The Goblin King: An Exciting Adventure of Magic and Supernatural Creatures

Sophie and the Shadow Woods #1

by Linda Chapman, Lee Weatherly

Exciting 6 book character-led series for 7+ girls who love adventure!

Very few people ever enter the Shadow Woods, for these woods are like no others. Hidden deep within them is the Gateway to the Shadow Realm – a dark and chaotic world where all kinds of gruesome creatures live…

On her tenth birthday, tomboy Sophie learns she is the Guardian of the magical gateway, and that her destiny is to protect the human world from the goblins, trolls and evil sprites that inhabit the Shadow Woods.

Each book sees Sophie having to outwit weird and terrifying creatures from the Shadow Woods, starting with the gruesome Goblins!

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Childrens

144 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2011

About the author

Linda Chapman was born in Liverpool in 1969. She had many different jobs before becoming a full-time writer in 1999 including working as a theatre stage manager, a dog trainer, a bookseller, a nanny, a teacher and a research assistant. She has written over 300 books for children, some under her own name, others under different names and she often collaborates with other authors. She is currently writing books with Julie Sykes and they are co-authors on the NYT bestselling Unicorn Academy series as well as Mermaid Academy, Forever Homes and Pocket Unicorns. Linda lives in Leicestershire with her husband, three children, two horses and three dogs. She has written many different series including: My Secret Unicorn, Star Friends, Best Friends Bakery, Stardust, Skating School and, most recently, Magic Keepers and Moonlight Riders.

Reviews

[Anna-Liisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My girls and I really enjoyed this book. Grabs your attention right from the beginning. We can't wait to start the next book in the series!

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty cool book. Both my kids liked it.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sophie and the Shadow Woods is a brand new series of books aimed at 7+ girls. The Goblin King is the first of six short books in which ten year old tomboy, Sophie Smith, takes on the role of Guardian of the magic gateway between our world and the Shadow Realm, occupied by sinister creatures such as goblins, trolls and boggarts. Accompanied by her good friend, Sam, (who says Geronimo a lot..), Sophie encounters very real physical danger in the shape of the Ink Cap Goblins whose venomous liquid can cause severe blistering. Will our action-loving heroine's expertise in tae kwon do be enough to save the day? Will her twin brother Anthony's jealousy jeapordise her mission? You'll just have to read on to find out!

Yes, I imagine that this series will end up being slightly formulaic but it is really refreshing to see an alternative to the Daisy Meadows writing machine which has produced so, so many Rainbow Magic books. Sophie is most certainly a 21st Century girl who can enjoy skateboarding, obstacle courses and martial arts and have a boy for her best friend. It has a fast-paced narrative with short punchy chapters so it would be attractive for both independent reading and as a bedtime story. My 7 year old daughter really enjoyed this book and is looking forward to reading the rest of the series - they do like collecting things at that age!!

[Jo Bennie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie Smith, tomboy, could not be more different from her in-crowd twin brother Anthony. They are staying with their grandfather while their archaeologist parents are away in Egypt, and Sophie is used to being ignored by him in favour of her brother. But on her 10th birthday she comes into her inheritance, she is the Guardian of the Gateway, the barrier between her world and that of the goblins of the Shadow World who would love to get through and cause mayhem. But Sophie, whilst playing with her best friend Sam, has lost the key to the Inkcap Goblin King.

Good size and length for a confident 7 year old reader, fully of funky illustrations. The ideas aren't really new, Spiderwick is the obvious influence but great fun all the same

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing story line for younger girls with a strong girl character who doesn't care about princesses or bows, or colorful rainbowish fairies.....

I'm looking foward to incorporating it into my upcoming class visit booktalks.

[Jeffery Richarson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very like wormwood adventures, but to be honest was not as good very stale.

[TheReader · Rating 1 out of 5]

A mishmash of cliches, cardboard cutout characters, down your throat girls are more than just pink moments, and ludicrous reasoning all to get the highly unoriginal story moving.

[T.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast-paced exciting read for younger readers.

It is a good opening to the series and I enjoyed the empowerment of a young girl, although the stereotypes are strong but as this is aimed at younger readers I understand why but I live for the day a girl can be portrayed as strong without the need to make her a tomboy.

I look forward to seeing where the series goes.

[Aurumora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leseeindruck

Das Cover erinnert mich sehr an Spiderwick, aber auch wenn es um ein ähnlich fantastisches Thema geht. Sind die Charaktere ganz anders, tw. härter (z.B. grimmiger Opa). Mir hat es gefallen. Besonders auch die schönen braunen Strichzeichnungen.

[emma ⁠☆｡⁠*⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

honestly the grandpa kind of sucked but! I really loved this book as a kid. the shadow files inspired so many games of my own and I loved the idea of fighting goblins and whatnot. it is also funny how insanely the grandpa switched up on Anthony

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good! I enjoyed it even though it was a little rushed and straight to the point.

[Kaylee Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolutely fantastic little middle-grade series that grabs you from the beginning, I just couldn’t put this one down! I really like Sophie and Sam too, I can’t wait to see who or what? they face next 💕

[Elfeeza Ehsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. It is fast-paced and action packed. He story is easy to follow and flows perfectly. The main character, Sophie, is badass and funny. Sam, her best friend and partner in crime is so lovable. I read a similar book earlier this week but that one deals with monsters and was not so well-written whereas this book has more of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of vibe and is more fantasy than urban fantasy. I love this book. I can't wait to get my hands on the rest of the books in this series! The best part is I believe both girls and boys can enjoy reading this book. One of my favourite books read this week! 5 stars. No question!

[Heike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spannendes Kinderbuch indem Sophie an ihrem 10. Geburtstag zur Wächterin des Schlüssels zum Tor der Schattenwelt wird. Zusammen mit ihrem Freund Sam kämpft sie gegen Tintenkappenkobolde, die den Schlüssel geklaut haben,und schlägt sie in die Flucht. Nur leider flieht der König mitsamt dem Schlüssel. Wird es Sophie gelingen den Schlüssel zurück zu bekommen???

In Band 2 geht das Abenteuer weiter...

[Jordieleigh_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book series was, I think, the thing that started my book craze. And therefore is the reason that I have book stacks everywhere and a bunch of crazy, geeky, nerdy friends. And I love it for that reason. I have always been a true believer in girl power and no books have ever depicted it to me as much as this one. It is truly special and holds a big space in my heart.

[Girl Guides of Canada]

We reviewed and recommended this book for our girls in Brownies and Guides, ages 7-11.

[Riverina Regional Library]

Members of Riverina Regional Library reserve your copy now

[Madel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had fun reading this book :)

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love a strong girl character!

[Flo G · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved this book i am sure to like the others i got glued tho the page