Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James

Imagine Tilly’s surprise then, when a character introducing herself as Anne Shirley from Green Gables wanders through the stacks to say hello. Having never met her father, and her mother disappearing when she was a baby, Pages & Co is all Tilly has ever known, but she loves books like her grandparents so it’s a life she is content with. Is this the perfect life? I certainly think so! Home for a week for school holidays, Tilly is enjoying diving into some of her favourite books, including Anne of Green Gables and Alice in Wonderland. She has a friend who lives across the road, Oscar, above another cafe called Crumbs where she also gets delicious treats from. There’s a delightful little cafe inside the store where Jack experiments with delicious treats, and because her grandparents own the store, there is no shortage of books to read. Tilly is a young girl who lives with her grandparents above a bookshop called Pages & Co in London. It’s a book about books, my favourite kind, so it’s no surprise I loved it, but I was impressed with how engaging the story was for me as an adult – my kids will no doubt love it as soon as they are old enough to read it too. Pages & Co.: Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James is the first in the Pages & Co series that was recommended to me by my boss, a fellow booklover at Calgary Reads. Although I don’t plan on making this a habit, I just adored this book so much I couldn’t help but shout about it from the rooftops, or in this case, from the screen. In the 8 years I’ve been writing ivereadthis (yes, it has been that long!), I believe this is my first review of a middle grade work of fiction, which is books written for 8-12 year olds. Glimpsing a school morning Avonlea with Anne and Diana was almost tangible! This is a brilliant, satisfying selection for committed readers.This may be a first for my blog. I felt as though I was joining Tilly and Oskar on their journeys. ‘Pages & Co Tilly and the Book Wanderers‘ is a thoroughly absorbing, original story. There are more questions here that Tilly dares to explore, despite scary Chalk sized warnings, and the regulations and danger accompanying her gift. It opens the mystery surrounding her mother’s disappearance. Tilly’s ability leads to revelations about her grandparents, the organisation and rules for Book Wanderers.

Oskar, through association with Tilly, can travel too. Tilly is a book wanderer, like her grandparents, and mother, able to join familiar characters within their settings. Through ‘ Pages & Co Tilly and the Book Wanderers’ we join Tilly, and neighbour, Oskar, as they realise she has inherited more than a love of books. Tilly feels more at home with familiar book characters than school friends.

Tilly’s grandparents own a small, overcrowded North London bookshop.