Book Review- The Monster In The Lake

Title: The Monster In The Lake

Author: Louie Stowell

Illustrator: Davide Ortu

Published: 9th January 2020

Publisher: Nosy Crow

Series: Kit the Wizard #2

Genre: 5-8 fiction, magic

Rating: 4/5 stars

Kit is a wizard. The youngest wizard in the world, in fact. But her magic keeps going wrong, and all kinds of weird stuff has started happening – exploding fireballs, animals talking when they shouldn’t be, and a very strange new arrival in a nearby park. So Kit and her two best friends – along with their local librarian – set off to investigate, and to save the world… again. Brilliantly illustrated throughout by Davide Ortu, The Monster in the Lake is the funny, exciting, action-packed sequel to The Dragon in the Library. -Waterstones.com

Thanks to the publisher Nosy Crow for sending me a copy of the book to review!

This is the second novel featuring Kit the Wizard and her friends. Kit is the main character in the series of books which are small chapter books, perfect for kids who are learning to read and just moving into chapter books, or older kids who are put off by huge chapter books. The novel is filled with wonderful illustrations, and features loads of action and brilliant characters to keep everyone entertained!

I loved The Dragon in the Library, and I was very excited to get my hands on a copy of the next book in the series. I love Kit and her friends, and I had a really fun time reading this novel!

I particularly enjoyed the setting of this novel, they have to visit Scotland to break a curse and save some mermaids, and it was a very nice surprise to have the change of setting. Duncan was a wonderful addition to the group of characters, and I was particularly pleased to find that he wasn’t wearing a kilt or playing the bagpipes at any time during the novel!!!

I love all the characters in this series, the three best friends are so warm and funny, and the slight issues their friendships experience are well explained and dealt with the author, and the friends are so supportive of each other!

The illustrations definitely adds to the brilliance of the book. Davide Orde’s drawings are lovely, they really add to the action and adventure of the novel, and are some of my favourites in children’s fiction. 

This series celebrates the joy of reading and of using libraries, and this is definitely one of my favourite aspects of the books. It really adds to the warmth and magic of the novel, and is important for children to read about libraries and be encouraged to use them!

Overall I really liked this book. A wonderful sequel to The Dragon in the Library, it is full of laughs and magic!

Happy reading! 

Buy the book from Waterstones here (affiliate link)