*Shortlisted

Review by Barney, Mordiford CE Primary School Hereford
Do you like Greek mythology? If so, you will enjoy this book. It tells of a boy named George who is longing for an education, and has a treasured book of Greek myths, but instead of going to school, had to work in a mine like his father. This was a dangerous job. One member of his family had already lost his life down the mine. And it is a matter of time before George finds himself in deep trouble, when the mine begins to flood, and he finds himself trapped. As he begins to give up hope of rescue, a mysterious figure appears. Will the figure help him escape, or is it a figment of his imagination?

There is a lot of atmosphere in the description of the mines (it is dark, dangerous, and terrifying!) and lots of sadness too. This book opened my eyes to how difficult it must have been for poor children and how easy we have it today!

I loved the character of George because he put other people first, even when terrified. I loved the minotaur because he never comes into the light!

I enjoyed the spookiness of the story and read it in one go. I would recommend this book for children around 8 years of age.

Review by Milo, St Andrew’s CE Primary, Oxford.
Score:  5 out of 5

I liked this book because it really dramatic and historical. It’s about a boy called George who left school to work in a mine but one day he sees a shadowy figure in the background. I didn’t like this book because the minotaur never really comes in. This book would be good for people who like myth and history in a story. I like the minotaur. I think this book should win five stars.

Review by Isla, St. Peter’s CE Primary, Heysham
I enjoyed the book because I love mystery books and not knowing what happens until the end. The Storm and the Minotaur is a really good mystery book. The setting is very interesting, 1838 in Yorkshire at the Huskar pit. The pit flooded, trapping lots of workers underground including children between the ages of 7 and 17. The day hole, which was a ventilation system came out of Nabs Woods. I liked George, the main character, because he was very secretive and kept secrets very well. He was also very adventurous just like I can be sometimes! I did not like Uncle Jake because he was very stubborn and demanding, which I do not like. I learnt that the past is very different to the present because the past did not have a lot of rules, but the present does. For example, now you have to be older than 18 to go in then mine and you have lots of safety equipment to keep you safe. I think this is a really good thing that lessons have been learnt. The plot was quite exciting because the family lived in a little cabin with George's sister, mum, dad, and his dad's uncle Jake. The mine was in front of the river which flooded. What most stands out from the book is that they are a normal family, but they have a lot of mysteries from the past. One of the characters, Uncle Mal, left a lot of those mysteries for George to find. I would recommend this book to people that love mysteries just like me or people that like short books because this book is not that long but tells a big story that is true. When I started this book, I thought it was a made-up story, but it turns out that parts of it were fiction but most of it was from a true story. Also, it tells a wholesome story that you may not know but that lots of people are going through. I love the whole book and there was nothing I did not like about it.