Rare Beasts is the first of a series of six books titled ‘Edgar and Ellen’. The entire series is written by Charles Ogden. This adventure-series book is targeted at males, aged ten to thirteen. It was published in 2003 by Hodder Headline Australia Pty Limited.
The book is about a set of twins, one male and one female believed to be aged around 12. The twins’ parents died long ago and they live by themselves in a large ghastly mansion in an isolated area of the town ‘Nod’s Limbs’. The book revolves around the theme of adventure. The twins steal rare animals from households around the neighbourhood and sell them for large sums of money. It is written well for the target audience, it appeals to the mischievous side of males in the target age bracket.
Ellen (female) is the eldest of the twins, by two minutes and thirteen seconds. Edgar (male) is the youngest of the two, has a very similar personality to Ellen. There is no ‘evil twin’ in their duo. They live with a small furry creature known simply as ‘Pet’ who occasionally assists in their plans. The book is written in thirty short chapters with the very occasional small picture on a page for visual assistance relating to the text. The characters are easy to relate to especially for the target ages. Every child has a small part of them that wants to go crazy like these characters do, which makes it more interesting for the reader. The occasional visual stimulus makes it easier to understand the visuals intended by the author making it more appropriate for younger readers.
I think this is a well written book that is suitable for the age that it was targeted at. It has a simple, yet affective storyline which is perfect for readers between the ages of ten and thirteen. I would recommend this book to any younger people looking for a good read.
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