Cosentino, the Grand Illusionist, is working on his latest illusion – escaping from a pit of deadly snakes while in a sack padlocked in chains – when Ace, an anthropomorphic playing card and escaped soldier from the king’s army, runs in begging for help. Cos obliges, but he is captured by the evil king’s henchman, Hollow! Cos does some sleight-of hand-illusions to impress the king, but is still thrown in the magical dungeon, where time moves much slower. With the help of his friends, Cos has to trick the Puzzler, the Dungeon Master and Game Show Host to escape. The first book in The Mysterious World of Cosentino series is great fun. Reminiscent of The Bad Guys in its look, kids are sure to love reading about the secrets behind Cosentino’s grand illusions –and they’ll have even more fun learning how to do the magic tricks at the end! For ages 6+.

Dani Solomon is a children’s and YA specialist at Readings Kids.