The Longest Night of Charlie Noon
By Christopher Edge
Charlie Noon has one friend at her new school in rural England. Dizzy is a bit of a scatterbrain, but nonetheless, he is kind to Charlie. When Dizzy finds some coded messages made of sticks in a clearing in the woods, he enlists Charlie’s help to come and decode them. Neither of them tell their parents where they are going, but they plan to be back before anyone notices that they’re gone.
Before they set off, mean Johnny Baines warns them that Old Crony, a terrifying old man who eats children, lives in the woods. But Charlie and Dizzy are undeterred. When Johnny plays a trick on them, all three of them end up lost.
As night falls, Charlie, Dizzy and Johnny know they must find their way out, but nothing is as it seems. Bird calls begin to sound like Morse code, the stars in the sky have changed, and Charlie can’t even see the lights of the village when she climbs a tree. And there’s a strange presence in the woods – but is it really Old Crony? Or something else?
The Longest Night of Charlie Noon is more than a survival story. Author Christopher Edge combines World War I history with time travel to create something very unique. The end of the book even introduces kids to the science behind the story. If you want to try reading something a little different, try this book!