It is on Gwyn’s ninth birthday when his Grandmother gives him an assortment of strange objects and tells him he could be a magician. It was on Gwyn’s fifth birthday when his sister, Bethan, went missing. For those four years his father has blamed Gwyn for Bethan’s disappearance, but so has Gwyn.

Jenny Nimmo’s classic was re-released on it’s 30th anniversary with a lovely new cover by Daniela Terrazzini, before this edition I hadn’t known of this book, which is a great shame as I could have loved it for over 30 years rather than one.

Jenny’s writing is tight and well paced, her characters are so believable that you emotionally invest in their world from the beginning of the story.

Gwyn is sceptical of his Grandmother’s claims that he could be the descendent of the famous magician; Math, Lord of Gwynedd, Gwydion and Gilfraethwy; well you would be wouldn’t you?

But as the story unfolds, we see what he could become and the dangers that could be involved in this.

Literally magical, Jenny developed a wonderful world with wonderful characters and gave me a book that I love, making it one of the best sellers in our shop.

It is on Gwyn’s ninth birthday when his Grandmother gives him an assortment of strange objects and tells him he could be a magician. It was on Gwyn’s fifth birthday when his sister, Bethan, went missing. For those four years his father has blamed Gwyn for Bethan’s disappearance, but so has Gwyn.

Jenny Nimmo’s classic was re-released on it’s 30th anniversary with a lovely new cover by Daniela Terrazzini, before this edition I hadn’t known of this book, which is a great shame as I could have loved it for over 30 years rather than one.

Jenny’s writing is tight and well paced, her characters are so believable that you emotionally invest in their world from the beginning of the story.

Gwyn is sceptical of his Grandmother’s claims that he could be the descendent of the famous magician; Math, Lord of Gwynedd, Gwydion and Gilfraethwy; well you would be wouldn’t you?

But as the story unfolds, we see what he could become and the dangers that could be involved in this.

Literally magical, Jenny developed a wonderful world with wonderful characters and gave me a book that I love, making it one of the best sellers in our shop.

Interesting read. This story was based on Welsh myth which I was familiar with. I didn't know if this was a retelling of that myth or inspired by so it made it confusing. There is a lot of grief for a children's book so I suggest this for an older child (perhaps 5th grade and up) just to be better able to understand the grief and neglect components. I do like the magical elements but did leave questions. Low 4 star.

Listened to it on CD on our trip. It's a fine story, but I always felt like I was two steps ahead of the plot. That's probably because the target audience is 10 year olds, though.

I enjoyed her Charlie Bone series. This one appears to have been written long before. The set up takes a very long time and I am not finding this worth my time.

One of my most favourite stories from when I was a child. Full of magic and Welsh legends.

I love Nimmo's books. They're so enchanting and fun.