Castle of Inside Out by David Henry Wilson
Published by Alma Books
The Castle of Inside Out by David Henry Wilson, and beautifully illustrated by Chris Riddel, is a real page-turner. The title, a play on words, describes both the “insiders” and “outsiders” in the story and the fact that the plot constantly turns inside out.
The story begins with a black rabbit and Lorina, a schoolchild. She asks the rabbit for directions to a well-known castle on the other side of the forest.
Lorina soon comes into contact with a race of green people. The green people are overworked, starving and almost perishing from the fumes emanating from the castle. They beg Lorina to help them out of this situation. And so she begins her journey into the castle to do exactly that.
In castle she meets many of the insiders. These selfish animals accumulate copious amounts of food and treat the green people as slaves. She realises that none of the insiders actually care for the green people. Finally, she encounters someone who seems willing to help her. However not everything is as it seems. Will the green people escape from the cruelty of these insiders?
This book is a page turning, hilarious tale, unlike any other you’ve ever read. Amusing and humorous rhymes, puns and verses make the story complete with a humorous aspect of the story on almost every page. The conversations in this book are highly entertaining and witty.
I would highly recommend this book mainly to girls aged of 8-12, but boys will enjoy it too.
The only downside to this book is that it ended too soon; I would have loved to keep reading!
CKT Book Reviewer
Author: David Henry Wilson
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Title: Castle of Inside Out
Publisher: Alma Books
ISBN: 9781846883965
Published: August 2016
Age: 8+
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