I was never a huge fan of Tintin growing up. On reflection, I don't think I was bright enough to be able to access the level of narrative or enjoy the quality of the illustrations from Herge's comic strip. This is the 13th story from Herge and it's interesting to consider that he wrote it whilst under the watchful gaze of Nazi-occupied Belgium. It is only recently that I have grown to enjoy Herge's stories mainly because of the political undercurrent that runs throughout them and, perhaps more interestingly to me, the immense quality of Herge's draftsmanship. Before reading Tintin, I was so used to reading comics at a break-neck speed but here was an artist that was asking me to slow down and read between the lines. Yes, there was humour throughout but, especially in this novel, there is an unsettled sense of fear too.

I think I would consider using some of the books as a guided reading in Upper Key Stage 2 or with Year 4 accomplished readers. They would make for an interesting discussion but also as a historical reflection of a book/story set in its time. I can imagine great discussions around Herge's use of pace and colour as well as dramatic tension and characterisation.