Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup: Book 1

By Author / Illustrator

Andy Sagar

Genre

Fantasy

Age range(s)

Publisher

Hachette Children's Group

ISBN

9781510109483

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

17-03-2022

Synopsis

The first in a new fantasy series for readers aged 8-12, about a girl with fox ears who has never fitted in. With adventure and magic in every teacup, this is perfect for fans of The Strangeworlds Travel Agency and Starfell.

Yesterday Crumb is no ordinary girl. She was born with fox ears that have cursed her to a lonely life working in the circus and her origins are a complete mystery. But she is about to escape into the adventure of a lifetime when she learns that she's a strangeling who's lost her magic. Taken in by Miss Dumpling, the flamboyant Tea Witch, Yesterday is introduced to a magical, walking teashop filled with fantastical customers, a flying teapot turtle called Pascal and powerful spells in every teacup!

Yesterday starts to rediscover her magic and to feel a sense of belonging. But a mysterious figure of darkness is working hard to ensure her new life comes crashing down - and it all starts with a deadly shard of ice in Yesterday's heart... but there's nothing that can't be solved with a pot of tea, a slice of cake and a BIG dash of magic!

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Reviews

We begin the tale of Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup with Yesterday Crumb, an orphaned and abandoned young girl living inside a cage - she's part of a circus and her fox-like ears are what makes her an attraction. Yesterday escapes the cage and comes across a strange man in the woods; she makes a deal with him - to rid herself of her ears and in turn he plants a shard of ice in her heart.

A bird discovers Yesterday and he takes her to his owner - Miss Dumpling, who owns a traveling, magical teashop. It's this teashop, the love of the owner and her apprentice that bring out Yesterday's hidden magic. We follow Yesterday as she tried to create spells using the ingredients in Miss Dumplings teashop - and not all of these go to plan. There is a fabulous twist towards the end of the book - leaving it open for book 2.

This book is a lovely read, it would be an effective writing stimulus as the language features would be perfect for analysing and using as a model to create a fantasy writing piece of work. Aimed at confident readers age 7+.

352 pages / Reviewed by Emma Nelson, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 7+

In Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup, Yesterday lives in a cage at the circus for all to witness her foxy ears. Rescued by Madrigal the talking raven, she stumbles into a world of magic, encapsulated by living in a teashop on flamingo legs, discovering she is a strangeling, but all the while knowing that she has a shaft of ice in her heart which will kill her at the winter solstice. For the first time in her life, she has friends, almost a family and maybe even a career as a tea witch. Yesterday, Jack and Madrigal the raven, encouraged and aided by Miss Dumpling, embark on a quest to find the mournful rose to clear the ice from her heart.

Andy Sagar must be a lover of words as he uses them so well in this most fantastical tale, peopled by faeries, elves, goblins and so many more creatures from tales, myths and legends. There are many plays on words but at the heart is a child who has no home, and who finds one with lovely Miss Dumpling (what a name!) The spells for the various teas are bewitching, using unicorn milk warmed in the shell of a turtle called Pascal, and maybe a dollop of wishtree sap.

Occasionally the humour in the words does border on the adult but that really does not matter. Yesterday Crumb and the Storm in a Teacup is a classic tale of good versus evil, involving a journey and the search for the magic to solve all Yesterday's problems with a twist at the end; although this adult did realise it was coming, I am not sure many readers will.

I have not read a book like this for many a year, and can see Disney finding the next film from it, but mostly it brings a smile to the face and, in spite of the danger Yesterday is in towards the end, somehow you know it will all be fine; there is a sequel to come, I am sure. Girls of nine to about 13 will love this, with the slightly older group really loving and appreciating the word play. It would read aloud beautifully.

352 Pages / Reviewed by Janet Fisher