The House At The Edge of Magic is a higgledy piggledy house full of secrets, colourful characters and household objects which behave in peculiar ways after being cursed by a witch. The clock is ticking and young pickpocket, Nine, is welcomed with open arms by its quirky residents who are unable to leave their home until the terrible curse has been broken…
But how can Nine help them?

The Story: Nine steals an ornamental house from a stranger’s purse and is very surprised when it grows into a very tall, real sized house. She is pulled into the house by the housekeeper, a strange troll like creature, who tells her she’s late. But what’s she late for?
Inside Nine meets an incompetent, hopscotch playing wizard, Flabberghast, Dr Spoon – a Scottish wooden spoon – and learns that the strange creature’s name is Eric. None of them can leave the house while it is cursed.
It’s chaos inside – hilariously odd things happen when the tea cupboard is opened, the books in the library keep rearranging themselves and it’s hard to find a toilet when you need one. There’s a sense of desperation mixed with hope as the residents offer Nine wealth and a new life if she can help them, an attractive proposal which leads to her leaving the poverty stricken basement that she shares with her master, Pockets, and the other pickpockets.
Nine is a poor, defensive protagonist whose circumstances have led to her developing a strong independent streak and a sense of survival. After an initial sense of bafflement she works against the clock to help solve puzzles and clues and uncover family secrets that can help her free the house’s inhabitants from the curse of a villain whose identity surprised us when it was revealed!
There’s magic on every page – from the interactions between the characters to the bizarre situations that have been created by the curse. The dynamics between the characters lead to quirky and amusing conversations and move the story forward at a fast pace. But the humour is also balanced by the depth of Nine’s emotional journey and the relationships that develop between her and the other characters as she tries to find a sense of belonging.
Ben Mantle has captured the quirkiness of The House At The Edge of Magic on the cover brilliantly, it’s a higgledy piggledy, crooked house that is invisible to everybody but Nine. Can you spot Flabberghast and Eric with his feather duster? Ben also leaves little clues as to what will happen next in the chapter headings…

We love the originality of the text, the characters and the olde world setting – there is a sense of Victorian England with the inclusion of the pickpockets and their dark underworld. The House At The Edge of Magic is a fabulous character in itself and we look forward to visiting it again 🙂
AgeRange: 7 +
Author: Amy Sparkes / Cover illustrator: Ben Mantle
Thank you to Walker Books for sending a review copy of this magical story, we can’t wait to read Nine’s next adventure.
What a wonderful sounding book and I love the illustration of the house. I think we will be getting a copy of this for my eldest. 🙂
The house is fabulous – really full of magic! I hope your oldest enjoys it 🙂
This sounds like a wonderful book. The front cover is just fantastic x
It’s an amazing house – inside and out!
The plot sounds fabluous! #MMBC
It’s full of magical surprises 🙂
This sounds wonderful! I think my grandson would love it. Thanks for this good recommendation!
You’re welcome Laurie – I hope your grandson likes it 🙂
This sounds like a great book, I think my Little Man would like this one. #mmbc
It’s a really fun story and Amy is writing a sequel too 🙂
This sounds a fun read and what a fab cover
It’s a fabulous cover! Yes, it’s a fun read with lots of quirky characters 🙂