James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein (text), Juliana Neufeld (illus.), Secret of the Forbidden City (Treasure Hunters #3), Random House Australia, 1 Sept 2015, 448pp., $16.99 (pbk), ISBN: 9780099596493
Book Three in the Treasure Hunters Series by James Patterson finds the adventurous Kidds searching for their parents across the globe…and doing it the way only kids can…with lots of fun, food fights and laughs. Secret of the Forbidden City takes readers from China to Germany introducing readers to the people, sites and tastes from these fascinating places and packing in lots of action and adventure along the way. From bickering twins Bick and Beck to brainy Storm and cluelessly cute Tommy, the Kidds are on a mission to recover priceless art to exchange for their parents’ freedom.
When I first saw this 448-page middle grade book even I (a voracious adult reader) was intimidated by the length. But I flew through this fantastic story thanks in no small part to its perfect pacing, short chapters and comic-like sketches. The storyline itself is so interesting that I couldn’t help but turn the page to find out how these four kids were going to track down their kidnapped mother and MIA father.
From the walls of the Forbidden City in Beijing to a seemingly insignificant museum of knickknacks in Berlin, Secret of the Forbidden City introduces young readers to different cultures in a kid-friendly way — delicious descriptions of the unique foods in a Chinese restaurant to the back story of art lost to the Nazis. I particularly liked the wonderful (and smelly) villians that were just the right amount of bad.
This book is well-suited for readers in grades 3 – 7, especially those that enjoy adventure stories. I immediately gave a copy of this book to my nephew who is a reluctant reader because of the easy-to-read format, plus there are dozens of books available by James Patterson if he enjoys this one…as I’m sure he will.
Reviewed by Stephanie Ward