Cressida Cowell was the Waterstones Children's Laureate
(2019-2022). She is the author and illustrator of the bestselling
The Wizards of Once and How to Train Your Dragon books series, and
the author of the Emily Brown picture books, illustrated by Neal
Layton.
The Wizards of Once series has been translated into 38 languages
and has been signed by DreamWorks Animation. How to Train Your
Dragon has sold over 8 million books worldwide in 42 languages and
is a major DreamWorks Animation film franchise, as well as being
made into a TV series on Netflix and CBBC.
Cressida is an ambassador for the National Literacy Trust and the
Reading Agency, a Trustee of World Book Day and a founder patron of
the Children's Media Foundation. She has won numerous prizes,
including the Gold Award in the Nestle Children's Book Prize.
'A new Cressida Cowell series lifts the spirits as autumn damp
descends...A witty, rip-roaring battle of good and evil, secrets
and lies, monsters and magic ensues, illustrated with Cowell's
signature black and white sketches, and underpinned by an
ecological message. FAB-U-LOUS.
*The Daily Mail*
'a pacey, thrill-packed, highly imaginative new series that should
pull in the most reluctant readers'
*The Times Children’s Book of the Week*
This rollicking story never lets up in energy, inventiveness
and...good humour... Cressida Cowell is a genuine one-off....
Started 25 years ago, this story now forms the cornerstone for what
looks likely to be yet another wildly popular series still to
come.
*Books for Keeps*
[T]his thrilling, past-paced adventure will whisk you away on a
fascinating journey of imagination.
*The Week Junior*
Embraces the philosophical while also being huge fun. It has
laughs, silliness, seriousness, a diverse blended family, a shy boy
with a secret gift, an environmental message, magical maps of other
worlds, monstrous beasts, a robot assassin, a pacey plot and
Cowell's trademark riotous drawings.
*The Sunday Times*
Readers are dragged straight into a thrilling adventure story from
the very first page with Cressida Cowell's ultra welcoming text and
inviting illustrations. They are the kind of illustrations that are
beautiful but also super unintimidating, the kind that make kids
want to get out a pencil and draw their own pictures. This fits so
well with the story, which is at its heart about the power of
children's creativity and imagination
*BookTrust*
'In my opinion, this is the best story the author has written.'
Without a shadow of a doubt, this will be one of the best reads of
the year. The story strikes a quirky balance of wild and outrageous
storytelling that only great authors can dream up. It is full of
brilliant characters, dialogue, and a daring rescue mission with
terrible beasts and a robot assassin.... Dream BIG and travel
well.
*https://www.mrripleysenchantedbooks.com/2022/08/cressida-cowell-which-way-to-anywhere.html*
Which Way to Anywhere is such a fun novel...a fun, thrilling
many-worlds fantasy with magic and technology and a whole lot of
heart.
*www.bookwormhole.co.uk*
Toppsta children's reviews:
'We have loved all of Cressida Cowell's books and 'Which way to
anywhere' is no exception! I love how the beautiful line drawn
illustrations that covered the pages of her Wizards of Once series
have continued in her new book as I really feel they give another
dimension to the story. If you love adventure stories and magic
then you'll love this book! I really hope it is made into a
series.' Stjohnsyear6
'Amazing, amazing, amazing!
Two families are thrown together by marriage and, they don't like
each other very much. However, a number of strange and wonderful
things happen that mean that they have to work together and put
their differences aside if they are to save the world.
I loved this book as it was epic and fast paced and crazy... I
especially loved the toothbrushes!' 9 year old The-face
'I have always loved Cressida Cowell's books, and this wasn't an
exception. It says at the back of the book that it may become a
series! I really hope the next one will come out soon and that I
can get my hands on it to read. This book is very enthralling
adventure story and is just as good as How to Train your Dragon and
The Wizards of Once. It is very bad for bedtimes, if you read it at
bedtime like I did; you don't notice it getting later and later and
you may be very tired the next morning! This book has also got
brilliant grey drawings, they make me laugh because they have
little features that are similar with the characters in the
author's other books. I liked these similarities because I could
even link all her book's characters as descendants of each other
and all of them fitted together to almost make one story.'
Dragonrider age 10
*https://toppsta.com/books/details/381721/which-way-to-anywhere#reviews*
Magical worlds as only Cressida Cowell can. Just like The Wizards
of Once series, this first book in the Which Way to Anywhere series
is incredibly imaginative while this time linking into normal daily
life and family matters with a blended family struggling to get
along.
There is also an environmental thread where humans have been the
key in driving a beautiful species to near extinction. But they
also may have the answer to bring it back to its full
potential.
The characters are all quirky in their own way, my favourite being
K2 who has always been overshadowed by his loud, feisty twin sister
Izzabird. All he wants is to prove himself, and he finally gets an
opportunity to do something none of his siblings can - help save
their baby sister.
An out of this world, exciting, funny, gripping and magical
adventure!
*www.whatbooknext.com*
I have missed 'The Wizards of Once' so much since the series ended,
and 'Which Way to Anywhere' fills that black hole inside of me
where 'Wizards' once occupied. The hallmark Cowellisms are present,
with enough creativity to carve its own path in children's
literature and make me excited to read more in this world. This is
the perfect balance of silly and sentimental, with scenes in the
third act worthy of tissues. Characters are alive and imperfect,
providing a truly fantastic trajectory of growth and learning that
readers will learn and grow from themselves. I can always rely on
Cowell's characters to do the impossible, all the while reminding
us that we can do the impossible ourselves if we only try.
A truly exciting and fast-paced plot that not even my two kittens
could distract me from, the illustrations also fed my imagination.
Cressida Cowell's stories are my comfort reads, and 'Which Way to
Anywhere' deserves its place in Cowell's iconic bibliography, as it
soars just as high as 'How to Train Your Dragon' and enchants us
just as much as 'The Wizards of Once'.
*Gavin Hetherington, BookTuber*
The depths of our Children's Laureate's imagination knows no bounds
in this action-packed adventure about a boy who can create maps to
transport himself into imaginary worlds... With a colourful cast of
goodies and baddies, this is an epic start to a new series
*The Bookseller*
Wild magic, Cowell's trademark bonkers humour, rich
environmentalism and the complexities of family love are woven
deftly through the first book in a fabulous new series
*The Guardian*
'A new series by Cressida Cowell is always an event.... a highly
imagined roller-coaster of a fantasy, written with the author's
familiar panache...The story - illustrated with Cowell's familiar,
scratchy sketches - has everything that her fans have come to
expect...[A]s with all the best fantasy there is skilled balance
between humdrum drama and high thrills...a joyously anarchic story
which addresses the theme of childhood loss with real psychological
acuity. And at the heart of this modern fantasy a very modern
message: that those who appear to be worlds apart often have more
in common than they assume.'
*The Telegraph*
Wild magic, Cowell's trademark bonkers humour, rich
environmentalism and the complexities of family love are woven
deftly through the first book in a fabulous new series.
*The Guardian*
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