This is a warm, charming and whimsical book with characters you’ll fall in love with, plenty of funny asides and an exciting quest. We follow the tale of Youngest Faircrest, so named because he is the youngest of the six Faircrest children, and we join him as he faces the Deciding, a ceremony where the town’s children are assigned their cloaks and their destiny. He’d be happy with any of the eleven colourful cloaks on offer, but instead of a bright future, Youngest’s turns out to be grey and unremarkable. Devastated, yet determined to change his destiny, Youngest embarks on a quest to restore magic to the world, a quest he is ill-equipped to take (in both the sense that he is unprepared for the ferocious beasts and ancient sorcerer he must face and that his packing comprises only a map, a pillow and a piglet). Fortunately his best friend Agnes decides to join our hapless hero on his adventures, and kids will love to come along too. 

The plot is fun, with twists and turns, peril and adventure plus plenty of little side quests, interesting details and funny asides. The illustrations by Tom Knight are atmospheric and full of charm and character and the front cover is beautiful. I absolutely love books that combine an epic adventure, warm-hearted friendships and humour and this book ticks all three boxes in such a charismatic way. Definitely a great addition to your KS2 collections.