Summary
After hiding from a neighborhood bully, siblings Emmet and Nomi find a very unusual artifact in a shed. Bringing that item to a local bookseller, they discover that this strange object- a Tolfandlit- can actually be used to enter into the story of a corresponding scroll, or “tome-traveling.” The siblings quickly discover that this is true as they are transported inside a scroll at the bookseller’s shop!
They begin their journey just after Adam and Eve are sent out of the garden. They meet Adam and Eve and discover they have to solve riddles to get back home, except they aren’t sure how many riddles. Each riddle reveals a truth about God and the Serpent Slayer. After leaving Adam and Eve, Emmet and Nomi are thrown into the desert with the Israelites and their mass exodus from Egypt. After Egypt, they meet David and watch him slay Goliath. The final stop is listening to Jesus preach, followed by learning of his death and resurrection.
After they solve all the riddles, they are transported back to the bookshop where no time has passed at all. Emmet and Nomi both have a deeper understanding of their own sin and Christ’s triumph over it and the serpent. They leave the bookshop to make right what they had made wrong with the bully from school and find a couple of surprises in the process. The book ends with a cliffhanger: do Emmet and Nomi bring the boy they thought was a bully into a scroll with them?
There are a few black and white illustrations throughout the book.
Reading Level: Ages 9-13
Read Aloud Age: 5+
Mom Thoughts
This “tome-traveling” adventure book manages to keep things pretty light-hearted while conveying some large truths about God. I think the author did a very good job of making the book appealing to both boys and girls and involving both Emmet and Nomi equally in the story. If your child enjoyed The Secret of the Hidden Scrolls series but is now slightly too old for them, this could be a great choice. While the general premise is very similar, the back story and character developments are very different.
Although your children will likely know the outcome of each story Emmet and Nomi enter, the author keeps the suspense thick with the siblings’ personal dynamics and the solving of the riddle. While the author strategically places cliffhangers at the end of most chapters, some of the chapters are a bit slower than others. Because this is the first book in the series, there is a bit more setup to do at the beginning of the story. I appreciated how the author walked us through Emmet’s thought process when he came to the wrong conclusions about things before discovering the right answer. Overall, this is a theologically sound book that will point your child to Christ as the Serpent Slayer and give them an adventure story as well!
Language:
Directed at people: loud and annoying, idiot, hate
stupid rock
Questionable Behaviors:
Emmet would “clobber Tobias” if he were bigger.
Other Things to Know:
Participating in Halloween is mentioned.
The Serpent Slayer and the Scroll of Riddles: The Kambur Chronicles