Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

Sixteen-year-old Jacob and his ornithologist father head to a remote island off the coast of Wales - Jacob's motivation is some curious history left by his grandfather, his dad's motivation is the rare birds that can be found there.Upon settling in, while his father absorbs himself in bird-watching, Jacob discovers the abandoned ruins of a children's home and begins to become fascinated with its curious history - until one day he stumbles across it "out of time", held in a time loop in its perpetual heyday, and discovers the type of children that live there, and the reasons that they can never leave.The feel of the book begins as a sort of ghost-story and gradually builds up into much more a fantasy-intrigue novel. The Home for Peculiar Children is the type of establishment very reminiscent of Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters of  X-Men  fame, and the Oracle's house in  The Matrix [1999 ] where she nurtures gifted children, along with various other earlier fantasy fantasy fare including anime such as  Akira . As with both the the X-Mansion and the Oracle, the story's stakes involve those on the dark side who would seek to discover the whereabouts of these schools and destroy them - while the X-Mansion is hidden by high tech defences and the Oracle's house hidden within the code of the Matrix, the School for Peculiar Children is hidden within a time-loop, supposedly undetectable by those without knowledge of its secret doorway. Thus Jacob's accidental discovery of the place becomes the catalyst for further breaches, putting the children and their house mother in peril.The visual element of the story is a collection of surreal vintage photographs, some real and just odd, while others (while obviously real) were created for the purpose of illusion, which the author uses to illustrate the characters in the story. (In a non-fiction postscript the author explains how he obtained the pictures which formed the material for his book). While it's clear that the author began with the photographs and wove the story and characters around them, this doesn't detract from a great story, written in a highly engaging style that would probably appeal to older children as much as an adult readership.I'm very impressed with this writer's first offering, and look forward to seeing more from him.

I loved this book, I couldn't put it down. It is so unlike anything else I've ever read and illustrated with a wonderful collection of very strange vintage photos. I can only imagine that the story was written around the collection of photos and not the other way round. The story is something quite different. It is about a teenage boy, Jacob, who has been told strange stories by his Grandfather, of his childhood in a children's home where the children all have strange abilities or powers, like invisibility, the power to create fire in their hands or superhuman strength. After his Grandfathers death, Jacob goes in search of whether these stories are true and finds the home on a remote Welsh island, only it has been destroyed by an air raid during World War 2. This makes no sense to Jacob as his Grandfather was living there after this time. The story unravels with time travel, strange creatures and very interesting characters. I don't want to spoil it for you so I will say no more! The book, although paperback, is of beautiful quality, I suppose its due to all the photograghs. I have read that it is being made into a film that will be directed by Tim Burton, I can't wait to see that. It's a real supernatural fantasy and he brings stories like this to life so well.

The first thing to strike you is of course, the stunningly atmospheric and creepy photographs throughout the book. The fact that the author’s woven a strange and fast-paced narrative between the photos makes it a unique read. It takes you back to being a kid. There really is something to exploring a story with immersive and darkly-fantastical visuals to match. It reminded me as well of the trend writers have nowadays to make character, setting and other boards to help plan their stories in pinterest, which I myself have started doing sometimes as a nice way of getting into the world-building process.The dank and yet luscious Welsh countryside with its spooky, abandoned house was a great backdrop. And it was great fun to read about the peculiar children and step into their world, fittingly balanced by the revolting monsters that hunted them.I think more than anything though, this is a great book to show the creative, powerful effect images can have. It makes you want to get imagining your own stories and create different worlds from the everyday things you see around you.

My grandson asked for it hes pleased

If you want to get involved in a fun world, this is the book. Not only is the story solidly written, but it constantly deals out unpredictable surprises. Making this story even more interesting though, are the pictures, and the tale of how this story came to be! It is worth your time to read the history behind these creepy pictures, and the author's endeavors to create this story.I purchased this book on Kindle, and have used it in my English classroom as an outloud read for several years now. I open up a Kindle on my big screen, and show the pictures as I come to them. The students spend long minutes studying these unusual photographs, and then talk about the story all school year.The fact that Tim Burton is turning this into a movie is a real seller, as well. I look forward to seeing how closely he is able to follow this fascinating adventure, and how well it translates to the big screen. As an adult, I enjoyed this book. My high school students also love it. I'm sure middle school age students would find this story to be fun, but be aware that it does have some language in it.

I was expecting this book to be scarier than what it was but i still loved it! The pictures throughout the book made the story really come together and helped you visualize the people and things in the book. It was also pretty interesting to learn that all the photos were original photos found by outside sources.The storyline is great and i'm really hoping that this story continues with another novel.

This one of the best books, I read for a long time.The story is fascinating, mysterious and absorbing and I couldn't stop reading.The photos are great and they match the story perfectly.

Un livre d'un jeune auteur passionnant et imaginatif : il est censément destiné à un public adolescent, mais je l'ai adoré et j'ai dépassé l'adolescence depuis longtemps. Vivement la suite, mais que l'auteur prenne son temps pour continuer son envoûtante histoire.

5 is what I rate this sampler. For me it was easy to relate and comprehend the relationship. The hint of mysteries that are to come keeps you intrigued. Glad this sampler was available, so I could gauge on my own that this book is for me. Monsters, mythical beasts and powers with gothic twists is what to expect. If you think this is something to read for bedtime stories, pay attention to the age recommendation. I've seen worse things gauge for children that this book is roses and unicorns. It depends on your children maybe not bedtime, but a chill book. Any who I need to purchase this.