Celeste Express: The war of the wurms by Alexander Slater

Wyrm holes, evil Wizard, a tyrannical nine-year-old and stardust bunnies. What more could a young reader ask for?

In the kingdom of Galaxandria, Princess Celeste Starwing is in big, big trouble.

As punishment for her ongoing tyrannical behaviour, she is sent to the dusty intergalactic post office.  A place that hasn’t been functional for a very long time as evidenced by the piles of undelivered letters.

It is here that she meets Podge, the only other employee of the post office since the postmaster disappeared and his Nana stopped working there. It is also here that Celeste discovers piles and piles of undelivered mail and as she begins the mammoth task of delivering the letters the consequence of letter delivery shapes the adventure within the story.

In a quest to prove to her father that she deserves to come home she is determined to make the post office popular again, unfortunately she is nine years old, and her actions are not always unselfish or without serious consequences.  Along the way she makes a friend or two, saves her kingdom, uncovers mysteries, and delivers a letter or two in her quest to be allowed back into the castle that is her home.

This is a brilliant book that I couldn’t put down. The story is simple yet engaging and the illustrations throughout the story make this a delightful read.  I would definitely recommend this book to any child who is looking for a realistic fantasy with adventure and giggles asking the way.  This is a great introduction to chapter books as the chapters are short and the illustrations help the story.  

A perfect class read aloud although students might not like having to take a break in the middle of the action-packed chapters.  I can see this being an extremely popular book in any school library. I was very excited to see that Celeste’s next adventure is coming soon!!

Themes: Fantasy, Friendship, Other worlds, Adventure, Good vs. evil.

Mhairi Alcorn