Review
I love children's books. I can't even imagine NOT loving one. As an adult *ugh* society requires us to read adult things, which I also do, and love doing, but reading a children's book just feels like coming home. So when I got a request to read Ti and the Magical Key, I said yes rightaway! Even though I technically didn't have any time to start a new book right now, I was like: children's book mkay.
The story starts off with a gathering of the ancient high gods of the Mayans:
They just discovered that Kukulkan(basically the evil God) will be returning soon, searching for the key that can give him ultimate power, and they come up with a plan:
"I have to diffuse the power of THE KEY. The danger of theft is just too great,"Itzamna murmured to himself as he started punching smaller keys out of the original one so that only the frame remained. The small keys he handed to the great Shaman Tat instructing him, "Leave Chichen Itza and hide each key in a different location so that under no circumstances can Kukulkan find them."
Many, many moons later, Kukulkan returns, finds the frame and gets furious about the keys being hidden from him. We then meet Ti, the grandson of the great Shaman Tat. He soon appears to be the One to unite the keys again and with it, posess the power to bring happiness to all creatures. And so his quest begins!
I think this is a lovely story to read to kids in the age range of 5-8 years old. Or they can read it themselves of course, but I can imagine the use of language (especially the Yucatec names) will be a bit hard for them to grasp sometimes. The illustrations are wonderfully colourful and a joy to the eye! Which is exactly why I don't think this book is very suitable to read on an e-reader. I read it on my Kindle the first time, but it really took out the sparkles you can find in the PDF-version, let alone a physical copy! I can't put my finger on it, but I also think the cover really doesn't do the other illustrations any justice. But that might just be me!
Another thing which felt a little dissapointing to me was the abrupt ending. And if I'M dissapointed, I can imagine a 6-year old having a temper tantrum over it, not knowing how that particular part of the story is going to end. Luckily for them, the second part in the series will be out soon!
Last, but not least, as a former History student, I loved the Mayan folklore in this book. It inspired me to snoop around on the interwebz for more information on the Mayan gods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings is an interesting link to start with!
P.s.= Sea turtles are awesome.
The story starts off with a gathering of the ancient high gods of the Mayans:
They just discovered that Kukulkan(basically the evil God) will be returning soon, searching for the key that can give him ultimate power, and they come up with a plan:
"I have to diffuse the power of THE KEY. The danger of theft is just too great,"Itzamna murmured to himself as he started punching smaller keys out of the original one so that only the frame remained. The small keys he handed to the great Shaman Tat instructing him, "Leave Chichen Itza and hide each key in a different location so that under no circumstances can Kukulkan find them."
Many, many moons later, Kukulkan returns, finds the frame and gets furious about the keys being hidden from him. We then meet Ti, the grandson of the great Shaman Tat. He soon appears to be the One to unite the keys again and with it, posess the power to bring happiness to all creatures. And so his quest begins!
I think this is a lovely story to read to kids in the age range of 5-8 years old. Or they can read it themselves of course, but I can imagine the use of language (especially the Yucatec names) will be a bit hard for them to grasp sometimes. The illustrations are wonderfully colourful and a joy to the eye! Which is exactly why I don't think this book is very suitable to read on an e-reader. I read it on my Kindle the first time, but it really took out the sparkles you can find in the PDF-version, let alone a physical copy! I can't put my finger on it, but I also think the cover really doesn't do the other illustrations any justice. But that might just be me!
Another thing which felt a little dissapointing to me was the abrupt ending. And if I'M dissapointed, I can imagine a 6-year old having a temper tantrum over it, not knowing how that particular part of the story is going to end. Luckily for them, the second part in the series will be out soon!
Last, but not least, as a former History student, I loved the Mayan folklore in this book. It inspired me to snoop around on the interwebz for more information on the Mayan gods. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings is an interesting link to start with!
P.s.= Sea turtles are awesome.
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