Like any good son away from home, Matt writes home to his parents every week without fail. But Matt isn’t really like any other boy away from home. For a start, Matt (his real name is Parramatta Wheatslump) is a mage. Then there’s the fact that Matt isn’t just away from his own – he has somehow ended up in an alternative dimension. His travelling companions – a mermaid and a talking camel – aren’t terribly normal either.
Matt has left his home – Starvation Station, Somewhere in Australia – in the hope of finding another mage who can tutor him.Before he finds his tutor he encounters all sorts of obstacles. Along with his weekly letters home to his Mum and Dad he sends installments of his story, explaining his tale both to his parents and to the reader.
Matt the Mage is a fun fantasy, its use of letters and notes interspersed with third person narrative a touch which will engage young readers. Sally Odgers, one of Australia’s most versatile and gifted children’s authors, always has something different to offer her readers. Matt the Mage will not disappoint.
Matt the Mage: First Spells, by Sally Odgers
Banana Books, 2004