Freya: Band 16/Sapphire

by John Chalmers, Sandra Marrs (Illustrations)

Collins Big Cat supports every primary child on their reading journey from phonics to fluency. Top authors and illustrators have created fiction and non-fiction books that children love to read. Levelled for guided and independent reading, each book includes ideas to support reading. Teaching and assessment support and eBooks are also available. When Freya’s father dies, she stands to become clan chief, but her wicked cousin Ranald wants the position for himself! Can Freya escape the angry mob – and legendary underwater monster – and get to freedom? Sapphire/Band 16 books offer longer reads to develop children's sustained engagement with texts and are more complex syntactically. Pages 54 and 55 allow children to re-visit the content of the book, supporting comprehension skills, vocabulary development and recall. Ideas for reading in the back of the book provide practical support and stimulating activities.

56 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2023

About the author

John Chalmers is a Scottish author of graphic novels who also works under the name Metaphrog with partner Sandra Marrs. See also https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... and https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Reviews

[Yamini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review:
A graphic novel about a young girl named Freya, who was supposed to be the next chief in line after her father. But it is now accused of witchcraft. Fleeing for freedom and justice is this adventurous tale based in Europe. Filled with secrets, dragons, and witty thinking, the book gives you a must-read experience

The atmospheric buildup in the book is done really well, and the illustrations are 🤩 pretty. Perfect for children, whether you want to read out loud for storytelling sessions or for letting your pre-teens get a flip of it.

Thank you for the Digital ARC @netgalley @bigcatbookslikeme @harpercollinsuk

Genre: #childrensfiction
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the premise of the book, but it seemed very quick. The drawing style is gorgeous, but the writing and speech bubbles seem odd, like they don't belong.
I'm not quite sure I liked the ending, I wish they'd helped bring justice rather than run away and hide, and then come back. I wouldn't have forgiven everyone so easily

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freya is a young woman who is living in Scotland several 100 years ago. Her father has designated his only daughter as his heir, but after he is unexpectedly found dead, Freya"s nasty cousin Ranald plots to discredit her and to take over as head of the clan.

Accusing Freya of witchcraft, Ranald has her thrown into the dungeons and plans to have her executed as a witch. Freya's only supporter is her cousin Anne, who remains loyal and outspoken in her defence.

It is Anne who helps Freya to escape. But with Ranald and his tracker dogs hard on their heels, will they live to fight another day?

I liked the first half of this book a lot, but things got a little repetitive in the second half, and the ending was somewhat anticlimatic. The illustrations were nice, and the story itself had great potential but I think the writer could have done much more with it than he did.

(I did like the monster though...)

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied in Scotland, any stories set in Scotland get extra points from me and this one sure gets those extra points. It is a story about the only daughter of a Scottish clan chief called Freya. She was next in line to succeed her father despite the fact that she was a daughter, not a son. Her cousin, Renald had been eyeing the position of the chief. One morning Freya woke up to the news of her dad's death and she was falsely accused of witchcraft and imprisoned. She and her best friend, cousin Anne set off to break out of the dungeon and prove her innocence.

The story is a wee bit predictable but the quality of the writing keeps it interesting. The illustration is absolutely adorable. I do wonder why the writer and illustrator do not use their usual pen-name, Metaphrog. I am a huge fan of their work. All in all, it is a very wholesome and interesting graphic novel suitable for probably Y 2-3 students. And it is set in Scotland! So, what more can you ask for?

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC given for honest review
Truly charming for a young kids to help them inprove on their reading and vocabulary.
The story was very simplistic and used easy, accessible language for children to follow.
The drawings are nice, not too busy so as to distract kids, but clear and colourful and engaging.
I did think some of the formatting for the speech bubbles was a little off, still looking a bit rough so could do with some tidying.

I liked that the end had some reflective sections to help with kids mental/emotional development. And then they had a worksheet at the back to get kids to think and engage more with the story.

Overall, a really pleasant comic for a kid to read for school

[Ag · Rating 5 out of 5]

The drawings were very original and looked different than those of most graphic novels – the drawings here had the air and look about them of being old, ancient even. The drawings had the air of the story coming back to life from times long gone and long forgotten, they had the air of history about them.
The storyline itself was solid, exciting, and fun. This book is a perfect middle-grade read for those who love graphic novels.

[Ariella White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Freya was not my ideal book 📕
It was alright but yeah just not my kinda thing!