The Weatherwell - Vashti Hardy

 

Grace and Tom are in the Griffin map room, desperately trying to ignore the heat of the summer whilst finishing off projects they have been working on.  When a call comes in from Oakwell requesting help from wardens, Grace jumps at the chance as she loves the market there (and hopes to get herself a cooling ice cream) and Tom goes with her.  When they get there, however, they are perplexed to find the town gripped in the middle of a snowstorm in the middle of summer, meaning the summer fair can't take place.  Using their investigation skills, can Grace and Tom get to the bottom of the problem and save the fair?

Like the rest of this series, The Weatherwell transports you to immersive worlds and captivates readers.  Oakwell sounds like a delightful place to visit (when it's not snowing in summer!) and the descriptions enticing - I'd love to visit Samuel's Snowglobes!

The STEM theme runs through this book as it does through so many of Vashti's books and is one that will be loved by all readers.  Grace and Tom are determined and work well together which is a joy to see (as is that fact that their problem isn't solved immediately).  Persistence, teamwork and owning up to our mistakes are all strong themes in the book, wrapped up in Barrington Stoke's trademark publishing.  Along with wonderful illustrations from Natalie Smilie, this was a joy to read.

Out on the 7th September, The Weatherwell will be another guaranteed hit in school next term.