Mallory, Mallory Trick or Treat

Strong willed and overbearing Mallory coerces her friend Arthur into a Halloween experience like no other. Mallory gleefully gears up ready to play tricks on her neighbours but the tide is turned on her as they approach an old rundown house covered in ivy. An old unkempt looking man plays a trick on them instead and they find themselves standing in their street in a completely different place in time. The old man challenges the impulsive Mallory and steadfast Arthur to catch his slightly odd, very wily cat before sundown…

This is James Norcliffe’s second book with the irrepressible Mallory and he has developed two interesting characters that are total opposites in nature. Readers who are budding detectives will enjoy picking up the subtle clues within the story and racing to solve the mystery before the brash Mallory can. There is a lot of dialogue in the text resulting in short sentences for early chapter readers and the vocabulary is typical everyday language. Emily Walkers’ dramatic illustrations enhance the text exquisitely.

Young readers are sure to enjoy this fanciful and hilarious, time travelling story.

Title: Mallory, Mallory Trick or Treat

Author: James Norcliffe

Illustrator: Emily Walker

Publisher: Penguin Random House

ISBN: 9780143775836

RRP: $17.99

Format: Paperback

Publication: Sept 2021

Ages: 6 - 9

Do you have any advisory warnings for this book? Subject of halloween

Would this book work as a read aloud? yes

Reviewer: Elaine Wills, Library manager, Enner Glynn School, Nelson

How are you recommending this book? Recommended

Opening sentence: “Don’t you think it’s a little bit late to be going out?” asked Mallory’s mother, a little anxiously.

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