The Dark Blue 100 Ride Bus Ticket

The Dark Blue 100 Ride Bus Ticket

By Margaret Mahy

ISBN13: 9781869508166

RRP $19.99

Recommended Readership: 8-10 years

Synopsis

When Carlo and his mother, Jessica, accept a free bus ticket from a strange old woman in the supermarket, they are really only being polite.  Secretly they think she must be slightly batty, with her talk about hunded free bus rides to the supermarket at the end of the world.  How absurd!  And yet, right outside their supermarket, which is of the most ordinary, everyday kind, a Number 13 bus pulls up... dark blue with gold stars, just like the ticket.

Feeling suddenly adventurous, Jessica and Carlo take their seats... and nothing turns out the way you would expect.

Because the wonderful supermarket is real - but so are the horrible Dowlers, who are plotting and scheming to destroy it.  What begins with fun and laughter becomes violent and dangerous, and the courage of a pair of resourceful children will be needed if the horrible, howling Dowlers are to be defeated.

About the Author

Margaret Mahy is one of the world's best-loved authors, writing wonderfully funny and imaginative children's poems, stories and picture books as well as ground-breaking novels for young adults, thrilling readers for more than forty years.

A member of the Order of New Zealand, on Honorary Doctor of Letters and twice winner of Britain's Carnegie Medal for Children's Literature, she has also been honooured by the Arts Foundation of New Zealand as a Living Icon, received the Prime Minister's Award for Literary Achievement in Fiction, and been awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her outstanding contribution to children's literature.

Child's Review

I thought this was a fun book and wish that WE had a dark blue 100 ride bus ticket.

I really liked all the imaginative characters - especially the 'head' waiter - he was funny!  I also like how all the bus drivers were really friendly and had green hair.  But I thought the Dowlers were mean and scary and was really glad when Carlo and Pearlie managed to beat them with the Horn-Hazard spray.

I was happy at the end when Carlo's mum and Pearlie's dad decided to get married and they were able to live together as a family.

Parent's Review

Whilst Satine is advanced for her age and has been reading chapter books for a while, even her father and I struggled with some of the rather long and complex sentences.  So we shared this book together as a family and thoroughly enjoyed our nightly adventures to the end of the world.

The Dark Blue 100 Ride Bus Ticket is a fantasy story with just enough realism to connect with the reader.  Whilst the characters are learning about the magic-filled supermarket at the end of the world and fighting off evil Dowlers, they are also dealing with life's more ordinary issues such as illness, single parenting, financial pressures, and the desire for acceptance.

Margaret Mahy once again delivers an imaginative tale through her descriptive prose and lyrical language which she is celebrated for.  This book will be enjoyed by pre-teens of both genders and would make a wonderful gift.

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