the third book in the series.' Kiwi Reviews 'This is a very funny book and the characters are well drawn - children will enjoy this book and others in the series. We look forward eagerly to next year's new adventures.' Radio Southland