Key To Rondo | Emily Rodda | Music for the eyes

Key To Rondo | Emily Rodda | Rodda definitely has ended the book with room for sequels

books:

Key To Rondo

	Key To Rondo Emily Rodda Scholastic Press, 2008 - 352 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

There are three rules to the old painted, music box: Wind the box three times only. Never shut the box when the music is playing. Never move the box before the music stops.

Leo wouldn't dream of breaking these rules, but does his stubborn cousin Mimi listen? She winds the box four times -- and suddenly the paintings on its side come to life and a powerful witch is released. Now its up to Leo and Mimi to stop the witch, if only they can find the key to the music box -- and the magical world it controls.

Music for the eyes

I really liked this book. The characters were very fleshed out and I enjoyed having a strong female with a cautious male, it is nice to have things switched. It had alot of suspense, twist of characters, and some surprising discoveries. I felt like I could see the world she was creating and thought that bringing in so many fairytales, but with a unique play on them was fun.

for more information click here

Rodda definitely has ended the book with room for sequels

Children's literature, like all other types, is full of conventions. Successful books can use those foundational conventions with enough originality to make the story seem at once comfortable and exciting. Emily Rodda has achieved such a balance in THE KEY TO RONDO. This fantasy tale employs the familiar "quest by unlikely heroes who have stumbled into another world" in a fresh and compelling package.

When Leo inherits an antique music box from his kind but dull great-aunt Bethany, he is flattered to be responsible for an object that has been in his family for generations. Little does he know that the beautifully painted box will be the source of an adventure that will bring him closer to understanding all the Langlander family stories that Bethany loved to share. Leo planned to respect the rules for the music box that had been handed down: don't wind it more than three times, don't turn the key or pick up the box while the music is still playing, and don't close the lid until the music has stopped. But when his annoying and defiant cousin Mimi comes to stay with him and his parents, she breaks the rules right away, thus setting in motion a perilous and exciting adventure that tests their loyalty, reveals much about the Langlander clan, and challenges Leo and Mimi to find strength and confidence in their true selves.

When Mimi winds the music box an additional turn, it brings to life the Blue Queen, one of the figures painted on the box. She snatches Mimi's dog Mutt and heads back to Rondo, the world painted on the box's sides. Despite Leo's warnings, Mimi is determined to follow the queen into Rondo to rescue Mutt. And against his better judgment, Leo goes with her. They find themselves in the street scene painted on one side of the box, but things are different from what they remember: there has been an earthquake in Rondo and much disorder.

A shady character calling himself Tom offers to help the two youngsters find their way to the Blue Queen's castle, but he is scared away by the police. Now Leo and Mimi are on their own and distrustful of everyone they meet. Do Conkers and his talking duck Freda really want to help them? What about the strange-looking Tye, who has the body of a woman and the face of a tiger? What are they to make of the tales of Jim and Polly, who tell them all about the Dark Times and a hero named Hal who thwarted the queen?

As they move closer and closer to the queen's castle, Leo and Mimi must work together to hatch a plan that will free the dog and get them home safely. They team up with a talking pig named Bertha and decide to confront the queen face to face. Along the way they learn about Rondo and begin to comprehend how Rondo and the Langlander family are connected.

THE KEY TO RONDO is great fun to read. Leo and Mimi make a fantastic pair, especially as they come to know each other better and work together to balance their strengths and weaknesses. The supporting characters are sympathetic, and the bad guys are just bad enough without being unbelievable. Young readers will enjoy the twists, turns and surprises; the writing is fresh and the adventure thrilling. Rodda's contribution to this otherworldly quest is a worthwhile one, and she definitely has ended the book with room for sequels. There are still many mysteries of Rondo to be revealed!

--- Reviewed by Sarah Rachel Egelman

for more information click here

Fun to read aloud

I bought this book to read to my 4 year old daughter who adored Emily Rodda's fairy realm books. This book is a big leap from the fairy realm books, with much more introspection on the part of mimi and leo, the heroes, which delays the action. Character development of misunderstood "tweenies" is not of great interest to four year olds. The concept of children disappearing into the music box was hard from my daughter to grasp at first but on the second reading she was laughing at the pompous pig and vain hidey holes and nagging me to read chapter after chapter.
If you're reading to young kids, start with the Charm Bracelet and the rest of the fairy realm books and the get this book.

for more information click here

Exciting, enjoyable tribute to fairy tales

I am a huge fan of Emily Rodda's "Deltora" books, and heck if this did not have a cool cover. Fortunately, this is as good as anything as I would expect from Ms. Rodda and certainly warrants many a recommendation.

True to her form, Rodda goes with a familiar but classical approach--fairy tales and stumbling into said world, this time via a magical music box. Sounds wonderful to me. Then cue the adventure of tackling a wicked witch with a cast of charming characters including many a fairy tale cameo, including the grown-up Little Red Riding Hood and one of the Three Little Pigs.

The children's style I have come to expect from Rodda is in full-swing, simple but spot-on for a fast-paced read with plenty of laughs and heartfelt moments.

I very much enjoyed reading "The Key to Rondo". It's a proper adventure for any lover of fairy tales or children's books.

for more information click here

A little derivative, but fun

Let's see... a magical world where messages are sent by owl... whoops, I mean by mice... The evil White Queen has ruled this world of Narnia -- sorry, I mean the evil Blue Queen, and the world is called Rondo -- and tries to lure Edmond and Lucy, I mean Leo and Mimi, into her magical lair where she can entrap them by freezing them. They spend much of the book wandering through the magical forest with a vain lion, no, a vain pig, as a sidekick. A trusty forest-dweller with a big axe comes to their rescue. They ultimately find their way back to our world through the wardrobe portal, actually, platform 9 and 3/4, wrong again, through a music box, and all is ultimately well. You get the idea. Not as good as the prototypes but still fun to read nevertheless.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2

products you might be interested in