If you have a tween adventure story lover at your house, this is going to be a good fall for you. Anthony Horowitz’s wildly popular, James-Bond inspired teen spy, Alex Rider, has a new book coming out on November 12th.
The eighth in the high-adrenaline line of books in which an orphaned British boy is recruited by spy agency MI6, “Crocodile Tears” is the highly anticipated sequel to “Snakehead”. In “”Crocodile Tears”, Alex finds himself battling a con man who has realized there is big money to be made in the charity world. In order to tap into that market this evil genius creates a strain of modified wheat plants that can release a virus so potent it can knock out an entire country in one day. How will Alex stop this latest villain? Millions of 9-12 year old boys and girls can not wait to find out.
Anthony Horowitz is a prolific British writer who has found great success with this series. The first book, “Stormbreaker” came out in 2002, and he has released “Point Blanc”, “Skeleton Key”, “Eagle Strike”, “Scorpia”, “Ark Angel”, and “Snakehead” in each consecutive year. The books have spawned numerous fan clubs and websites including, www.alexrider.com, where kids can find out all sorts of fascinating information about the stories (or missions), the gadgets, the villains, the characters, Alex’s world, and what’s coming next.
“Stormbreaker” was also made into a movie in 2006, but only received mediocre reviews and was a disappointment to a lot of Alex’s fans, like my son. There have also been two of the original stories, “Point Blanc”, and just this month, “Skeleton Key”, made into graphic novels by author Horowitz, Anthony Johnston and illustrators Kanako & Yuzuru. These manga-style books bring the stories to life for Horowitz’s many fans.
My son, who is 14 now, has been reading these books since he was 10. And even though the reading level (9-12 years) is a bit easy for him at this point, he still thoroughly enjoys the danger, the intrigue, the gadgets and the brushes with death that long-suffering, but heroic, Alex survives.
I have found that book series are one of the best ways to get kids to read – especially boys. When my kids tap into a character and then find out he’s in multiple books, it’s like striking gold. So if you’re trying to encourage your tween to read more at home, why not give him or her an Alex Rider book? It’s best to start at the beginning with “Stormbreaker”, but the stories only get better from there. My son’s favorite is book #5, “Scorpia”, in which Alex must choose between remaining with MI6 or going to work for the shadowy Scorpia agency. But there are also eco-terrorists, evil mad scientists, maniacal killers and ruthless drug-smugglers for Alex to go head-to-head with. Your child can choose his own favorite adrenaline-rush plot.
The books are all available in paperback, except for “Crocodile Tears”, and are about 300 pages long. Your aspiring spy won’t be able to put them down, and before you know it they’ll have finished “Crocodile Tears” and will be waiting for book number nine.
Sources:
http://www.alexrider.com/
http://www.walker.co.uk/Skeleton-Key-Graphic-Novel-9781406313482.aspx
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457495/
http://www.anthonyhorowitz.com/alexrider/
