Fen Gold

Fen Gold
by Joan Lennon
Recommended Ages: 9+

Pip is a boy growing up in the care of the monks in a tiny, backwater abbey in a swampy corner of Britain. Perfect his his living gargoyle companion, shaped like a dragon and complete with the ability to swim, fly and breathe flame. Their usefulness as a team reaches the notice of a Nordic princess who needs to find her Viking ancestor's buried treasure before the summer ends, and her freedom with it. But Rane and her party aren't the only ones who have come to Wickit Abbey in search of help. A king's man with pound-signs in his eye is also there, and I don't mean the hashtag-looking thing under the 9 on your phone's keypad.

So, the girl more or less blackmails Pip and Perfect into helping her find the treasure, although this means traveling through the Black Bog, a region that strikes fear into their hearts. Meanwhile, this Cedric fellow is following them with his own nefarious designs. Using Perfect's unique abilities means risking discovery of their secret – for if certain people find out about Perfect, the Church could ask some pretty hard questions – as well as testing the strength of a sickly old man. It's a well realized adventure, contained in a compact package with charming characters and atmospheric scenery.

This is the second of four illustrated chapter books in "The Wickit Chronicles," beginning with Ely Plot and continuing with Ice Road and Witch Bell. Joan Lennon is also the author of There's a Kangaroo in My Soup!, three "Tales from the Keep," four "Slightly Jones Mystery" books, two "Leif Frond" books, Questors, The Seventh Tide, The Night of the Kelpies, Planet Hell, Silverskin and Walking Mountain.