Mim and the Vicious Vendetta (The Travelling Bookshop, #5)
By Katrina Nannestad. Illustrated by Cheryl Orsini
Reviewed by Helen Gearing
Katrina Nannestad, perhaps best known for her multi award-winning historical fiction (Waiting for the Storks; Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief; and We are Wolves), has teamed up with beloved illustrator Cheryl Orsini to create The Travelling Bookshop – a charming series perfect for readers seven years and older who like a pinch of magic, lively mysteries, plenty of wordplay, and being able to tour different countries from the comfort of their favourite reading nook.
In book 5, Mim and the Vicious Vendetta, 10-year-old Mim, her dad, and her little brother (and their pet lamb, hedgehogs, cockatoo, otter, and horse) have arrived in Venice with their travelling bookshop. Based on their previous adventures, Mim anticipates she will encounter someone with a problem which can only be solved by finding the perfect book. However, she doesn’t expect to be met with an entire city turned upside down by the warring Forte and Magnifico families.
As Mim and her family struggle to show the vengeful families a better way to live, stolen pets, sabotaged puppets, and men fighting in gondoliers have Mim doubting whether even the unparalleled power of books can stop this vendetta.
Featuring siblings with a significant age-gap, The Travelling Bookstore delicately explores the joys and responsibilities which come with being an older sibling. Refreshingly, Nannestad resists stereotyping this responsibility as a chore, instead unearthing the fun spending time with a young child can be – through the transparency of their emotions and their creative approach to language and making sense of new experiences.
Readers who loved Nannestad’s exquisite The Girl, the Dog, and the Writer series will also devour Mim’s adventures – despite this series targeting a slightly younger audience. And with overseas travel still not back to pre-pandemic levels, The Travelling Bookstore also makes an excellent family read-aloud which accessibly demonstrates the joy of visiting another country (with the price tag or need for passports!)
