The Wishkeeper's Apprentice

by Rachel Chivers Khoo

A beautifully illustrated and magical classic about the power of wishes for readers aged 7+

"A story full of wishes and a big dollop of magic." Hannah Gold, author of The Last Bear

“Full of wonder and magic.” Abi Elphinstone

"An enchanting story - with fun twists and turns - that is sure to warm your heart." Aisha Bushby

"A fun and original adventure with a zing of magic ." L.D. Lapinski

Wanted! A wishkeeper's apprentice.

When Felix makes a very special wish, he doesn't expect to be offered a job as an apprentice to wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle. Now Felix must save the town's wishes from the wishsnatcher, who wants to destroy hopes and dreams everywhere.

Beautiful black-and-white illustrations by Rachel Sanson.

PRAISE FOR T HE WISHKEEPER'S APPRENTICE

“Full of wonder and magic.” Abi Elphinstone

" Charming and magical , with shades of E Nesbit ." Editor's Choice, The Bookseller

"An enchanting story - with fun twists and turns - that is sure to warm your heart ." Aisha Bushby

" A fun and original adventure with a zing of magic ." L.D. Lapinski

"Supremely charming." Carlie Sorosiak

"Imaginative, heart-warming... A magical tale." A.F. Steadman

“Plenty of dialogue and chapter imagery to keep newly independent readers encouraged .” – Irish Examiner

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Adventure, Magic, Juvenile, Audiobook, Childrens

235 pages, Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: A middle grade fantasy about a young boy whose life changes after he meets the town wishkeeper. Quite good, but the action left me (and my middle-grader) a bit underwhelmed. Good for younger kids who like darker stories of magic and mystery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Plot Preview:

Ten-year-old Felix has been quite lonely since his best friend moved away and his elder sister became more interested in her college friends. When he drops a coin in the wishing fountain, he doesn’t expect to find a strange old man there fishing the coins out. To Felix’s astonishment, the old man declares himself to be the town’s *invisible* wishkeeper and that he is in urgent need of an apprentice. Felix volunteers, but little does he know that he has taken up the assignment at the worst possible time in the wishkeeping history of Whittlestone town. Wishes are at an all-time low, and wish snags are increasing. Plus, the wishkeeper, Rupus Beewinkle, isn’t much organised in his work. Will Felix be able to contribute positively to his new job and also bring some happiness to his own life?

Bookish Yays:
✨ The story begins in the conventional way but around the midway mark, it becomes clear that this isn’t a typical ‘magical assistant’ kind of story. It covers many family-oriented themes and offers great discussion points.

✨ Everything to do with wishkeeping: collecting wishes, granting them, fixing snags! Very creative!

✨ Rupus Beewinkle: What a perfectly quirky character! I loved his portrayal: his appearance, his lack of organisation, his love for his job, and most of all, his passion for sweets.

✨ Felix’s feelings also come out well during the story. His longing to be loved is heartfelt, but I liked him better for his planning skills and his bravery in the face of danger.

✨ The only other character to have a somewhat prominent role is Rebecca, Felix’s older sister. Through their interactions, we get to see some interesting sibling dynamics, both positive and negative.

✨ There is a recipe for ‘Snorlicks’, Rupus’ drink of choice, at the end of the book. It sounds scrumptious!

✨ There are some fabulous B&W illustrations complementing the key scenes. Moreover, every page is also beautifully illustrated. This would be a great book to have as a physical copy.


Bookish Nays:
💣 The story gets dark after the midway mark – which is fine, but these scenes aren’t explained well and the change of tone is almost instantaneous. There are certain incidents that would have benefitted with more detailing and more action but these feel very rushed. The “confrontation’ scene also felt a bit lacking, and the resolution beggared belief. I wanted to know a lot more of the whys and hows, but it seemed like the story just wanted to end quickly and happily. While this is just one nay, it is a major one and brings down the overall impact of the book.


All in all, this is an interesting combination of fun plus serious. There are some sad moments, but overall, it is a feel-good story with a happy ending.

That said, my younger daughter – a middle grader - also read this story (not along with me), and she wasn’t as happy with it. She said that she liked the start but lost interest in between, and also that she wanted ‘more action’. In that respect, our feedback matches.

Recommended, but only to those kids who aren’t scared of darker fantasy stories. I feel it will suit younger middle-graders better.

3.75 stars.


My thanks to Candlewick Press and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “The Wishkeeper's Apprentice”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.


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[aycicegininkitapligi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Çok güzeldi 😍😍

[Sol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick, fun, cute, and well written story. I enjoyed it a lot!

[Kirsty Carson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a feel good, fun and exciting story! Felix is a boy who feels like he doesn’t fit in and one day comes across the quirky wishkeeper Rupus that only he can see. After agreeing to become Rupus’ apprentice the fun begins as the pair tackle the wishsnagger who is stealing wishes in Whittlestone. Such a great book with important messages about friendship, belonging and adversary over evil. Not to mention the book itself is fantastically and magically illustrated so was an absolute pleasure to read!

[Nilo0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

یه داستان تصویری برای کودکان و نوجوانان که بامزه بود و دنیای جالبی رو به تصویر کشیده بود.
فیلیکس پسریه که دستیار آرزوبان شهرشون می‌شه. حالا آرزوبان کیه و چجوری آرزوهای مردم شهر رو برآورده می‌کنه و چی می‌شه که آرزوهای شهر در خطر می‌افتاده، داستان این کتابه که با تصویرهای زیبا و مرتبطش داستان قشنگ و شیرینی شده.
برای رده سنی کودک و نوجوان توصیه می‌کنم.

[Lizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bug said this book is "too too good!"

[Nancy B. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet middle grade fantasy story about 10 year old Felix, an ordinary boy who has a magical encounter with Wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle. Rupus is charged with the task of granting and managing the wishes of the town of Whittlestone. He’s good hearted but disorganized and overwhelmed; he’s in desperate need of an apprentice. Enter Felix!

What worked:
- the author has imagined something very creative with this whole idea of wishkeepers and wishsnatchers.
- the black and white illustrations sprinkled throughout the book were so charming. There are enough illustrations to make the amount of text (200+ pages) less intimidating to my 8 year old.
- a great book for helping to expand a young reader’s capacity for both elevated complexity and vocabulary. It feels like a helpful bridge between early chapter books and thicker, more robust middle grade novels.
- I really liked the book’s focus on Felix’s relationship with his older teenage sister. She’s getting older and distancing herself from him, and he feels left behind. I would have loved even more interactions between them in the book. It would have strengthened the impact of their redeemed relationship at the end.

What didn’t work:
- the book’s action / suspense is probably not dramatic enough for older middle grade readers and also simultaneously maybe too dark for some younger elementary readers. My son happens to be in a sweet spot where he’s not sensitive to dark themes but also not ready for more sophisticated fantasy.
- even though I was glad about the happy ending, *how* it was made possible in this magic system felt hasty and confusing.

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Felix has often felt that he doesn't really belong—not at school and not with his family. Imagine his surprise to discover that he has the rare power to see the Wishkeeper! Felix is startled to realize how busy the Wishkeeper is, and when the two uncover the truth of why wishes are unraveling around town, they'll have to use all their wits to put things back to rights, no matter the cost.

I was looking for something magical and heartwarming and a little bit spooky, and this book entirely met expectations. It's set in a charming little town in the English countryside and has all the whimsy of a fairy tale with a little bit of social commentary thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the illustrations, and I'd definitely recommend it to any child who has ever wondered if wishes can come true.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I am a bit too excited to write a book review that is even remotely professional here. I love, LOVE, L.O.V.E. this one! The drawings inside are incredibly adorable. It has the right mixture of humour, magic and love in the story.

The writing is most beautifully done. Rich with imageries and very well-paced by using different sentence structures. I absolutely love this one. I am definitely going to use it as the core-text for my level 1 classes over the summer holiday. (Yes, my tutorial courses have summer holiday classes too.)

Oh, did I say that I love it?

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool!!!!!!!

[Bev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun magical lower middle grade story with themes of the importance of hope and sibling love. Early readers will enjoy the plentiful illustrations and the story is fast paced and fantastical.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this to make sure my little sister (7) would like it - a very sweet and cosy story with enough adventure and scares to keep slightly bigger little ones engaged. Nice and magic.

[Les McFarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one. A good one for lower middle grade (7+) Full of the magic of wishes - just enough cosy balanced with just enough scare. Fantastic illustrations too!

[Kitchen Sink Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book to inspire. This book inspires hope and encourages the power of wishes which can come true, if you believe and if you try.

I loved this story, I loved the illustrations, it certainly made me feel good and reinforced my belief in magic.

[Cat Strawberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aw, this is such an amazing story with a brilliant heart-warming and feel good ending. After having a terrible time at football practice, Felix finds himself alone in the car park waiting for his sister to pick him up. When she doesn’t turn up he decides to walk home and ends up going past the fountain in the town square. Felix has a lot on his mind and decides to make a wish, but can his wish really come true? And who is that strange man he sees standing near the fountain’s edge?

This is a brilliant and magical story that I loved from the first pages. When Felix makes his wish he soon ends up seeing a man by the fountain who he soon finds out is a Wishkeeper called Rupus Beewinkle. Rupus soon enlists Felix’s help as his apprentice but when Felix begins helping Rupus he discovers there are problems in granting wishes. The story is so interesting and I loved both Rupus and Felix’s characters from the start. Felix is a character that many children could relate to, feeling lonely with no friends and an older sister who no longer wants to hang out with him. Rupus is such a fun character too, very different and interesting.

As the tale continues we’re introduced into the world of wishkeeping and I love some of the silly things we see like where Rupus ends up finding the wish cards. While Felix keeps himself busy with learning about wishkeeping he’s also struggling with some problems at home and as the story unfolds and continues we soon discover some surprising secrets as well as more about the dark force that is trying to cause problems to all the wishes in the town. The story is such a creative and magical one with a good fast pace. I love what we end up discovering later about certain characters, the few big twists, and what happens at the end of the story too.

There is a great build up to the ending and there are a few big revelations about some characters that makes this such an exciting and interesting read. It’s such a brilliant tale that ends so well and I love how everything works out at the very end and leaves you with such a big smile on your face with how heart-warming a story it is! The book has some great illustrations throughout. Most pages have either some illustrations or some fun borders on them all in black, white and grey and it makes the book feel so magical and fun to read. The book is also a touch shorter than your average paperback and at the end of the story is a free chapter of the author’s next book (which sounds so good!) as well as a fun recipe for snorlicks which is a drink mentioned in the story and it sounds so delicious.😋 There is also some fun information about the author and illustrator too and a map at the start of the town of Whittlestone.

Overall this is a wonderful book with a brilliant and magical story and one I would recommend to everyone, both children and adults to read. It’s such a wonderful, magical and heart-warming tale and it’s one I know will be loved and read again for how magical and perfect that ending is!
-Thanks to Walker Books for a free copy.

[Mark Buxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

What worked:
The author offers a new twist on the concepts of wishes and magic. Rupus Beewinkle does much more than grant wishes and he sorely needs a new apprentice. Every person’s wish must be considered and cataloged whether it comes from a wishing well, birthday candles, dandelion petals, or turkey wishbones. The magic for some wishes requires little risk but other wishes are deemed ungrantable. The more complicated the wish the better chance there is of complications. Wishes involving life and death are considered illegal.
Rupus comes across as an eccentric character since he’s overwhelmed by problems that have arisen. He calls his secret home Snugwarm because it’s so cozy although there are messy stacks of papers and cards all over the place. He still manages to find time to indulge his sweet tooth with scrumptious snacks. His snorlick is a tasty drink that calms the characters and fills them with more positive thoughts. Rupus behaves a bit like a rebel since he has an inner desire to grant as many wishes as possible. This might explain why the wishes in his town have been experiencing snags unless an evil creature isn’t as extinct as all of the other Wishkeepers suspect. The plot offers an unexpected, passionate twist as it nears its climax.
Emotions play a large part in the story as they strongly affect the way characters view the world. Hope and joy are two of the strongest ones while despair and gloom can destroy a town. Felix is the main character and he’s feeling alone and unwanted. He especially misses the closeness he used to have with his older sister but she thinks he’s an annoying nuisance now. Rupus provides Felix with a sense of purpose and belonging that gives him more courage and optimism. However, events hit his emotions hard and force him to battle for his existence. Rupus and Felix are forced to battle the attack on positive feelings to save the entire town from desolation.
The final verdict:
This enchanting tale will captivate young readers through its unusual characters and original plot. It’s fast-paced and easy to read with charming illustrations to enhance the story. Overall, this unassuming book will be loved by all young readers and I highly recommend you give it a shot.

[Lissi Filibuster · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spannendes Kinderbuch zum Vorlesen - Wünsche, Magie und Gefahren

"Der Lehrling des Wunscherfüllers" von Rachel Chivers Khoo ist ein richtig schönes Buch zum Vorlesen für Kinder ab etwa 6 Jahren. Meinen Jungs und mir hat es sehr gut gefallen, denn die Geschichte um Felix und den Wunscherfüller Rupus Beewinkle ist spannend erzählt und steckt voller Magie und Wünsche.
Felix hat selbst auch einen großen Wunsch, denn zu Beginn der Geschichte geht es ihm nicht besonders gut. Als er dann auf Rupus trifft und dieser ihm anbietet, als Lehrling bei ihm anzufangen, ist er zwar erst etwas misstrauisch, aber doch geneigt, es sich mal anzuschauen. Rupus braucht dringend seine Hilfe, denn die Wünsche der ganzen Stadt Whittlestone sind in Gefahr und das betrifft auch Felix selbst auf ganz besondere Weise.
Felix und Rupus als Hauptfiguren waren uns beide sehr sympathisch. Rupus ist etwas außergewöhnlich, sehr liebenswert und möchte am liebsten alle Wünsche der Menschen in Whittlestone erfüllen. Felix passt sehr gut zu Rupus, denn er kann durch seine Ordnungsliebe das Chaos bei Rupus ein bisschen bändigen. Dazu ist er aber auch sehr mutig und gibt die Hoffnung auch in verzweifelten Situationen nicht auf.
Dieser Mut und diese Hoffnung helfen Felix in den gefährlichen Momenten, die ihm bevorstehen. Vor allem die zweite Hälfte des Buches ist unglaublich spannend und ich durfte keine Pausen beim Vorlesen einlegen, denn wir haben alle mit Felix und Rupus mitgefiebert.
Lediglich zum Betrachten der schönen schwarz-weiß Illustrationen haben wir das Lesen kurz unterbrochen. Besonders witzig fanden wir zum Beispiel das Bild von Rupus zu Hause namens Muckelschnuck, das furchtbar chaotisch, aber irgendwie auch sehr gemütlich ist.
Am Ende des Buches waren wir alle begeistert von der Geschichte und alle gut gelaunt, weil es so schön zeigt, wie wichtig Wünsche und Hoffnung sind. Wir empfehlen das Buch daher allen Kindern ab etwa 6 Jahren zum Vorlesen, ab etwa 8 Jahren zum Selberlesen.

[Rabea Aylien · Rating 5 out of 5]

•Rezension•
Der Lehrling des Wunscherfüllers von Rachel Chivers Khoo

✨ ‎978-3957288202
✨ ab 8 Jahren
✨ 240 Seiten
✨ erschienen am 21. März 2024
✨ 16€ (Gebundenes Buch)
✨ Knesebeck Verlag

Beschreibung:
Als der zehnjährige Felix einen Penny in den Wunschbrunnen von Whittlestone wirft, rechnet er nicht damit, dass sein Wunsch in Erfüllung geht. Noch weniger aber rechnet er damit, dass der seltsame alte Mann mit der Angelrute, den er dort getroffen hat und der steif und fest behauptet, unsichtbar und ein Wunscherfüller zu sein, ihm eine Stelle als Lehrling anbietet. Aber der Lehrling eines Wunscherfüllers zu sein, bedeutet nicht nur, die eingehenden Wünsche zu organisieren und Wünsche zu entwirren, es ist auch ein sehr gefährlicher Job!

Meine Meinung:
Das Buch hat mich von Anfang an begeistert. Schon das Cover ist ein echter Blickfang und spiegelt die Mischung aus Abenteuer und Magie wider, die im Inneren auf den Leser wartet. Der Schreibstil ist lebendig und genau richtig für das Zielpublikum – spannend und humorvoll, aber nie zu einfach. Besonders die Dialoge zwischen Felix und dem geheimnisvollen Wunscherfüller sind voller Witz und Charme. Die Geschichte entwickelt sich in einem angenehmen Tempo, steigert sich aber im richtigen Moment zu einem rasanten Abenteuer. Der Autor schafft es, Spannung aufzubauen, ohne dass die Erzählung überladen wirkt. Felix ist ein sympathischer Held, der im Laufe der Geschichte wächst, und auch der Wunscherfüller mit seiner Mischung aus Mystik und Humor ist ein toller Charakter. Alles in allem ein unterhaltsames und tiefgründiges Leseerlebnis, das ich gerne weiterempfehle!

5/5⭐️

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Das Cover ist so schön gestaltet und die vielen Details sind einfach herrlich! Der Titel hat mich sofort neugierig auf die Geschichte gemacht. Felix auf seinem Fahrrad und Rupus auf der Rückseite sind gut getroffen und auch der Wunschklauer ist darauf zu sehen. Das Format ist praktisch und handlich, die Haptik des Hardcover Buches ist sehr ansprechend.

Der 10 jährige Felix hat es momentan nicht leicht, sein Freund ist weggezogen und in seinem Fußballverein läuft es auch nicht so gut. Seine ältere Schwester Rebecca wollte ihn eigentlich abholen aber in letzter Zeit kümmert sie sich gar nicht mehr um Felix und ist ständig genervt von ihm. Da er denkt, dass sie eh nicht mehr kommen wird geht er ein wenig bummeln und bleibt beim Wunschbrunnen stehen und wird einen Cent hinein und wünscht sich etwas. Er geht weiter zur Bäckerei, als er sich umdreht entdeckt er plötzlich am Brunnen einen kleinen Mann, der aus dem Brunnenrand sitzt und angelt. Felix kann es nicht glauben, der Mann stellt sich als Rupus Beewinkle vor, Wunscherfüller! Sowas kann es doch gar nicht geben! Doch Felix sieht und erlebt die erstaunlichen Dinge. Als plötzlich ein Wunschklauer in der Stadt ist wird es nicht nur für Rupus gefährlich und Felix muss über sich hinauswachsen...

Die Geschichte hat mir von Anfang an gut gefallen, Felix ist ein sympathischer Charakter, der sich um Laufe der Handlung toll entwickelt hat. Rupus war von Anfang an ein Herzcharakter, liebenswert und drollig. Die vielen kreativen Ideen und Szenen waren total fesselnd. Das Abenteuer war spannend und das Ende hat mir auch sehr gut gefallen. Ich empfehle das Buch auf jeden Fall weiter.

[Stace · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a rubbish game of football and being forgotten about by his older sister who was supposed to pick him up after the match, Felix Jones walks into town and decides to make a wish in the town’s fountain – His wish is ‘To make his sister like him again’.

Shortly after placing his wish Felix sees a strange man collecting the coins from the fountain and accuses him of stealing. The man is shocked that Felix can see him as he should be invisible to ‘normal’ folk. His name is Rupus Beewinkle and he is the local wishkeeper.

Rupus explains what his job is and also that Felix has just volunteered to be his much-needed apprentice, given that he is the only one who can see him. But the job is harder than Felix ever imagined, plus there is a wishsnatcher in the town who needs to be stopped.

What a delightfully entertaining book The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice is. It is filled with magic, adventure, mayhem, and so much more. The characters are easy to connect with and the plot is such good fun.

The book is fast-paced and easy to read which will be appreciated by many middle-graders. The font looked a little larger than average, there are amazing illustrations throughout, some full-page others surround the text, and a lot of children will be able to see themselves in Felix.

Overall, The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice is a fabulous story. It leaves the reader feeling happy and has some amusing moments to give them a giggle too. It even has a map at the front and a recipe for ‘Snorlicks’ (wishkeeper’s hot drink of choice) at the back. What’s not to love?

[Becs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember getting my first ever copy of Harry Potter, long before it became a beloved series (I'll leave my continually declining opinion of JKR at the door here), and seeing the wizard on the back of the cover and just being so excited by his pointy hat and fancy cloak. I turned over The Whisperers Apprentice and saw a very similar thing - fancy cloak, a wizard type character and a similar colour palette actually to The Philosopher's Stone and my heart did this little leap; I knew this book was going to be fun, and it absolutely was.

But I don't implore you to read this book because it made me nostalgic or because it has a wizard on the back cover, of course. I implore you to read it because it's an outstanding middle grade (leaning towards the younger category of that genre), with equally wonderful illustrations and a great story full of heart and positive messages for young readers - a happy, nostalgic, fun story of sibling love, hope and togetherness. I'm super glad I picked it up, despite me leaning very far away from being a young reader myself now!

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.

[Hwee Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2⭐️

This is a 7-9er tale quite well done, I rather enjoyed it! It has a layer of complexity which I thought was very clever and would be appreciated by the young reader.

Rupus Beewinkle is the wishkeeper of the town of Whittlestone, a town that has been very high on hope and wishmaking recently. He receives wishes by star, wishing fountain, dandelion. Oh, there’s also the wishofax and the wish cards coming through the toaster 😂

He hires an apprentice to help him out: Felix Jones, who strangely, is the only one who can see him. We find out there’s a reason for this, as the story unfurls.

To the horror of both wishkeeper and apprentice, a wishsnatcher has been attacking wishes, causing them to snag and become undone.

Rachel Chivers Khoo builds a cosy tale both hot chocolate-warm and suspenseful on junior tenterhooks.

Like any bespectacled, bearded character worth his salt, Rupus prioritizes food in any emergency. Cake and “snorlicks” (which sounds like our malted horlicks) first, saving the town next! I like!😂

Highly recommend this heavily-illustrated book to our newly-independent readers and a bit older. Enjoy!

📚: @definitelybookskids

[Varsha Seshan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a charming book! Hopeful, whimsical and ever so sweet, 'The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice' is a book I loved as an adult and would have enjoyed as a child.

Rupus Beewinkle is an overworked wishkeeper. He needs an apprentice because there are so many wish snags, and he simply isn’t able to keep up. Unfortunately, the council refuses his request, and Rupus Beewinkle needs to take things into his own hands.

Enter Felix, who is increasingly upset because his sister Rebecca is now too busy to spend time with him. If only Rebecca would love him the way she used to …

What better way to unite a wishkeeper and a wish-maker than a wish? Felix becomes Rupus’s apprentice, and when he unwittingly reveals Rupus’s address to the wishsnatcher, he must act before it is too late.

'The Wishkeeper’s Apprentice' is a magical story about family and love, with eccentric characters and an unusual storyline. It is fast-paced and altogether lovely, with pictures and text coming together perfectly in a sweet, optimistic read.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A light and quick (1 day) magical fantasy about an overwhelmed elderly wishkeeper and a lonely boy. Heavily illustrated and pretty straightforward, I think it will great for young readers who are just getting into chapter books. The bad guy (wishsnatcher) is not too scary and there is zero other content to worry about.
There illustrations are fun and whimsical, and I loved them all with one exception. There is a map of Whittlestone at the beginning of the book, which is darling but the scale is completely wrong. Felix is sad from the outset because his sister forgets to pick him up from soccer practice at school, and he has to walk 'all the way' home...which on the map is literally two buildings away. On his way home he stops by the penny fountain...which is not in the same direction as his house. He had to walk a different way entirely to get to the fountain instead of home. Maybe kid readers won't notice but I found it incongruous and felt that it detracted from my enjoyment of the story if I looked at the map.

[Insert Name Here · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic little adventure story!

This is so well thought out, every detail planned ahead of time and worked in beautifully so everything makes sense. (Kids pick up on these things, you know!) Felix and Rupert are fantastic, literally, wonderful characters. I really hope there's more to come because I can't wait to hear more about their adventures together and the wishes they can grant.

A huge part of the charm of this story is the illustrations, and I'm so glad my proof was, as far as I could tell, complete. Rachel has given them the perfect touch, slightly old fashioned, entirely charming and full of sly details and cute winks. Kids are going to love picking out different bits and pieces and find little jokes hidden away in the illustrations.

All in all this is a brilliant book for a newly confident reader. They'll love following Felix along on his journey, and maybe they'll learn a couple of things along the way.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

It was a little hard to keep going past "Rupus Beewinkle" who is a wishkeeper, and it wasn't surprising that Magic Was in Trouble. This was very typical of British children't literature in that there's a nice balance of eating toast and saving the world, but the use of "fiddlesticks" and worrying about whether the main character's sister still likes him moves this into the elementary realm.

A fun story to read, and I did enjoy the larger font and frequent pictures. A lot of British books for younger readers are much longer, so if you have a strong 3rd grader who would like to read Harry Potter but is a more gentle soul, this would be an excellent choice. For middle school, I'll stick to Whitesides' 2018 The Wishmakers or Hubbard's delightful 2012 You Wish.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Whishkeeper’s Apprentice has been quoted as utterly charming, that I totally agree with. The whole story is filled with excitement from the first page until the last. Felix is a young boy with a sister that isn’t really nice to him. Felix drops a Penny in Whittlestone’s fountain wishing his sister would like him again, when he sees the Wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle an invisible magician, that only Felix can see.

The Wishkeeper Rupus Beewinkle keeps all wishes and grants the very special wish to come true.

This is a magical story for all young boys and girls about Felix, who becomes the wishkeeper’s apprentice.
I would like to thank walker for sending me a paperback to read and review.

[Eva Francova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felix se znenadání stane učedníkem a pomocníkem přáníděje Rufuse. Ten umí splnit snad jakékoliv přání. Poklidný život v městečku však naruší monstrum, kvůli kterému mohou zmizet všechna přání. Felix s Rufusem tak budou mít spoustu práce s tím, aby dali všechno do pořádku.

Toto byl doslova kouzelný příběh. Krátká pohádka pro děti (od 9 let). Kromě mnoha přání v příběhu tu najdete i sílu přátelství, a hlavně důležitost rodiny.

Kniha je rozhodně nádherně zpracovaná, ilustrace jsou úplně součástí textu, jsou tu ozdobené stránky, no prostě radost pohledět….

Jednu hvězdičku strhávám za některé, pro mě krkolomné, názvy. Přáníděj a přáníjed se mi neustále pletli :-D

Pokud mají vaše děti rády příběhy plné kouzel a splněných přání, rozhodně je tato kniha tou pravou volbou.

[Alice magical library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Join Felix Jones and Rupus Beewinkle on a journey to save Whittlestone’s (the town they live in) wishes.
When Felix makes a wish at the Penny Fountain, and he meets Rupus and becomes his apprentice at the age of 10, everything changes. It turns out that Rupus is a Wishkeepers, someone who grants most wishes. But, when they is a wishsnatcher on the lose, and Felix finds out who he truly is, everything g become more dangerous.
Will he save the town before it’s too late?
This book won the vote for this months chick and frog bookshop bookclub book and I am so glad it did. I loved this book, along with the whimsical illustrations by Rachel Sanson.

Aged 9 reviewer

[Omiai · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a reasonably good book. Nothing particularly special about it though. The whole thing felt a bit lacking and i felt like things happened a bit strangely. Like, Felix meets Rupus, almost immediately agrees to be his apprentice, then on his first day discovers a secret about himself and storms off. From then, the story is basically on it's way to the end, and i just felt like not much happened in between. It was all just a bit too...fast...
it was enjoyable enough though, I did want to finish it and see what happened, and it had a satifying conclusion.
I do think younger children would probably enjoy this book, and it's a pretty easy read, so it wouldn't be too daunting for them.