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Race to the Magic Mountain: A Branches Book (Kwame's Magic Quest #2)

Race to the Magic Mountain: A Branches Book (Kwame's Magic Quest #2)

4.0

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Author(s)

Bernard Mensah

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Natasha Nayo

Publisher

Scholastic

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

August 06, 2024

ISBN

978-1338843316

Buy This Book

This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!

An evil magic turned Kwame's friend Fifi into a green flame. It also stole the two most powerful calabashes, and now the world is falling apart! Kwame and his friends Esi and Papa-Kow must travel to the Magic Mountain, where the green flame is trying to combine the two calabashes to make one all-powerful calabash. Can they save Fifi and stop the green flame before it's too late?

With engaging black-and-white artwork on every page, kids won't be able to put down this fully

Editor review

1 review

Magical Academy Adventure

November 11, 2024

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

After Kwame enters the Nkonyaa School in Rise of the Green Flame, he has to deal with two powerful calabashes being stolen by another student, Fifi. This causes many problems. In this book, only he can save the world from falling apart. He must get to the mountain and stop the green flame from casting a spell, and return the calabashes to the school. His teacher puts him in a time loop so he can get training done quickly, and then he is off with Esi, a Sun Wielder, and Papa Kow, a Weather Handler, to try to find Fifi and stop the world from ending. They have to deal with traveling underwater and meeting Mami Wata, answering riddles, and generally having rousing fantasty adventures.

Good Points

This is a nicely illustrated early chapter book that fills a much needed lack of adventure titles for elementary readers in grades 2-4, when students are often attempting to read the Harry Potter books before they are really ready. My hesitation in giving this to emergent older readers is that the characters are given "magic cheetah balls" to chew that turn them in to cheetahs so they can travel quickly. Middle school students would have entirely too much fun with that.

This was reminiscent of Blackwood's Race to Fire Mountain, with some similarities to other magical academy books, with a sorting tree choosing the students' calabashes and different courses of magical study. Readers who enjoyed the Disaster Squad branches series by Rajan and Lovett or Patton's Battle Bugs will also be excited to find another easy-to-read adventure title.