Once Upon A Tim (Book 2)
The Labyrinth of Doom by Stuart Gibbs is a funny and entertaining story for middle grade readers. It’s the second book in a series, which currently consists of four books. Full of humor and illustrations, this is an engaging story from beginning to end.
My Overview
Tim and Belinda are back in a new quest to save Princess Grace. At the end of Book 1, Princess Grace was so happy that Tim and Belinda rescued when she was captured by the stinx, she offered them the opportunity to be her knights. So, Tim and Belinda are currently junior members of the Knight Brigade for the Kingdom of Merryland. Finally, Tim’s dreams of no longer being a peasant are a reality! It’s not quite happily ever for all, though. Prince Ruprecht is still bitter about Princess Grace not wanting to fall in love with him and having been exposed as a coward by Tim.
While guarding the castle gate, Tim was so bored and tired that he fell asleep. As a result, Princess Grace was kidnapped by Prince Rupert and held captive in the center of a labyrinth. It’s the most complex and dangerous labyrinth in the world! Tim, joined by Belinda and Rover (his fr-dog), immediately embark on a rescue mission for Princess Grace. Anyone else would’ve likely run back out of the labyrinth at the first sight of danger, but not them. Tim and Belinda are committed to being brave enough to go through the maze and save Princess Grace. As their quest to rescue the princess, they encounter many challenges along the way.
As Tim and Belinda outsmart the dangers they encounter in the labyrinth, the readers are along for the journey. Along the way, there’s plenty of opportunity to grow and strengthen vocabulary, and even learn random facts. There are a lot of new vocabulary words (IQ Boosters) sprinkled throughout the story. For each IQ Booster word, a definition is given, along with a sample (and silly) sentence to explain how to use the word. As for random facts, poisonous vs. venomous and stalactites vs. stalagmites are part of the fun. All of that, in addition to the humor and illustrations throughout make this an engaging story from beginning to end.
My Recommendation
This book is as entertaining as Book 1 (Once Upon A Tim)! It’s a fun read aloud book, so I’m looking forward to continuing the series. The engaging storyline and illustrations, along with the short chapters, make it perfect as a read aloud. I recommend this book to all who enjoy humorous fantasy stories.
As mentioned, this is Book 2 in the series. I wouldn’t recommend reading it as a standalone, because a lot of background for the story is given in Book 1. Also, Book 1 was a lot of fun, and I wouldn’t recommend skipping over it 😉.
Have you read this or any other books by this author?
Looking for more chapter books for read alouds? Try my 12 Delightful Chapter Books to Read Aloud.
Lindsey @ Lindsey Reads
This sounds like such a fun series, and such a good idea to add in the little vocabulary facts 🙂
Lucy
Yes, it’s such an engaging way to make learning fun 😃.
Rachel
I used to read middle grade when I had middle graders.. It was fun to read stories with them. Now they’re grown so I haven’t picked one up in a while. Nice that they work in expanding vocabulary too!
Lucy
It’s nice that you also enjoyed reading with middle graders. This series is very engaging 😁.
Tanya @ Girl Plus Books
What a fun one for MG readers! The artwork looks great. And I love that there’s a spotlight on vocabulary.
Lucy
Yes, the artwork is great. I love the focus on making learning and reading fun.