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Penhaligon Brush #1
The Daring Adventures of Penhaligon Brush
PENHALIGON BRUSH LONGS for adventure and finds it aplenty in the seaside village of Porthleven. Within hours of his arrival, he is captured by armed ferrets and thrown into the dungeon of Furball Manor. Happily, he is rescued by friends. Unhappily, they explain that the dastardly wildcat, Sir Derek, and his ferret army plan to sink the ships of the princess of Spatavia that very night! Can Penhaligon and his unlikely band of resistors save the princess? Of course they can!
This is an old-fashioned adventure story, told with great verve and a fresh wit. Filled with more than 50 black and white illustrations, it's a perfect book to entice newly independent readers.
From the Hardcover edition.
This is an old-fashioned adventure story, told with great verve and a fresh wit. Filled with more than 50 black and white illustrations, it's a perfect book to entice newly independent readers.
From the Hardcover edition.
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 3, 2005
1 person is currently reading
46 people want to read
About the author
S. Jones Rogan
2 books4 followersS. Jones Rogan traveled the world, looking for adventure. She now encourages all types of book exploration as an elementary school librarian in Los Angeles.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
November 16, 2009
I loved this book. It had an awsome story and I couldn't put it down until I read the end. It had fantastic characters. I read it to my litte sister and when I would stop, she would beg me to continue. When I finished, I wished for a sequel.
April 26, 2012
Solid adventure story. Well-paced and written with action without sacrificing characterization.
January 2, 2018
I bought this for my grandchildren for Christmas on high recommendations. So I quickly read it before I wrapped it!! It was an entertaining adventure and good vs. evil where the right prevails story. The main characters are animals with all the same characteristics and dilemmas as humans. Reminded me of the Redwall series which I enjoyed with my boys when they were growing up. The right always prevails....the most important moral we can teach the next generation.
January 25, 2020
This book was an absolute delight to read aloud (and voice!) to my kiddos. Part animated Robin Hood part Princess Bride, the humor, hijinks, and close shaves kept my listeners entertained. The concept of good and evil was presented clearly but gently for young listeners. I’m eager to read the sequel.
June 4, 2017
What a great read. Not many books for young readers have this much action and adventure. Great for future readers of the Redwall series.
March 4, 2010
Reason for Reading: Read aloud to the 9yo. Both my son and I love animal fantasy and the plot sounded like it would be something we would enjoy.
Summary: Penhaligon Brush is the town's apothecary. When he was just a cub his parents left him in the care of a Badger family but never came back, so he was raised as a member of that family. When Penhaligon receives a message from his brother Bancroft Badger to come to Porthleven right away, he hurries off. But when he arrives, Penhaligon finds that the village is under the cruel dictatorship of Lady Ferball's nephew, Sir Derek. Lady Ferball is apparently ill and hasn't been seen since his arrival while Bancroft has been arrested and thrown in the dungeon! Trying to see reason with Sir Derek, Penhaligon himself is sent to the dungeon and here he finds out about Sir Derek's diabolical plans to shipwreck the coming princess of Spatavia so he and his ferret army can capture all the gold and other riches aboard. Penhaligon, Bancroft, Lady Ferball and her companion Rowan along with the clandestine help of certain villagers set out to foil Sir Derek's plans and free the village from his clutches.
Comments: Both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Set in a medieval world the book has a "Redwall" aura to it but aimed at a much younger audience. The separation of good and evil is very clear; the good characters are always good and the bad are not just bad but downright nasty. We both fell in love with a secondary character called Hotchi-witchi, a hedgehog, who ends up joining the gang. He's a brave little guy despite his fears and very comical. My son also enjoyed Old Amon, the lighthouse keeper, who didn't say a lot but when he did he had the habit having say "oh, aye" all the time. Ds asked what it meant and being from Yorkshire myself I admit to putting on a bit of a broad accent when reading Old Amon's lines so we had ds going around for days saying "oh, aye" to everything!
The story is a lot of fun. Plenty of action and adventure right from the start and non-stop until the end. The book is profusely illustrated with wonderfully detailed drawings. Not only are there full page illustrations in every chapter but there are also illustrations on the bottom or along the side of some text pages as well. You can't go four or five pages without next coming upon an illustration. This will certainly make the book friendly to kids who are reluctant to read picture-less chapter books. The book ends properly with a complete ending but does suggest a sequel which indeed there is, The Curse of the Romany Wolves. We will be reading that in the not too distant future. Recommended.
Summary: Penhaligon Brush is the town's apothecary. When he was just a cub his parents left him in the care of a Badger family but never came back, so he was raised as a member of that family. When Penhaligon receives a message from his brother Bancroft Badger to come to Porthleven right away, he hurries off. But when he arrives, Penhaligon finds that the village is under the cruel dictatorship of Lady Ferball's nephew, Sir Derek. Lady Ferball is apparently ill and hasn't been seen since his arrival while Bancroft has been arrested and thrown in the dungeon! Trying to see reason with Sir Derek, Penhaligon himself is sent to the dungeon and here he finds out about Sir Derek's diabolical plans to shipwreck the coming princess of Spatavia so he and his ferret army can capture all the gold and other riches aboard. Penhaligon, Bancroft, Lady Ferball and her companion Rowan along with the clandestine help of certain villagers set out to foil Sir Derek's plans and free the village from his clutches.
Comments: Both my son and I thoroughly enjoyed this. Set in a medieval world the book has a "Redwall" aura to it but aimed at a much younger audience. The separation of good and evil is very clear; the good characters are always good and the bad are not just bad but downright nasty. We both fell in love with a secondary character called Hotchi-witchi, a hedgehog, who ends up joining the gang. He's a brave little guy despite his fears and very comical. My son also enjoyed Old Amon, the lighthouse keeper, who didn't say a lot but when he did he had the habit having say "oh, aye" all the time. Ds asked what it meant and being from Yorkshire myself I admit to putting on a bit of a broad accent when reading Old Amon's lines so we had ds going around for days saying "oh, aye" to everything!
The story is a lot of fun. Plenty of action and adventure right from the start and non-stop until the end. The book is profusely illustrated with wonderfully detailed drawings. Not only are there full page illustrations in every chapter but there are also illustrations on the bottom or along the side of some text pages as well. You can't go four or five pages without next coming upon an illustration. This will certainly make the book friendly to kids who are reluctant to read picture-less chapter books. The book ends properly with a complete ending but does suggest a sequel which indeed there is, The Curse of the Romany Wolves. We will be reading that in the not too distant future. Recommended.
May 21, 2010
Ooh, Logan loved this. Yeah, it's relatively predictable for those of us who've read a bazillion fantasy swashbucklers. But for Logan, it was a breathless adventure. Like so many stories we read, there were things that went over his head, especially since he likes to play while I read aloud, but he got the main story line of a daring fox and an even more daring vixen (who have some difficulty getting along) joining up with their friends to combat a comically evil cat prince. Friends include a shy hedgehog and his family, the cat prince's aging aunt, and a well-read badger. There was a subplot about prejudice against "romany wolves" (read: gypsies) and intermarriage between them and foxes, but that was pretty uninteresting to Logan. I'm not sure he even got it. But that didn't detract from the heroine rescued and the swashes buckled.
May 11, 2010
This was a good story, however, I had a hard time with the characters being animals. Don't get me wrong, I love a good story with animals as the main characters. I feel, though, that you have to walk a fine line when writing human stories played by animals. I don't think you should portray them as completely human with the same characteristics. I feel more comfortable with animals who are still animals but toy with the human world (i.e. Beatrix Potter or Kenneth Grahame). So that is why I could only give this a 3-star rating.
September 26, 2009
Yes, this is a Childrens/YA book. I bought it at a show in Charlotte because I have been seeing Christen Slade (illustrator) for a couple of years at shows and I love his artwork on Corgi. That being said, the story was an enjoyable read. It is not totally watered down as some children/ya books are, there is a little romance, a little mystery and a little action. The pencil drawings scattered throughout the book are just icing on the cake.
December 4, 2007
A nice adventure with talking animals. Satisfying. Good for middle readers. Nothing really special. Please try it despite the awful cover art.
November 30, 2008
I could not get into this book at all; never finished
October 2, 2009
I'm usually not a big fan of talking animal books, but this one was very entertaining! It's like an action-packed, danger-filled Wind in the Willows!
July 29, 2010
Cute predictable book, my kids would love it.
January 13, 2011
A great little anthropomorphic animal adventure that was perfect bedtime reading with my 7 year old.
March 10, 2016
A fun, exciting read reminiscent of the Redwall books.
October 13, 2021
This book is awesome! The characters are so lovable and the plot is full of twists and turns!
January 10, 2008
i am not done with this book but i did like it alittle bit but it wasn't that funny
April 15, 2008
Something like Redwall but a shorter read. May become a series.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews