Harper and the Fire Star is a beautifully written story full of mystery, secrets and musical magic. We were quickly drawn into Harper’s adventure, captivated by the colourful characters in The Circus of Dreams and intrigued by the mysterious Fire Star. We couldn’t stop reading until we got to the end of the book!
The Story: The Wild Conductor puts on a fabulous show to try and get into The Circus of Dreams but things don’t go as planned and instead Harper and her cat, Midnight, are taken away by Othello Grande, the ringmaster. A fast paced, magical adventure follows as Harper’s friends race to find her and Harper accidentally discovers Fire Star who is living in a strange grey world without music.
Harper and the Fire Star’s easy to read, lyrical prose is as musical as the story. We love the setting of this adventure – a circus which includes a chocolate forest, a sea-singer and a children’s orchestra. The Circus of Dreams is suspended in the sky, umbrellas can help you fly and Harper is joined by a diverse cast of characters including the villainous Othello Grande whose dislike of The Wild Conductor has played a big part in Fire Star’s story. The two men’s turbulent history has led to Star’s situation and Harper risks danger to help her.
We would love to hear the sound of The Wild Conductor’s cloudian, a musical instrument that flies through the air and plays a significant part in the story. Harper is so musically talented that she can pick up any instrument and play it, her circus act involves her playing a variety of instruments. Friendship is an important theme and Harper’s friends from the Tall Apartment Block, Ferdie, Liesel, visually impaired Nate and his wolf Smoke, make a risky journey to rescue her from Othello Grande’s clutches.
Laura Ellen Anderson’s illustrations add more magic and vibrancy to the story, we love the pictures of Liesel, Ferdie and Nate pedalling towards The Circus of Dreams and Harper perched on her umbrella as she performs. But our favourite illustration shows Midnight playing the piccolo flute, he’s a musically gifted cat!
Harper and the Fire Star is a wonderful celebration of music and the arts. With warm, likeable characters, fantastic illustrations and a large dose of magic this is a perfect first chapter book for independent readers.
Age Range: 7+
Author: Cerrie Burnell / Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson
Harper and the Fire Star (Harper 4)
by Cerrie Burnell [Scholastic]
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$8.95
Thank you to Scholastic for sending Harper and the Fire Star. We’re sad to hear that it will be the last Harper story.
This sounds like the perfect book for my 7 year old to get stuck into, adore the front cover! Thank you for sharing with read with me.
It’s a fabulous cover and Laura Ellen Anderson’s illustrations are brilliant!
It sounds lovely! I read The Circus of Dreams and thought it was a truly beautiful, magical story. It’s a shame my daughter is too old for them!
I’ve enjoyed reading the Harper stories, they’re a wonderful read for adults too 🙂
This sounds super. I shall tell my niece about this one.
I love the front cover illustrations.
#readwithme
There are so many wonderful illustrations in the story. It wasn’t easy choosing a favourite although Midnight playing the piccolo flute is so cute that we just had to mention it!
I have one of the Harper books stored away for when my 5 year old is older, she could probably read it now but I thought the lyrical language might be too confusing for her. This sounds like another lovely one, hopefully by the time she’s old enough there’ll be one or two more books in the series for me to introduce her to.
This is the final Harper story, there are four altogether. I think that a five year old would still enjoy the language and the story if it was read aloud to her.
I love the look of this series and can’t wait for BookBairn to be old enough to read them! #readwithme
They’re beautiful stories and so unique, very different to any other books that we’ve read for this age group.
Sounds a lovely story and a bit different.
Cerrie tells wonderful stories, unlike any others that we’ve read before. They have a very magical, musical quality to them.
This sounds like a great series to keep in mind for Izzie when she is a bit bigger, plus I love those illustrations! #readwithme
The illustrations are gorgeous 🙂 Don’t forget about these stories when Izzie is older. They’re so wonderfully original.
We have this book in our to read pile! It sounds absolutely beautiful #readwithme
It is! I hope you enjoy reading it 🙂