Charlie Bone and the Time Twister by Jenny Nimmo

Nimmo, J. (2002). Charlie Bone: the time twister. New York: Orchard Publishing. 

Summary

Charlie discovers new dimensions of his magical powers as he helps Henry Yewbeam, a magically transported relative from 1916, escape from the Red King's wrath. Just as in the first book, Charlie can hear voices in paintings and now he has discovered that he can enter them as well. Old characters are present as well as new ones like the jealous Ezekiel who uses the time twister to his evil advantage,

Review

I started reading this series after finishing the Potter books but it is still not doing much for me. The story and characters are eerily familiar to the Harry Potter series but always seems to fall a little short. Even re reading this book for the second time, I am still more confused then ever. 

Genre

Fantasy

Reading Age/Interest Level

10-13 years/Tween

Similar Books

Charlie Bone series by Jenny Nimmo

Keys to the Kingdom- Garth Nix

Bartimaeus Trilogy- Jonathan Stroud
Characters

Charlie Bone: Descended from the Yewbeams and a Welsh magician that was friends with the red king, Charlie can hear voices of people in photographs or go into photographs.

Manfred Bloor: A student at Bloor's Academy, he is a hypnotizer.

Asa Pike: A student at Bloor's, Asa can change into a beast at dusk.

Billy Raven: Also a student, Billy can understand and talk to animals.

Lysander Sage: A student, he can call on his spirit ancestors.

Emma Tolly: Until recently, her name had been Emilia Moon. Emma can become a bird. She turns into a fictional bird called the tollroc and saves Olivia and Henry. She has a crush on Tancerd Torrson.

Fidelio Gunn: An unendowed student, although he is the lead violinist at Bloor's and a good friend of Charlie.

Olivia Vertigo: An unendowed student at Bloor's, she's in drama and is one of Charlie's friends.

Tancred Torsson: A student, he can make, bring, or change the weather.

Paton Yewbeam: A power-booster, he is the only Yewbeam that favors Charlie.

Mr. and Mrs. Onimous: Together, they run the Pet's Cafe on Frog Street. Their 5-year-old niece, Una, is endowed.

Cook: The friendly cook at Bloor's Academy who helps Henry when he was at Bloor's after the Time Twister stopped.

Henry: Charlie's unendowed great-great uncle. Henry is transported forward in time by his cousin, Ezekiel Bloor.

James:Charlie's unendowed great grandfather. Brother of Henry and Daphne, who died of diphtheria.

Readers Annotation

Just when Charlie is trying to live with his newly discovered magical powers, he is thrown for a loop when a simple marble can change destiny. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1- the movie

Heyman, D. (Producer) and Yates, D. (Director). (2010). Harry potter and the deathly hallows [Motion Picture]. United States: Warner Brothers Pictures.
Summary
Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic and his power and hatred for Harry Potter is growing. Along with the rest of the Order of the Phoenix, Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide to finish Dumbledore's work and find the rest of the Horcruxes and destroy them in order to finally defeat the Dark Lord. Throughout this movie friendship, love, heroism, and trust play huge parts in the relationships from all of the characters and the  secret history of Dumbledore and Voldemort is revealed.
Review
Who waited in line for 8 hours to see this morning?!!? I did, I did! I would be lying to say that I am completely bias towards this series but honestly, this movie was a perfect representation of the first part of the book. The movie creators did little to stray from the true story and it was exciting to see everything come to life. Viewers will not be disappointed from this fast paced adventure and will be sad that it is almost over.
Genre
Motion Picture
Interest Level
Tween-Adult
Similar Movies
The Harry Potter movies
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief
Annotation
Voldemort's power and hatred for Harry Potter has grown and alliances are weakened. Will Harry Potter destroy himself in the process of destroying the most evil?

Sorcerer's Apprentice: The Movie

Bruckheimer, J. & Turteltaub, J. (2010). The sorcerer's apprentice [Motion Picture]. United States: Walt Disney Studios. 

Summary

In 740 A.D Maxim Horvath is an apprentice of Merlin but betrays him along with the evil sorcerer Morgana. As Morgana delivers a fatal blow to Merlin, Merlin's other apprentices, Balthazar and Veronica try to save Merlin and defeat Morgana and Maxim. Phew. Oh yeah, Veronica's body is overtaken by Morgana's soul and in order to save the real Veronica, Balthazar imprisons the two in a Grimhold, which is in the form of a nesting doll. It is up to Balthazar to find the next Prime Sorcerer. Got it? It gets easier to understand. 

Jump to present day and Balthazar has located Dave who is the next Prime Sorcerer, the only problem is that Dave wants nothing to do with his destiny. Will Balthazar be able to convince Dave to take on this task, or will humanity be destroyed by Morgana and Maxim?

Review

How could this not be entertaining? This movie has adventure, mystery, mythology, and even romance. Fans of the book will be pleased to see that this movie follows closely and does not leave out important parts like so many other movies from books do. Tweens can relate to Dave who is a quirky, impressionable, and genuine human being who is just trying to survive the typical drama of growing up. 

Genre

Movie

Interest Level

Tweens-Adults

Similar Movies

Cirque du Freak

Harry Potter movies

Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief

Annotation

Dave Stuler is just trying to grow up in a world that for whatever reason, doesn't cut him a break. Now, he is up against a whole new battle when it is discovered that he is not only a sorcerer, but thee Prime sorcerer that is chosen to save the world.