Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom is a good story. It is about an eleven-year-old girl named Juniper. The same nightmare about a girl who turns into ivory has been haunting her every night. Juniper loves drawing her. When, one night, after a school dance, she is drawing the girl, she comes out of the picture. The girl, Galatea, tells Juniper that the kingdom she is princess of is vanishing and she cannot find an object that will help her get back to her kingdom.

At school, Galatea meets Juniper’s friends. Galatea initially pretends she comes from Bulgaria, but their friends see through the lie and agree to help them find the object. Juniper, Galatea, and their friends go searching for it while hindered by rhymes from Dreamtender. Can Juniper save Galatea’s kingdom before it is too late?

Although a good book, Juniper as a character is not well built, and neither is Dreamtender. Nina Varela may be good at plot and story, but not what I look for in a book: good, well-developed characters with strong backstories. I recommend this book for grade schoolers who are six to nine years of age.