Stormbreaker.
Our friend John Newton has two boys that are Gareth and Rhiannon's age. He was raving about a series of books written by Anthony Horowitz about a 14 year old boy called Alex Rider who is a spy for MI6. He has been buying the books and reading them to Tom and Harry in the evenings and they have been captivated by the adventures of this pint sized James Bond.
We went searching for the first book in the series "Stormbreaker" last weekend and found it in a great bookshop called Borders. Before going to pay for it we stopped in the bookshop cafe and had some coffee.
Gareth and Byron read the back of the book together and Gareth was so excited. The description of spy gadgets and dangerous missions had him jumping up and down on his seat.
We have started a new bedtime routine in preparation for going back to school. The kids all have to get into pj's and do their teeth before sitting down upstairs in the game room where Mr B sits in the armchair and reads a new chapter each evening. The chapters always end on a cliffhanger and although we are all dying to find out what happens next Byron shuts the book and hides it away until the following evening! It is a good way of defining bedtime for Gareth and Rhiannon. Sian (who keeps reminding us that she is older) is allowed to sneak back downstairs for an extra half hour before her bed time.
So be warned. If you try ringing us between 7.30 and 8.30 pm the answer machine will be all you get as we are busy listening to stories of dangerous missions, metal melting spot creams, gameboys that turn into fax machines and x-ray machines and devious baddies.
In the words of Alex Rider himself....... "You are never too young to die!"
