My huge thanks to A.P. Durston for sending me a copy of his children’s book The Land Of No Food in return for an honest review. Married to a Welshman, how could I resist that cover! I’m delighted to share my review today.
The Land Of No Food was published by Austin Macauley on 13th September 2024 and is available for purchase here.
The Land Of No Food
Prince Durst, the leader of his tribe in Wales, is a troubled man. The Welsh dragons, the food of his nation, are becoming extinct. He can’t let his people starve, but what will he do? He will need to travel to far off shores to find a land of food.
Setting sail in his ship he voyages far, far away and discovers the land of Zitan, ruled by a Queen tormented by dragons!
Helping the Queen with her troublesome pests she rewards the Prince for his help and bravery.
The Prince can now return home to his people with the answer to all his worries and problems!
My Review of The Land Of No Food
A tale of dragons and bravery!
Before my review proper, and in the interests of complete honesty, I’m going to mention a couple of small elements that I’d have liked done differently in this story so that it models perfection for emergent writers: the use of ‘fewer and fewer’ instead of ‘less and less’, and fewer upper case letters in ordinary sentences, albeit that they are used for emphasis. That said, this is my former literacy consultant head speaking and both aspects could be fabulous teaching points in school settings. Young readers are not going to notice!
The Land Of No Food is actually a smashing story and it’s so good to read something with Wales at its heart. Here we have a sense of tradition that draws on the myth of dragons, of bravery and of quest. It’s also thought-provoking for children to consider where their food comes from making The Land Of No Food informative as well as entertaining. There’s a real sense of community and family at its heart too.
I thought the direct references and asides to the children reading the story were inspired because they enhance engagement. The question about the number of dragon illustrations on the page, for example, is super for increasing early numeracy too as well as for drawing children into the narrative.
Speaking of illustrations, those in The Land Of No Food are wonderful, with vibrant colours. They are well balanced to the white space and text, and featuring a style just perfect for the target audience. As well as strengthening young children’s observational skills, there’s real fun to be had in spotting what Prince Durst’s dog is doing too!
There’s a wide range of vocabulary in The Land Of No Food so that the story would be a useful tool for literacy work in school settings. Unfamiliar vocabulary is embedded in context ensuring that emergent and independent young readers can understand meaning well and is best suited to children aged 6+.
These positive educational aspects aside, at its heart The Land Of No Food is an interesting, entertaining and exciting tale for young readers. It provides a story packed with adventure, action and peril; features that draw children into a love of reading and that’s the most important thing of all. Children will thoroughly enjoy it.
About A.P. Durston
Alan Paul Durston lives with his wife Erica and son Jack in the shadow of the 13th Century castle in Caerphilly in South Wales, near his daughter Lucy and grandchildren Jacob and Scarlet.
He lived and worked in Hamburg, Germany for 10 years where the idea for The Land of No Food was conceived.
Not only an author, Alan plays guitar and is also a songwriter being influenced by life, events and history.
