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Wilfred the Unwise
When medieval wizardry meets cool street magic, what could possibly go wrong . . .?
Wilfred is a young magical apprentice determined to become the best and most wise wizard that ever was. Unfortunately for him, he's not very good. He's got the raw talent, but he doesn't concentrate! In fact, he's become (rather unkindly) known as 'Wilfred the UNwise'.
And when one of Wilf's spells goes badly wrong, he's suddenly in more trouble than ever before. A mix-up which sees him catapulted into the future - and more specifically, into Bel's hometown. Bel is an aspiring magician too - she wants to be an amazing street magician like her heroes on TV. She's even got a stage-name sorted, and unlike Wilf, she practises all the time - maybe just a little too much . . .
Wilf is delighted by her skills, and begs to learn from Bel. She's not so sure, but agrees that they'll have to work together to try to work out how to get Wilf back to his own time. If only Wilf would stop messing around! Can these two young magicians work together, or will Wilf be stuck here forever?
Wilfred is a young magical apprentice determined to become the best and most wise wizard that ever was. Unfortunately for him, he's not very good. He's got the raw talent, but he doesn't concentrate! In fact, he's become (rather unkindly) known as 'Wilfred the UNwise'.
And when one of Wilf's spells goes badly wrong, he's suddenly in more trouble than ever before. A mix-up which sees him catapulted into the future - and more specifically, into Bel's hometown. Bel is an aspiring magician too - she wants to be an amazing street magician like her heroes on TV. She's even got a stage-name sorted, and unlike Wilf, she practises all the time - maybe just a little too much . . .
Wilf is delighted by her skills, and begs to learn from Bel. She's not so sure, but agrees that they'll have to work together to try to work out how to get Wilf back to his own time. If only Wilf would stop messing around! Can these two young magicians work together, or will Wilf be stuck here forever?
288 pages, Paperback
Published January 28, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 15, 2020
This book is great like when Wilfred messes up and His master threatens to destroy him.
June 24, 2016
Note: I won a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
3.5 stars.
This was the story of Wilfred, a wizard's apprentice from 1016 who accidentally sends himself a thousand years forward in time, and Bel, the wannabe street magician he meets there. Both the main characters were enjoyable, vivid and funny, and each with definite strengths and flaws; Wilfred is brave and open but wants results instantly, without having to put in the work; Bel has talent she's worked hard for but is too afraid of failing to use it. I also enjoyed Wilf's master Wincewart (I kept calling him Wincewind accidentally...) who was delightfully blustering, Bertram his raven-familiar who was a snarky little bugger (always a plus in my book), and Bel's parents though much more down to earth were also instantly likeable.
While all the ye olde medieval talking thous, thees and arts started to grate on me a little bit after a while, it did massively let up when the action started to take place much more in present day and so in the end it was only a minor gripe for me. On the other hand, I had great fun with all the inventive and funny names, and the great swathe of exclamations used in lieu of curse words (bumblebee's buttocks being a particular favourite) did have me chuckling to myself.
And I do have to quickly mention Mark Beech's wonderful illustrations, his style rather reminds me of Quentin Blake (no bad thing at all) and the cover art is what drew my eye to this book in the first place. My favourite illustration was one of Wincewart bossing Bertram about in their cave.
But yes, overall this was a fun, silly little read, I am obviously far older than the target audience but I think kids would have a blast. It's got lots of humour, lots of heart, and lots of magic. Trust me, I'm a wizard!
3.5 stars.
This was the story of Wilfred, a wizard's apprentice from 1016 who accidentally sends himself a thousand years forward in time, and Bel, the wannabe street magician he meets there. Both the main characters were enjoyable, vivid and funny, and each with definite strengths and flaws; Wilfred is brave and open but wants results instantly, without having to put in the work; Bel has talent she's worked hard for but is too afraid of failing to use it. I also enjoyed Wilf's master Wincewart (I kept calling him Wincewind accidentally...) who was delightfully blustering, Bertram his raven-familiar who was a snarky little bugger (always a plus in my book), and Bel's parents though much more down to earth were also instantly likeable.
While all the ye olde medieval talking thous, thees and arts started to grate on me a little bit after a while, it did massively let up when the action started to take place much more in present day and so in the end it was only a minor gripe for me. On the other hand, I had great fun with all the inventive and funny names, and the great swathe of exclamations used in lieu of curse words (bumblebee's buttocks being a particular favourite) did have me chuckling to myself.
And I do have to quickly mention Mark Beech's wonderful illustrations, his style rather reminds me of Quentin Blake (no bad thing at all) and the cover art is what drew my eye to this book in the first place. My favourite illustration was one of Wincewart bossing Bertram about in their cave.
But yes, overall this was a fun, silly little read, I am obviously far older than the target audience but I think kids would have a blast. It's got lots of humour, lots of heart, and lots of magic. Trust me, I'm a wizard!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews