SuitabookThe Thames and Tide Club: the Secret City
Katya Balen
- Reading
- Preview the premise, then pause after the discovery to ask what might belong in the river and why. If storms or pirate eels worry the reader, read those chapters together and discuss the comic framing.
- Themes
- Friendship and cooperation: Clem, Ash and Zara undertake the adventure together; their relationship includes friendly differences, arguments, impatience and strong support. The group is presented as believable and likeable, with cooperation forming an important social centre of the adventure.
- Responsibility towards the river: Clem finds something magical while mudlarking, and the children are told it belongs in the river and must be returned to its rightful owner. The book’s stance on this remains unclear.
- Fantasy within a modern city: The story connects a modern London neighbourhood and the Thames with an imagined underwater London containing eccentric inhabitants and a queen. The book presents this favourably.
- Worth knowing
- Some scenes introduce tremors, cracks, flooding, storms, strange voices and threatening-seeming creatures. The overall presentation is playful and fantastical, but these elements could still feel intense for some readers.