Wednesday 4 December 2013

Don’t Wake the Troll!

Don’t Wake the Troll! by Ben Kitchin, illustrations by Ben Redlich (Koala Books)
PB RRP $14.99
ISBN 978-1-74276-060-5
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

In a dark cave, deep in a mountain, a big and ugly troll sleeps on his hoard of stolen treasure. The dwarves want their gold and gems back. Are they brave enough to make the journey? Are they quiet enough to get through the twisting tunnels without waking the troll?

This is an action adventure with an exciting build-up of suspense. The language, structure and repetition give the story a lovely rhythm: “They hadn’t gone far into the dripping gloom when kerlunk, kerlunk, kerlunk.”

The dwarves have to stop and leave behind their bumping shields, then their swinging, tinging swords, then their creaking armour and so on until they even have to leave behind their spluttering, puttering torches. Little do they know this trail of belongings will be their saviour.

The illustrations depict great characters for these five brave dwarves and the humorous pictures add to the suspense of the tale without making it scary. This is a fun read for preschool children.

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